Department of Management. College of Business and Economics. University of Canterbury.
Abstract
The conceptualization and operationalization challenges which Tookey (1964) highlighted, in a
pioneering study on export performance, persist to this day. We attempt to improve the
prediction and measurement of export performance by revisiting the role of firm demographics.
Premising our propositions on internationalization theories, we test the explanatory power of size
and experience against two indicants of performance. Our results suggest that export intensity
and exports per capita constitute different objective scales of measurement. This study also
illustrates that firm factors and measures of export performance take new connotations when
modeled separately for conventional enterprises and international new ventures. The study adds
to an emerging stream of literature linking export performance to the path(s) of
internationalization
