Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Fostering a dynamic and competitive small and medium enterprise (SME) sector remains a critical policy priority in both developed and developing economies. Despite notable progress in driving economic growth and employment generation, India continues to lag in the formulation of comprehensive and gender-neutral SME policies. This study emphasizes that SMEs, irrespective of the gender of ownership, encounter a similar range of constraints, including limited access to markets, low productivity, inadequate availability of skilled and experienced labor, weak innovation capacity, and complex as well as relatively costly registration procedures. After controlling for firm-level and region-specific variables, the study advances the following hypotheses concerning the subnational distribution of SME exports and gender participation: (i) the proportion of women-owned SMEs across Indian states is positively associated with inter-state variations in SME exports, and (ii) the proportion of men-owned SMEs is likewise positively associated with such variations. The analysis aims to examine whether SME export performance across Indian states exhibits a statistically significant relationship with the gender composition of ownership. The empirical findings, however, reveal no significant association between the shares of women-owned or men-owned SMEs and export performance, indicating that gender does not constitute a determining factor in explaining subnational variations in SME export activity. Moreover, per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is incorporated as a regional demand-specific variable and is found to exert a positive and statistically significant influence on both per capita SME exports and export intensity. This suggests that SMEs located in economically dynamic regions benefit from economies of scale, thereby enhancing their export competitiveness.
DOI: 10.66635/v7zp1r16
Language: English
Topic: Global trade and economics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7203474032