Determinants of the Laser Industry Export Development: The Case of Lithuania

Abstract

The Lithuanian laser industry is considered one of the country’s most appreciated manufacturing sectors due to its high value-added output, growing potential significance, and the wide range of future applications of laser technologies. Despite considerable global potential and increasing export volumes, the laser industry faces challenges such as intensifying global competition, short product life cycles, high production costs, demand for highly skilled employees, dependence on global supply chains, standards, and regulations. The core aim of the research is to identify the main economic and non-economic determinants of laser export development in Lithuania in the context of rapid technological progress and geopolitical uncertainty. To empirically assess the impact of selected factors on the export results of the Lithuanian laser industry, correlation analysis, the Granger causality test, regression model, and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model were used. The results indicate that the export performance of the Lithuanian laser industry is positively affected by investment in patents and licenses. However, after controlling for other selected factors, interest rates, the number of military conflicts, and R&D expenditure were found to have a negative effect. Strategic support for intellectual property acquisition and mitigation of external economic risks are key insights for policymakers and stakeholders.