Mutual guarantee institutions and firm’s internationalization: Empirical evidence from the Italian market

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationships between mutual guarantee institutions (MGIs) and the development of firms’ internationalization. As a result, a theoretical framework consists of 20 items grouped into four areas of the investigation was formulated. This model, in the form of a questionnaire, was submitted in December 2017 to the universe of Italian supervised MGIs asking them to provide answers for the period 2014-2016. The empirical pieces of evidence reveal a still wholly embryonic role of Italian supervised MGIs to support the firms’ internationalization processes. Indeed, the paper reveals an informative and training gap to which one could cope with more intense involvement of the national federations, banks, and the government structures, providing simplified mechanisms of access to the public guarantee by those who are most involved in these entrepreneurial strategies. The present research identified some important behavioral requirements, that were not emphasized in existing literature, able to disclose the most virtuous approach adoptable by MGIs in order to strengthen the firms’ internationalization processes.