Influence of Intra-Organizational Factors on Export Performance of Exporting Companies

transcript

Online Access: www.absronline.org/journals

*Corresponding author: Farshad Aram, M.A. of Business Management, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Iran. E-Mail: farshad.aram97@yahoo.com

Management and Administrative Sciences Review

Volume 4, Issue 3

Pages: 578-592

May 2015

e-ISSN: 2308-1368

p-ISSN: 2310-872X

Influence of Intra-Organizational Factors on Export Performance of Exporting Companies

Case Study: Exporting Companies in Boushehr Province, Iran

Manige Bahrainizadeh1, Majid Esmaeilpour2, and Farshad Aram3*

1. Associate Professor, Department of Business Management, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran. 2. Assistant professor, Department of Business Management, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran.

3. M.A. of Business Management, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Iran

Export is one of the most well-known, cost-effective and low-risk ways for entering foreign markets and both contributes to economic development and improves companies' performances because of fierce competition in foreign markets. The present research aims to investigate the influence of intra-organizational factors on export performance of exporting companies. To this end, a model was developed which contained important variables like pivotal strategy, export knowledge, Learning orientation, information technologies and entrepreneurship orientation. Data were collected from managers and employees of exporting companies in Boushehr Province by means of a 31-item questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed among respondents in the form of a census. Reliability of latent variables was located in acceptable range. Partial least squares method and Smart PLS software (version 20) were used for testing the model. Results showed that export knowledge and use of information & communication technologies influence organizational strategy and indirectly influence export performance. Furthermore, export knowledge, information & communication technologies and Learning orientation influence export performance directly.

Keywords: Export performance, export knowledge, IC technologies, learning orientation entrepreneurship orientation

INTRODUCTION

xport is the easiest, fastest and most famous way of entering international markets because it helps firms enter new markets

with the lowest possible risk (Leonidou & Spyropoulou, 2007). The role of export in improving companies' productivity and its

influence on economic development of countries is an important subject in international economy. For instance, south-eastern Asian countries have focused a lot on factors affecting export within the past decade (Sharma & Mishra, 2012). An active exporting industry converts its resources to

Manag. Adm. Sci. Rev. e-ISSN: 2308-1368, p-ISSN: 2310-872X Volume: 4, Issue: 3, Pages: 578-592

services and products both in internal and external markets and therefore plays an important role in macro-level economic development; moreover, entrance of SMEs into international markets allows them to make use of scale economy (Moore, 2003). Export has positive impacts on employment, foreign currency income, industrial development and national welfare and improves corporate performance, sales volume, market share, profitability, and competitive situation. As globalization spreads and countries merge economically, export is becoming an important strategy for companies and national economies (Moore, 2003). Companies need to identify factors which influence their exporting performance in order to be active effectively and efficiently in external markets. Literature on factors affecting export performance of companies goes back to 30 years ago and it mainly concentrated on production companies at that time (La & Patterson, 2005). In theoretical and empirical studies conducted on exporting companies, Levendius (1995) believes that export is the commonest method of entering external markets because it has low risk and requires the lowest level of resources and flexibility ( Vila López, 2007). Considering the research background, there are many classifications for factors affecting export performance. The commonest classification puts these factors into two groups: internal factors (intra-organizational) and external factors (extra-organizational). Internal factors are based upon justified resources theory and external effective factors are based upon industry structure theory. Justified resources theory considers organizational resources as determining factors for export performance and organizational strategy (Barney, 1991). Considering the fact that most countries especially China has been able to take special strategies for cost reduction and use advanced technologies for supplying products at low prices, price is no longer a competitive advantage for selling export products (Shafieyan & parhizgar, 1390). Since export stable development is one of the main national targets in economic arena and future development of Iran is dependent on export growth, this process requires an open and external economy. Non-petroleum export development must be based upon continuous growth of production and services export. Unfortunately, few studies have been conducted in Iran on factors

which affect export performance of exporting companies. Therefore, factors which affect export performance of companies must be identified. The present research aims to investigate and identify the influences of intra-organizational factors on export performance of exporting companies in Boushehr province in Iran. These factors include: pivotal strategy, export knowledge, Learning orientation and use of information & communication technologies.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE

Research Background

Helen E. Salavou et al conducted a research titled: "different strategies of exporting companies". They identified and classified strategies which are used by exporting companies. They concluded that exporting firms mainly use action and proactive strategies and both of them influence exporting performance of exporting firms ( Salavou & Halikias, 2009). Chen et al. (2011) conducted a study titled: "different types of Chinese exporters". They investigated the impacts of export commitment, competency, corporate size, international experience and learning on export performance of Chinese exporting companies. They concluded that all variables influenced export performance of companies except corporate size ( Chen, Hu, Sun, & Zhao, 2011).

Penã-Vinces conducted a research titled "investigation of the influence of ITC on export performance of exporting firms". He investigated the impact of ITC on export performance (Penã-Vinces, Cepeda-Carrioń, & Chin, 2012).

Seyyed Salman Seyyedin investigated the influences of perceptional competitive advantages, adaption of marketing tactics and export commitment on export performance. Results showed that export commitment influences export performance directly and marketing tactics emphasize on accessing perceptional competitive advantages and therefore result in improvement of export performance of exporting firms (seyedin, 2006).

TABLE 1 HERE

RESEARCH LITERATURE

In this section, we try to make the variables operational.

