Export planning orientation and its antecedents: Evidence from exporting IT products

There is strong support in the export literature for a positive relationship between export planning and export performance. However, little is known about the drivers of export planning. In addressing this knowledge gap, this article proposes that export planning is usefully analyzed in terms of a managerial orientation. Regarding the antecedents of export planning orientation, the focus here is on the role of factors internal to the firm, especially its exporting mindset (export necessity and export commitment). This article also examines to what extent export confidence (psychic distance and marketing advantage) moderates the relationship. The empirical results show that export commitment has a strong and positive effect on a firm's export planning orientation. This relationship is moderated by psychic distance and marketing advantage. Specifically, the results show that the greater the psychic distance and the weaker the marketing advantage, the stronger the relationship between export commitment and a firm's export planning orientation. The results also show that management's perceived export necessity has a negative effect on a firm's export planning orientation and that this relationship remains unaffected by psychic distance and marketing advantage.     

The efficacy of marketing skills and market responsiveness in marketing performance of emerging market exporting firms in advanced markets: The moderating role of competitive intensity

Emerging market exporting firms in advanced economies must manage a highly dynamic landscape owing to factors such as changing market needs and fierce competition. Hence, these firms need to develop unique marketing skills for superior performance. Accordingly, this study draws on the resource-based and dynamic capability theory to empirically examine the role of marketing skills in developing a dynamic capability—market responsiveness—for improved marketing performance, and the changes in this relationship under highly competitive intensity. Using a sample (n = 98) of firms originating from an emerging market (Pakistan) mainly exporting to advanced markets (the United Kingdom, the United States or both), the findings show that marketing skills, positively mediated by market responsiveness, influence the marketing performance of such firms in advanced markets. The indirect relationship is positively moderated by a higher level of competitive intensity. This study extends the dynamic capability and export marketing streams of literature, particularly for emerging market exporting firms in advanced markets, and provides useful performance implications to export marketing managers.     

What makes a successful exporter? An introduction

The papers in this issue continue with the tradition of adding puzzles pieces to the overall picture of the impact and importance of firm international activities. In "What makes a successful exporter?", we have collected twelve papers, the majority of which were presented at the 13th annual ISGEP workshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 20–21 September 2018. The common thread linking these papers is that they explore both what it means to be an exporter and the ramifications of exporting on firms and the economy as a whole. On the one hand, this special issue addresses the role of foreign sourcing, export experience in the board of directors and credit supply shocks on the propensity to export, as well as the factors that affect firms' overall readiness to export. On the other hand, it investigates various measures of performance in the export markets, such as export duration, markups, quality upgrading and product mix.     

Export Propensities and Intensities of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises in South Africa

The basic premise of this study is that enterprise linkages, export marketing, and sunk costs significantly affect the propensities to export and intensities of exporting of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in South Africa. The hypothesis tested was that small and medium manufacturing enterprises break through into foreign markets with relative ease when involved in linkages because they facilitate information flows, thereby easing the international marketing burden on the shoulders of individual enterprise units. A theoretical perspective adopted by this study was that small- and medium-sized enterprises involved in enterprise linkages that have intermediaries are in a better position to enter and exit international markets. Empirical testing using survey data confirms this. This study, therefore, recommends that export promotion initiatives should take these factors into account. There are many possibilities discussed in this study. The important point is that there is now clarity about the main hindrances to probabilities of exporting and export intensities of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in South Africa. By implication, export market intelligence should be prioritized.     

Cooperation as a Mediator between ICT and Export Success

The use of new information and communication technologies has been reshaping the export paradigm for more than a decade and exponentially increasing the possibilities of the exporting companies in international markets. The Internet improves establishing contact with partners in other countries for trade, optimizes daily communication with them, and makes companies more efficient in finding information on the markets they are reaching. According to these implications, to what extent do new technologies have a positive impact on the success of companies abroad? Does the use of these technologies facilitate cooperation between exporters and trading partners in the export destination country? The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of Internet technology upon export success when companies use this technology to find relevant information on foreign markets, improve communication in the business process, and enhance contacts with customers and distributors in distant countries. This study reveals that cooperative relationships between export companies and their foreign customers/distributors have a mediating effect between ICT and export success. Moreover, a surprisingly low significance of using ICT to support sales activities and develop lasting business relationships on export success has been found.     

A review and evaluation of market orientation research in an emerging African economy

ABSTRACT

The paper synthesizes the level of strategic market orientation of firms operating in the emerging economy of Ghana over the last two decades. It dwells on market orientation studies in general, and the banking industry and exporting firms in particular. Market orientation has a positive relationship with performance for both foreign and domestic firms across the many studies. Foreign firms in general appear more market oriented due to experience effect and relationship with parent organizations. As competition heats up in the banking industry, organizations need to be more innovative to sustain their performance or to survive. For exporting firms, there is the need for decreased formalization and increased decentralization so as to enhance the levels of market orientation. The paper develops propositions to guide organizations in applying marketing principles in the running of their business activities. Further, the paper provides an update on the literature with suggestions for future research in the theory and practice of strategic market orientation in the context of the study.     

