Finpron vaikuttavuus - Finpron palveluiden käytön vaikutukset yritysten kansainvälistymiseen ja menestymiseen

The study investigates, by using econometric evaluation methods, how the usage of Fin-pros (a public agency promoting internationalization of business) services impacts on the internation-alization and performance of small and medium-sized firms in Finland. We measure internationalization and firm performance using a number of complementary indicators. The results indicate that being Finpros customer is positively associated with internationalization when firms establish new subsidiaries abroad or expand the geographical coverage of their foreign operations. There are also indications of a positive association between usage of Finpros services and exports (measured using a binary export indicator), although the results vary across methods of evaluation. Finpros customership does not appear to have a statistically significant impact on the share of foreign personnel. Similarly, we do not in most estimations find any statistically significant impact on the firm performance. However, different methods of evaluation and data sets produce somewhat inconsistent results. The study also looks at the possible synergy effects of utilizing Finpros services, and receiving funding from other public organizations (Tekes, Finnvera and the Ministry Employment and the Economy). It turns out that such synergy effects do not seem to exist.