The impact of promotion programs on export activties of SMEs in Malaysia: An econometric approach [Kesan program promosi terhadap aktiviti eksport syarikat kecil dan sederhana di Malaysia: satu pendekatan ekonometrik]

Government plays an important role for facilitating export activites particularly among small and medium sized entreperises (smes) by organizing comprehensive export promotion programs (epps). despite that,prior research found that epps in many developing countries confront with many challenges that have failed to reach the objectives. the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of epps on export activities of smes in malaysia. the evaluation model is developed based on the theory of planned behavior by using three instruments: awareness,perception of usefulness and frequency of use; and the relationships with propensity for export continuation. the evaluation was made on four programs: courses/trainings,international trade missions/shows,financial assistance and tax incentives,analyzed using an econometric approach of two-level regression. results show that the awareness and perception of usefulness have increased the frequency of use for all epps,but only active participation in courses/trainings and international trade missions/shows has encouraged smes to continue exporting. however,financial assistance and tax incentives have no significant impact to exporters.