How to overcome exporting barriers and prevent SMEs failure: Serbian and BIH perspective

Abstract

Today’s globalization trends, internationalization and fast technological changes point out that all companies which want to act in sustainable way have to adapt to participate on the global, international market. Scholars have carried out numerous studies on the perception of barriers to exporting, and, although it is well known that exporting prevents SMEs failure, till now little consensus exists on the topic. Metal industry products are important sector of each economy. However, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have small shares in export to the EU. As a response to this need, the aim of this paper is to survey the formal requirements and barriers to export products of metal industry in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU market and to compare the practices and results in both countries’ metal sector companies. A total of 116 companies have participated in survey. Collected data are undergone to different statistical tests. In accordance with survey results, recommendations are given to Serbian and BIH companies, how to overcome barriers and expand to the EU market. The findings from this study have important implications for both Serbian and BIH entrepreneurs and policy makers. Our results may help managers and entrepreneurs to assess more accurately their chance of success in international markets before they decide to go abroad. Also, policy makers should not only devote resources to the creation of new exporters but also need to care about the survival of new exporters especially in their starting period in order to sustain export growth.