Private manufacturing SMEs survival and growth in Vietnam: The role of export participation

This study investigates for the first time a linkage between export participation and firm performance in terms of survival and profit growth in Vietnam. Using an unbalanced panel dataset from 2005 to 2009, our study shows no difference in the survival probability between exporters and non-exporters. By digging deeper to export status at different stages, the results indicate that continuous exporters have a positive association with probability of survival whereas export stoppers indicate a negative relationship. In terms of the relationship between firm growth and export activity, using Average Treatment Effects (OLS), export status is not related to firm profit growth. However, the Quantile Treatment Effects estimates reveal that export participation is positively and statistically significant associated with firms having profit growth above the median. The above findings might imply that exporting promoting policies, coupled with policies maintaining positions of firms in export market could be helpful since this may help firms improve their survival probability and profit growth.