This article analyses the role of economic diplomacy on the export market entry decisions of Dutch firms. We show that the presence of government support offices in middle-income countries and government trade missions stimulate Dutch firms to enter export markets in these countries. These...

Even though the Netherlands was the world’s sixth largest exporter in 2009, the majority of Dutch firms does not engage in international trade at all, possibly because they are unable to cover the costs to enter specific foreign markets. What are these costs that limited the...

This paper analyses the export market entry decisions of Dutch firms and their subsequent growth or market exit. When entering new markets, firms have to learn market conditions and have to search for new trade relations under uncertainty. We show that firms follow a stepping stone approach for...