Digital reorganization as a driver of the export growth of italian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises

In this paper, we argue that digital reorganization, encompassing the introduction of digital technologies that require changes in business processes and improvement in internal digital skills, is significantly related to the international activities of SMEs and is therefore an important driver of export growth. We apply binary probit models to microdata gathered from a survey carried out in 2015 on a representative sample of 426 exporting Italian manufacturing SMEs in Italy. Our results show that the likelihood of increasing exports is correlated with more advanced digital technologies becoming embedded within organizational innovations of firms, thereby gaining a competitive edge.