The empirical link between export dispersion and export performance: A contingency-based approach

Practitioners and scholars point out that firms are increasingly dispersing their capabilities across organizational functions. However, it is not clear whether all forms of dispersion, of any function, result in the same consequences. This study initiates investigation into the link between the cross-functional dispersion of influence on export marketing decisions (export dispersion) and export performance. Drawing on data from a sample of 225 UK exporters, the findings support the argument that active participation of non-export functions in export-marketing decisions affects export success. However, those performance consequences are dependent on internal and external contingencies. Export dispersion is beneficial for export performance when the export customer environment is more turbulent and, simultaneously, the export technological environment is more stable and the firm has lower levels of export information sharing. In all other scenarios examined in this study, greater levels of concentration of export decision-making (i.e. lower levels of export dispersion) appear to be more beneficial for export performance. Our findings imply that the management of the firm’s level of export dispersion is a complex task, whereby the degree of export dispersion pursued needs to match external environmental and internal firm factors.     

Determinants of export performance

Comparative advantage, government incentives and entrepreneurial dynamics as determinants of a country’s export performance are discussed in this article. The author’s particular attention is focussed on the present situation and future perspectives of the less developed countries.     

Domestic institutions and export performance: Evidence for Cambodia

The paper analyzes the relevance of domestic institutions for export performance of Cambodia. Regulatory quality, control of corruption, rule of law, government effectiveness, and political stability are introduced in an augmented gravity model with a panel data set over 1996–2015. The research is the first application to Cambodia, until 2015 a least developed country which is generally believed to have poorly developed institutions. Due to high multicollinearity among the variables, the institutional variables are introduced in the model one by one. Estimation is by the Hausman–Taylor method, which reduces or removes the correlation between the composite error terms and the included variables. All institutional variables show a highly significant positive relationship with Cambodia's exports, with rule of law having the largest impact. It is concluded that the government should give high priority to the further improvements of the legal environment and to strong enforcement of property rights and contracts.     

The export performance of emerging economy firms: The influence of firm capabilities and institutional environments

We advance a two-stage theoretical model which contends that the export performance of emerging economy firms (EEFs) will depend both upon their firm-specific capabilities and their home institutional environments. Specifically, we argue that EEFs will be more likely to export when facing more uncertainty at home from greater political instability, substantial informal competition, and high corruption. Furthermore, we hypothesize that firms’ export intensities will be contingent upon specialized internal capabilities such as a skilled workforce, top managerial experience, and access to external technologies. We test these hypotheses using a dataset of more than 16,000 firms from the four BRIC economies (i.e., Brazil, Russia, China and India). Our results confirm that political instability and informal competition have robust effects on the export propensity of EEFs, whilst export intensity is contingent upon the availability of skilled workers and access to external technologies via licensing.     

Environmental regulations and the export performance of South Korean manufacturing industries: A dynamic panel approach

This paper investigates the relationships among environmental regulation, export performance, and factor intensity, using panel data from South Korea's manufacturing sector (1991–2009). A panel vector autoregression (VAR) model in first differences tests the relationships among the variables, while considering the results of heterogeneous panel unit root and cointegration tests. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimations help determine dynamic series relationships, and panel-causality tests are run based on the results of GMM estimations. There is evidence of a positive short-run linear causal relation running from environmental regulation to export performance, suggesting that environmental-protection expenditure may constitute a comparative advantage. The short-run linear causal relation from export performance to investment in activities related to environmental protection is insignificant.     

The supply-side of environmental sustainability and export performance: The role of knowledge integration and international buyer involvement

Most of previous studies seek to understand buyer perspectives in green supply chain relationships and devote inadequate attention to the strategic role of upstream suppliers. Drawing on a market-oriented approach to sustainability, this paper examines the enabling factors and processes that underpin how export suppliers from emerging economies leverage their strategic intent to develop knowledge integration capacity for achieving improved export performance. The results from a sample of Chinese exporters show that the relational capacity of knowledge integration mediates the performance impact of market-oriented environmental sustainability, and such a mediating process of leaning is further enhanced by international buyer involvement. We reveal that relationship efforts should be directed at developing integrative capacity involving key partners for implementing proactive environmental strategy in international business-to-business (B2B) markets. This study contributes to the research of supply chain sustainability in a global context.     

