This paper aims at identifying the potential mismatch between the conditions required for a frm to become an exporter and the pattern of technology adoption within its industry. In particular, we obtain a new taxonomy of exporting and non-exporting frms by using a “technology line” and an “export threshold” (estimated using the Receiver Operating Characteristics – ROC methodology). The export threshold is the minimum combination of productivity and economic size that frms need to achieve in order to access international markets; the technology line is the technology which the export threshold frm would have if its combination of productivity and economic size was consistent with a higher-thanaverage technology within the industry. By this way, we are able to highlight the presence of “potential” exporters (frms that do not export even if they have the technological characteristics to do it) and “fragile” exporters (frms that do export despite their technology gap). This empirical approach allows to better qualify “empirical anomalies”, paving the way to a more precise targeting for industrial policies.