We posit that export performance of firms in emerging economies depends both on their firm-specific resource endowments and on the institutional environments within which they operate. Specifically, we argue that firms will be likely to export when political instability is high, they face more informal competitors, and are able to grease the regulatory system via bribes. Furthermore, firm export intensity will depend on access to critical resources such as skilled workforce, managerial talent and product quality. We test these conjectures using a dataset of 5,600 firms in the four largest emerging market economies (Brazil, Russia, China and India). Our results confirm that the institutional environments affect export propensity through political instability and bribery, whilst the export intensity of firms depends on the availability of skilled workers and adherence to international quality standards. These findings provide new insights into the export performance of emerging market firms (EMFs)