Strategic pricing in export markets: empirical evidence from the UK

This study was initiated by the apparent conceptual and empirical neglect of the industrial export pricing area. Capitalising upon calls for a strategic pricing orientation in contemporary firms the study seeks to empirically explore the export pricing practices of industrial exporters in the UK and assess their influence upon their strategic export pricing. The aggregated experience of 178 firms suggests that proactive exporting stimuli, market orientation, formality of the pricing decision process and a balanced attention to customer needs and the profit potential of the exporting activity are practices identifiable in firms with a high strategic pricing orientation. This new empirical evidence is discussed in terms of its contribution for export managers, public policy makers and researchers wishing to advance further our knowledge of this critical area of marketing activity.     

Factors That Distinguish Proactive Versus Reactive Exporters: Decisions by Export Firms in a Developing Country

This study explored factors that distinguish proactive versus reactive export marketing strategies of Zimbabwean export companies. It identified key variables that contributed most to the discrimination between proactive firms with high levels of adaptation of export marketing strategy against reactive exporters with low levels of adaptation of export marketing strategy. Data were collected through a structured multi-item questionnaire involving a randomly selected sample of 105 exporting organizations. The overseas experience of management and strategic orientation of the company, cultural values, and legislation were found as key variables that discriminated between reactive exporting firms using low adaptation of export marketing strategy from those proactive exporters with high adaptations.     

Factors enhancing the choice of higher resource commitment entry modes in international new ventures

The choice of entry mode in foreign markets is an important strategic decision with major consequences for the success of international new ventures (INVs). It is generally accepted that these firms choose relatively low-resource commitment entry modes to operate in foreign markets. Nevertheless, some researchers have suggested that higher resource commitment entry modes in foreign markets also seem to be competitive strategies for INVs. In this study, from a marketing/international entrepreneurship interface perspective and focusing on organizational issues, we center our attention on international market orientation as a neglected yet important factor in INVs’ choice of higher resource commitment entry modes in foreign markets. We suggest that an entrepreneurial orientation and the timing of international entry are important correlates to an international market orientation. We also suggest that the international learning effort of INVs through their international market orientation has a direct, positive impact on the resources these companies commit to their foreign markets through the use of higher resource commitment entry modes. Accordingly, the model proposes a positive effect of entrepreneurial orientation and early international entry on international market orientation which, in turn, is positively related to higher resource commitment entry modes. The hypotheses were tested on country-level data from Spain, using a structural equation model to analyze relationships between the latent variables.This study extends previous international entrepreneurship research, including insights on antecedents of international new ventures’ choice of resource commitment entry modes in foreign markets. The paper also goes further than previous international entrepreneurship research, by addressing the strategic consequences of rapid entry into foreign markets. Additionally, the results of this work encourage international entrepreneurs to look beyond the explicit value of experiential market knowledge to realize the potential value of international market orientation as an antecedent to higher resource commitment entry modes.     

Time consistent export quotas in an oligopolistic world market

We investigate the strategic behavior between exporting countries that face endogenous terms of trade on the world market. In a non-cooperative setting, if production decisions occur before consumption decisions, the ex-ante optimal export quota is not time consistent as the ex-post elasticity of the residual foreign import demand curve is lower than the ex-ante elasticity. However, we show that the exporters’ inability to irrevocably commit to their quota may be welfare superior to the precommitment solution. If exporters can sell forward a proportion of their exports before production decisions are made, they will do so even though, in equilibrium, it may decrease welfare compared to a situation in which forward markets do not exist. Moreover, the equilibrium with forward markets is welfare inferior to the commitment equilibrium for exporters.     

Country-of-Destination and Export Marketing Strategy:

As changes in the economic and political environment in many developing countries bring opportunities for multinational corporations, many U.S. and other MNCs find that they have little experience with marketing and exporting to such countries, having focused mainly on developed-country markets. In addition, there has been little research which has investigated issues relating to marketing in LDCs. This study explored these issues and found that different marketing strategies are used by U.S. companies which export to developing countries as opposed to those which market to developed countries, thereby highlighting the importance of taking the country-of-destination into account when planning export marketing strategies. In addition, a separate analysis of firms which export mainly to developing-countries revealed that direct distribution, the number of countries exported to, product standardization, and a focus on price are negatively associated with market share. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Export market re-entry: Time-out period and price/quality dynamisms

The relevance of nonlinear internationalisation regarding exporting activities and the performance post re-entry remains little understood. This study develops a two-stage model to explain the process of exporting firms’ exit and re-entry decisions regarding individual export markets. Specifically, it investigates the dynamic relationships between exit and re-entry stages by focusing on the time-out period. This study empirically tests the decision model by employing export data from the Chinese Customs for the period 2000-2009. The results indicate the importance of the exit stage in shaping re-entry decisions, price/quality ratio and export performance, where time-out period plays a significant role in varying these effects.     

