Exploring Export Promotion Policy from a Justice Perspective: A Case Study

Exporting presents one of the most viable ways to internationalize, especially for small and medium- sized enterprises. In order to enhance national exporting activity, nations strive to implement various export- oriented policies including export promotion (EP) programs. Unlike mainstream inquiry, this article takes a public policy perspective by analyzing EP program firm- level allocation through the lens of distributive justice. The study conducts exploratory research with the goal of discovering the properties of the resource allocation policy behind specific Croatian financial aid- related EP program. Based on the findings from ANOVA and regression analyses, it is evident that exporters with larger resource capacities receive significantly higher EP funding, but fail to improve their export performance in the following year. These findings question the plausibility of current EP practices, which are discussed in the theoretical and public policy implications. In the end, the limitations and directions for further research are provided.