International market selection and subsidiary performance: A neural network approach

How should multinational enterprises (MNEs) select international markets? We develop a model of international market selection that adds firm-specific advantages and transaction cost considerations to previously explored target market factors based on Dunning's Eclectic Framework. Results obtained using neural network (NN) analysis indicates that our model has strong predictive power in explaining international market selection. Further tests show that firms selecting international markets predicted by the model reported significantly higher subsidiary performance relative to firms whose investments were not predicted by the model. Our results provide strong initial evidence that a firm-level strategic approach to international market selection facilitates MNE success.     

聚天冬氨酸的阻垢性能的综述

本文从聚天冬氨酸(PASP)的阻垢机理入手,介绍了影响聚天冬氨酸阻垢性能的因素,并对PASP的发展提出了相关建议.     

Organizational innovation,technological innovation,and export performance: The effects of innovation radicalness and extensiveness

This study focuses on the relevance of different types of innovation for firms’ export performance. Despite ample research on the innovation–performance relationship, previous studies have mainly focused on technological innovations, leaving the effects of organizational innovations relatively unexplored. Hypotheses on the relationship between organizational and technological innovations and firm export performance are tested by structural equation modelling using data from 218 Swedish export ventures. The results indicate that organizational innovation enhances export performance both directly and indirectly by sustaining technological innovation. Moreover, by fine-graining our analysis of the mediating role of technological innovation, according to its radicalness and extensiveness, for organizational innovation, we show how the latter enhances both the radicalness and extensiveness of technological innovation although, notably, only extensiveness is actually beneficial for export performance. This study helps alleviate the scarcity of research examining the links among different types of innovation in relation to export performance and contributes to international business and marketing literature by generating new evidence regarding the mechanisms through which organizational and technological innovations may improve export performance.     

The interconnections between bribery,political network,government supports,and their consequences on export performance of small and medium enterprises in Thailand

In emerging economies, the government is the main sector that plays a significant role in providing various kinds of support to help local entrepreneurial firms build their capabilities to effectively compete in export markets. However, due to a weak institution in these countries, a question begs to be answered whether government support is efficiently allocated to these firms. The aim of this research is to explore the interconnection between bribery, political network, and access to government support, as well as their effects on the export performance of small and medium enterprises in Thailand. Survey data collected from a sample of 170 firms that joined the trade exhibition in Bangkok were analyzed to provide evidence. Results from partial least squares regression showed that although government support was strongly associated with a firm’s export performance, the extent to which government support was received was found to be strongly associated with the political network that entrepreneurs have developed as well as the extent of bribery that they have engaged in.     

Exchange rate effects: A case study of the export performance of the Swiss agriculture and food sector

The Swiss franc appreciated strongly against the currencies of Switzerland's most important trading partners after the global financial crisis in 2008. This has raised the question of how sensitive Swiss exports are with respect to exchange rate movements. We analyse this question for exports of the Swiss agriculture and food sector, using both time series and dynamic panel data models based on data from 1999 to 2012. We find that in the long run a one per cent appreciation of the Swiss franc leads on average to a decrease in exports of agricultural and food products between 0.8 and 0.9 per cent. Our results suggest that on average, producers in the Swiss agriculture and food sector are able to successfully avoid price competition by differentiating their products, producing high‐quality products for niche markets.     

Implications of perceived competitive advantages,adaptation of marketing tactics and export commitment on export performance

The aim of this exploratory paper is to fill an important gap in the international marketing literature by examining the influence of firm behavior in foreign markets (export commitment and adaptation of marketing tactics) on perceived competitive advantages and export performance. Using a sample of 150 Spanish export firms, the study found that firms that are more committed to their foreign markets are more willing to adapt elements of the marketing program. These firms also perform better in foreign markets. Moreover, the results also point out that adapting marketing tactics does not have direct effects on export performance, although it does have on the achievement of perceived competitive advantages in foreign markets, which positively influence export performance.     