Guidelines for export market research

The realities of today's business environment require that foreign markets be sought systematically and continuously. But most reference literature on the subject ignores the approaches that companies have developed to assess their export market opportunities. This article offers practical guidelines based on in-depth interviews with executives of 70 Midwestern exporting companies.     

Geographic export diversification: Determinants and their link with export performance

This study examines company‐specific factors that may help explain the choice of an export‐market strategy and explores how the selected export strategy contributes to explaining company's export performance (XP). Concentrating on a specific area within a broad spectrum of export behavior analysis has enabled us to examine these factors in greater depth. The results of our research, which was carried out using a sample comprising Spanish exporting companies, show a firm's size, a firm's age, and a firm's greater foreign ownership in its share capital are all determining factors for adopting a strategy geared to export‐market diversification. A greater level of investment in R&D and greater international commitment are also important in this regard. We suggest reinforcing these two factors because there is evidence of a better XP among firms that have a wider range of foreign markets.     

Signalling and underutilization of import quota

This study introduces an information asymmetry regarding the foreign exporter's cost in a strategic trade model. We show that it is possible to use import quotas or voluntary export restraints as a signal of the strength of the foreign exporter who enters into a previously protected domestic market. Our model provides a possible explanation for the underutilization of import quotas that is consistent with rational behaviour on the part of importing and exporting countries. Under the assumption that the exporter's marginal cost of securing the import quota is sufficiently low the underutilization of an import quota is an equilibrium result.     

我国农产品出口市场结构及依赖性研究

在农产品出口市场比较集中的情况下,为了有效地降低出口市场风险,需要考察农产品出口与主要进口市场之间的依赖关系,以明确国际市场上的可靠需求者。通过考察中国对某国农产品出口额及中国农产品出口总额、该国从中国进口农产品数量及该国农产品总进口数量及其两国总体贸易的平衡状况,计算出中国对各出口市场的依赖系数,作为我国农产品国际贸易依赖程度分析的参考。     

Competitive Marketing Strategies: A Survey of Japanese Manufacturing Firms' Competitive Performance in the British Market

The role of Japanese corporations in world markets has become so crucial that an understanding of the rules of competition employed by the Japanese is essential for all those involved in international business. The aim of this survey was to gain an insight into the role marketing plays in affecting the competitive position of Japanese firms in the British market. In particular the researcher focused on the overall approach of Japanese companies to the marketplace and the process by which they identify and bring products to the market.

The broad findings emerging from this study present few surprises, Japanese companies do not seem to suffer from a “sales orientation”, a “production orientation” or “finance orientation” as opposed to a “marketing orientation”. The in‐roads being made into the British market are based by and large on a strategy aimed at satisfying customer needs and wants. Japanese companies saw their strengths in placing emphasis on research and engineering and bringing the right product to the market quickly and decisively.     

外国直接投资与我国出口结构和出口竞争力的关系研究——基于SPSS回归模型的实证分析与检验

众多的数据和研究表明外国直接投资(FDI)对我国的外贸出口有着明显的促进作用,但现有文献大多只限于研究外国直接投资与出口数量的关系,而较少有关于外国直接投资与出口结构关系的研究。本文采用定量和定性分析的方法,研究外国直接投资与出口商品结构、出口方式结构的关系及对我国产品出口竞争力的影响,结果表明外国直接投资提升和优化了我国的出口结构和出口方式,削弱了国内多数行业和产品的出口竞争力。     

EXW贸易术语与专业市场出口贸易风险规避

近几年来,我国一些专业市场国际化发展迅速,外贸出口不断增加,外贸经营风险也时常发生。本文认为专业市场外贸出口交易具有EXW贸易术语的特征,客观认识EXW合同的性质,规范专业市场出口合同,采取特定化的措施是规避专业市场外贸出口风险的关键。     

Do export status and export intensity increase firm performance?

This study examines the effects of export status and export intensity on the performance of firms in Ghana. Our measures of performance include productivity and profitability. Using the Regional Project on Enterprise Development (RPED) dataset covering the period 1991–2002, the results of this study indicate that export status and export intensity have positive effects on productivity, confirming the learning‐by‐exporting hypothesis. Competition on the international market exposes exporting firms to new technologies, and this has the potential of increasing their productivity. Thus, economic policy initiatives should be directed at encouraging firms to enter the export market. Existing exporters should also be motivated to intensify their exporting efforts by exporting more of their output to foreign markets. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.