Export Emergence of Differentiated Goods from Developing Countries: Four Argentine Cases

This paper contains case studies documenting the process of export emergence in four sectors producing differentiated goods in Argentina: wines, television programs, motorboats, and wooden furniture. Each case describes the development of Argentine exports, provides a basic history of the sector and shows the types of practices adopted by firms that were able to export to the developed world on a consistent basis. Since in all of the cases except wooden furniture export emergence in the sector is closely tied to the leading role of an export pioneer, the case studies also explain how the background of this export pioneer enabled him to gain the knowledge needed to export consistently. Finally, the cases characterize how the business practices first adopted by the pioneer diffused to other firms in the industry leading to export growth in the sector.