MIRR: A better measure

Over the past 60 years Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) have emerged from obscurity to become the overwhelming choices for the quantitative measurement of investment attractiveness in modern corporations. Despite their current popularity, neither NPV nor IRR was designed to deal effectively with the vast majority of investment problems, meaning those where periodic free cash flows are generated between the time of asset purchase and the time of sale. NPV assumes that periodic cash flows can and will be reinvested at the NPV discount rate, either at the cost of capital or another risk adjusted discount rate; IRR assumes reinvestment at the IRR. Neither assumption is usually realistic. In addition, when evaluating projects in terms of their financial attractiveness, the two measures may rank projects differently. This becomes important when capital budgets are limited. Finally, a project may have several IRRs if cash flows go from negative to positive more than once. The Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR), discovered in the 18th century, does account for these cash flows. This article explains the problems with NPV and IRR, describes how MIRR works, and demonstrates how MIRR deals with weaknesses in NPV and IRR.     

Exporting problems: The relevance of export development

Following a review of the export marketing literature, and in light of certain important gaps observed in this area, the focus of this study is an investigation of problems facing the ongoing exporting activities of indigenous manufadurers in a small European country An attempt is made specifically to examine the existence of potentially significant differences in perceptions of exporting problems between two distina exporter categories in terms of export development The findings suggest that the most important export problems experienced by those firms were associated with the intensity of competition in export markets and the lack of effective national export policies The study also reveals several significant differences in perceived export problems between the two exporter classes Avenues for future research are discussed along with the limitations of the study, and managerial and public policy implications of the findings highlighted     

Unpacking the impact of innovation ambidexterity on export performance: Microfoundations and infrastructure investment

When designing and managing routines for their innovation activities firms often face a challenge. Either they can concentrate their efforts on one approach i.e. exploring new ideas or exploiting its existing capabilities, or they can try to do both, i.e. becoming ambidextrous. In this paper, we aim to explore first the effect of exploration, exploitation and ambidexterity on export performance and second the moderating role of investment in infrastructure. Using firm-level data from the UK’s innovation survey (CIS) we find that both exploration and exploitation improve export performance. We also find that investment in infrastructure weakens this relationship. Counterintuitively, we find that ambidexterity has a negative effect on export performance, and that it is negatively moderated by investment in infrastructure. We use microfoundations arguments (the routines firms employ and the actions taken by individuals and groups within them to shape their exporting capabilities) to explain how efforts to achieve ambidexterity can improve export performance.     

Consumer dissatisfaction as a measure of market performance

This paper summarizes two earlier papers on (a) a taxonomy of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction measures and (b) results of a U.S. study of consumer problems across a broad range of product and service categories. The paper then assesses the extent to which unsolicited complaints data voiced to business are representative of all types of complaints an all consumers. The paper concludes that they are representative of neither but in the case of consumers, in contrast to previous studies no consistent relationships between socio-economic characteristics and complaint behavior appear when product category and problem type are included in the analysis.

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Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Beitrag orientiert zunächst über zwei frühere Arbeiten über (a) eine Taxonomie der Indikatoren für Verbraucherzufriedenheit/-unzufriedenheit und (b) die Ergebnisse einer amerikanischen Studie von Verbraucherproblemen bei einer großen Zahl von Produkten und Dienstleistungen. Anschließend untersucht der Beitrag, in welchem Ausmaß solche spontanen Verbraucherklagen, die der anbietenden Wirtschaft bekannt werden, die gesamte Spannbreite aller Verbraucherklagen widerspiegeln und repräsentativ sind für alle Konsumenten. Der Beitrag kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß beides nicht der Fall ist. Im Fall der Verbraucher zeigten sich jedoch — anders als in bisherigen Studien — keine durchgängigen Zusammenhänge zwischen sozioökonomischen Merkmalen und dem Beschwerdeverhalten, wenn die Produktgruppe und die Art des Problems bei der Analyse berücksichtigt wurden.

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Alan R. Andreasen is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois, College of Commerce and Business Administration, 350 Commerce Building, Urbana, Ill. 61801, USA. The paper was first presented at Fourth International Research Seminar in Marketing, Senanque Abbey, Gordes, France, May 31 – June 3, 1977. The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of Professor Arthur Best of Western New England College who was the initiator and field director of this study and co-author of earlier papers on the study's results.