Nieto Sánchez, María JesúsRodríguez Márquez, AliciaHernández Paz, Virginia2023-09-292023-09-292022-06-01Nieto, M. J., Rodríguez, A., & Hernández, V. (2022). International sourcing and the productivity of SMEs in transition countries: formal and informal ‘region effects’ and the Communist footprint. Journal of Business Research, 145, 347-359.0148-2963https://hdl.handle.net/10016/38490We study how SMEs in transition countries can boost productivity by sourcing inputs from regions with which they share formal institutional links (the European Union) or informal links (the former communist bloc). Additionally, we discuss how the length of the communist footprint may modify these productivity gains. Using a sample of SMEs located in Eastern Europe, we find a positive relation between firm productivity and inputs from regions with formal and informal institutional links. We also find that this positive relation is weaker for firms with longer communist footprints that source inputs from EU countries.13eng© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 EspañaProductivitySmesInternational sourcingTransition countriesRegion effectInstitutional linksCommunist footprintresearch articleEconomíaEmpresaIngeniería Mecánicahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.069open access347359Journal of Business Research145AR/0000030922