Local and informal business culture can have a strong impact on the quality of relationships that businesses have with government entities. TL Hill, Atilla Onuklu, PhD ’21, Izzet Darendeli, PhD ’15 and Omer Genc, PhD ’13 discovered that a business culture which encourages active engagement between these two groups was the key to success in a shared program to increase small business exports.

These findings emphasize the strong influence of business culture on formal, national programs and institutions. The authors encourage government and business leaders alike to go the extra mile to cultivate a culture of engagement in order to improve communication between these groups and draw out success.