Export entrepreneurial-oriented behaviour and export performance

Predicting export performance remains an important issue at the heart of export research and management. This is because of the primary role of exporting to ensuring the profitability, growth and survival of firms. Given these and other benefits that firms stand to gain (and the challenges that firms face) for their active engagement in exporting, scholars have exerted efforts into explaining the causes of export success. Export marketing strategy, firm characteristics, capabilities and firms’ orientations towards export markets are some the variables studied. Firms’ entrepreneurial orientation towards export markets has been one important variable that has captured the attention of researchers. This study is an attempt to introduce an export context-specific entrepreneurial-oriented behaviour (or export EOB) to the study of antecedents of export performance. A theoretical model involving the relationship between export EOB (and its dimensions) and export performance is, therefore, developed and empirically tested using data from 212 exporting organisations. Findings suggest that firms’ overall level of export EOB is a major driver of export success. The study further establishes that a high level of market-oriented behaviour in exporting organisations can help firms to derive stronger benefits from their entrepreneurial activities. At the specific level of the export EOB components, results suggest that development of novel product innovations, high export risk-taking, and strong proactive and competitively aggressive behaviours can help exporting organisations to improve their performance. However, product innovation intensity and autonomy are negatively related to export performance, suggesting that high levels of these two behaviours might lead to poor export performance. Nevertheless, further analysis shows that the negative association between product innovation intensity and export performance becomes positive when moderated by product innovation novelty. In addition, the study shows that autonomy has indirect positive association with export performance through interaction with proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness. In other words, autonomy facilitates the effectiveness of proactive and competitive aggressive behaviours. Further analyses of moderating effect relationships reveal mixed results. Specifically, the study finds that export market orientation positively moderates the link between production innovation intensity and export performance. In addition, export customer dynamism positively moderates the association of product innovation novelty and risk-taking with export performance. On the contrary, export customer dynamism negatively moderates the link between product innovation intensity and export performance. Theoretical, export managerial and policy implications of these findings are discussed and useful areas for future research are proposed

The form of relationship between firm-level product innovativeness and new product performance in developed and emerging markets

This study investigates whether the relationship between firm-level product innovativeness and new product performance is curvilinear, and whether the nature of this relationship is dependent on organizational and environmental factors in both developed and emerging market contexts. Using primary data from 319 UK and 221 Ghanaian companies, this study shows that in both developed and emerging markets the basic form of the relationship between firm-level product innovativeness and business success is inverted U-shape, but that the strength and/or form of this relationship changes under differing levels of market orientation, access to financial resources, and environmental dynamism. Some commonalities are identified across the two countries: market orientation helps firms leverage their product innovativeness. However, differences are also observed across the samples: in Ghana, access to financial resources enhances the relationship between product innovativeness and new product performance, unlike in the UK, where access to financial resources has no significant impact on this relationship. Furthermore, while UK firms are able to leverage product innovativeness to their advantage in more dynamic environments, Ghanaian firms are not able to benefit in this way, and find that high levels of innovation activity are less useful when markets are more dynamic

Export strategic orientation–performance relationship: Examination of its enabling and disenabling boundary conditions

This study finds that the form of relationship between export strategies – entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and export market orientation (MO) – and export sales performance is curvilinear and dependent on levels of intra-firm resource coordination capabilities. Findings from primary data drawn from new international ventures reveal that increased changes in combined EO and MO strategies lead to decreases in export sales performance. Results further indicate that when levels of resource coordination flexibility and MO are higher the effect of EO on performance is strengthened. However, when levels of MO increase in magnitude along with higher levels of resource coordination flexibility, the levels of sales performance decrease. A natural conclusion to draw is that new international ventures that develop their MO resources and align these with their intra-firm resource coordination competencies will fully realize the export sales benefits of their EO activities

Entrepreneurial and market-oriented activities, financial capital, environment turbulence, and export performance in an emerging economy

This study examines the impact of the simultaneous implementation of entrepreneurial and market-oriented export activities on export success and whether this relationship depends on levels of financial capital and market environment turbulence. The findings from a study of 164 Ghanaian exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) indicate that high levels of both entrepreneurial and market orientation generate better export performance. The relationship is stronger when firms have greater financial capital and operate in more turbulent export market environments. These results extend existing knowledge of how SMEs can improve export performance by seeking fit between firm-specific capabilities and external environment conditions

Global orientation and export competitive advantage: A study of Malaysian firms [Abstract]

Global orientation and export competitive advantage: A study of Malaysian firms [Abstract

Does export product adaptation enable customer value creation? An examination of Finnish exporters

Does export product adaptation enable customer value creation? An examination of Finnish exporter

The empirical link between export entry mode diversity and export performance: a contingency- and institutional-based examination

This study examines, for the first time, the critical issue of whether firms ought to adopt various entry modes in their export activities, i.e. whether firms ought to carry-out greater levels of export entry mode diversity, as a route to increase export performance. Underpinned by contingency and institutional theories this research also examines the role of institutional barriers, investment uncertainty, and geographical scope as moderators of the export entry mode diversity-export performance link. Findings suggest that greater export entry mode diversity is beneficial for export performance. Furthermore, higher export entry mode diversity levels are particularly recommended for firms that operate in export environments with higher institutional barriers, and for firms that have greater levels of export geographical scope. Results concerning the moderating role of investment uncertainty on the export entry mode diversity-export performance link are modest, and vary in signal across different levels of export entry mode diversity

A multi-faceted examination of the export product adaptation—customer value creation relationship [Abstract]

A multi-faceted examination of the export product adaptation—customer value creation relationship [Abstract

International network formation, home market institutional support and post-entry performance of international new ventures

Effectuation and causation decision-making logics are noted to be major alternative approaches to international network formation. However, knowledge is lacking on how and the conditions under which the two approaches contribute to post-entry performance of international new ventures (INVs). We integrate the theory of effectuation and institutional development logic to explain how effectuation and causation approaches to international network formation individually and jointly contribute to post-entry performance under varying conditions of home market institutional support. We test our proposed framework on primary data from 228 INVs in a sub-Saharan African economy. Results suggest that greater uses of both effectuation and causation approaches to international network formation are associated with stronger post-entry performance. More interestingly, results show that the joint effect of the two international network formation approaches on post-entry performance is amplified under conditions of low home market institutional support. Our findings provide theoretical and managerial insights on the importance of complementing effectual and causal reasoning in international network formation in weak home market institutional environments

Corporate sustainability strategies in institutional adversity: Antecedent, outcome, and contingency effects

This study examines (i) how top-level managerial institutional ties drive corporate sustainability strategies of emerging market firms operating under conditions of institutional adversity; (ii) the impact of corporate sustainability strategies on market performance; and (iii) the moderating role of financial resource slack on the relationships between corporate sustainability strategies and market performance. The study builds from institutional development logic and the structure–conduct–performance paradigm. Primary data are collected from 300 firms operating in a major sub-Saharan African market. Findings show that top-level managerial institutional linkages with regulatory national governmental officials, local community leaders, and top managers at other firms drive corporate proactive and responsive sustainability strategies, which in turn influence market performance. In addition, the findings reveal that financial resource slack strengthens the path between corporate proactive sustainability strategies and market performance, but not the path between corporate responsive sustainability strategies and market performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed