The internationalization of Costa Rican MSMEs from the perspective of Global Value Chains

Abstract

With the development of economic globalization, an increasing number of MSMEs are participating
in the global value chain and Costa Rica, a country located in Central America, is joining this process.
This article aims to analyze the level of internationalization of Costa Rican MSMEs in recent years,
especially during the period 2000-2012, through the following four indicators: the number of exports,
the value of exports, the destinations and the types of exported products. The article concludes that the
level of internationalization of MSMEs in this country has increased steadily. Favorable reasons such as
government support, adequate identification of the companies' position, choosing the appropriate
internationalization models and taking advantage of the advantages of industrial conglomerates have contributed
to Costa Rica's MSMEs advancing from the bottom to middle of the global value chain towards the upper part,
thus achieving its internationalization.