Business Strategy and Export Performance

Business strategy involves analysis of main business policies and abilities which can be controlled by the organization can have successful export by that ( Aaby & Slater, 1988) .Corporate export strategy shows clear and obvious decisions necessary for entering an external market and also shows a company's formal plan for doing activities which direct a company towards its goals (Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006).

Organizations' strategies for entering global markets can be classified in different manners but we try to identify the influence of two strategies: proactive strategy and active strategy on export performance of firms. Proactive strategy is a kind of preventive strategy which aims to prevent from threats which may affect the organization in future.

Action strategy tries to find a solution for threats or changes in markets (Champlin, 1991) .Salavou et al believe that the type of strategy each company uses affects its exporting performance and results in differences in exporting performance of exporting firms (Salavou & Halikias, 2009). John O. Okpara et al believe that the type of corporate strategy also influences development of export and companies which have proactive strategy deal more with development of export ( Okpara, 2008). Francis et al also found that successful exporting companies use proactive strategy. Further, some commentators stated that proactive strategies have a lot of impacts on exporting performance success of exporting firms (Francis & Collins-Dodd, 2000).

The following hypothesis is proposed considering research literature:

Hypothesis 1: pivotal strategy of exporting firms in Boushehr Province has a positive and significant influence on their exporting performance.

Export Marketing Knowledge and Export Performance

Management's perception of export refers to the level of knowledge and worry about external

environment impacts and opportunities/threats in external markets. Moreover, export knowledge refers to managers' knowledge about external markets, public rules, export procedures and export commitment ( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006). Globalization process theory also emphasizes on acquisition, integration and use of knowledge about external markets. Absence of knowledge and resources are main barriers ahead of globalization and this barrier can be removed via learning about external markets and organizational operation (Johanson & Vahlne, 1990) .Ross et al believe that identification of necessary export skills results in increasing export performance. Absence of export knowledge and market information is a great barrier against export development (Ting, Guijun, & Bojun, 2010) .In international markets, corporate size, firms' export knowledge and experience and accessible resources influence on selection of strategy and also affect export performance of exporting firms ( O’Cass & Julian, 2003) .Gripsroud believes that acquisition of knowledge in external markets means reduction in uncertainty conditions in external markets and it is also an external force for increasing export activities. Companies which have more export knowledge have more positive perceptions about external markets. Studies show that absence of resources and knowledge is a great resource on the way of globalization of entering external markets. An increase in export knowledge results in reduction of perceived barriers of export and contributes to implementation of proactive export strategies ( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006).Considering the research literature, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 2: corporate export knowledge has a positive impact on export performance of the firm.

Company's Tendency Towards Entrepreneurship And Export Performance

entrepreneurship orientation in exporting organizations has three dimensions: innovation, risk-taking and proactiveness (Covin & Slevin, 1986). These three dimensions were identified and introduced by Miller. Innovation involves product innovation, development of new markets and also technologies and new processes for doing organizational activities. In the past studies on economy and entrepreneurship, innovation was

considered as a substitute for entrepreneurship. Risk-taking refers to managers' tendency to identify and make use of opportunities in uncertain conditions. Finally, proactiveness means being active and a company's tendency to compete the competitors of the market ( Yeoh & Jeong, 1995).In general, it can be said that companies which are more innovative and proactive in the market and take more risks are more involved in entrepreneurship (Miles & Snow, 1978). Yeoh (1995) believes that organizations which are more inclined to entrepreneurship orientation have better and more effective performance in comparison with organizations which have fewer tendencies to entrepreneurship orientation ( Yeoh & Jeong, 1995).Exporting entrepreneurship-oriented companies are those which seek globalization and development of export. Young et al (2001) showed that exporting entrepreneurial companies have a lot of tendencies to using proactive strategies and innovation (Okpara, 2008) .Kazem et al (2006) found that there is a strong relationship between entrepreneurship orientation of corporate manger and export performance of the company and exporting firms use proactive strategies and are more innovative and take more risks than companies which are active in internal markets (Kazem & van der Heijden, 2006).

Hypothesis 3: entrepreneurship orientation of exporting companies has positive influence on their exporting performance.

Level of Using ITC and Exporting Performance

Level of using ITC refers to use of E-commerce and also use of information systems within organization. Use of ITC technologies usually refers to electronic business. Use of internet business requires relatively high investment and the investment is not only used in technological infrastructure but also in processes and human resources (Barnes & Hinton, 2012).

As Jersetner believes, "real businesses are electronic businesses". Therefore, electronic businesses will play important roles in digital economy and increasing competitive advantage (Barnes & Hinton, 2012).

Benefits obtained from e-business for supply chain management include rapid responding, lower costs, and improvement in internal and external

relationship, knowledge and information transfer, reduction in capital, improvement in effectiveness and productivity, standardization of procedures and doing operational works. Although electronic business has many advantages, some recent studies have shown that many SMEs are not able to us e-business (Chong, Ooi & Lin, 2009). Many studies have been conducted on the influence of use of ITC on performance and competitive power of companies in developed countries but the results of such studies cannot be generalized to developing countries due to cultural and economic differences [30]. In the present century, ITC is a key element for economic growth in any organization and country (Okoli, Mbarika, & McCo, 2010). Porter (1998) believes that companies need to cooperate with different industrial sectors in order to compete internationally because there is hardly any organization which acts alone (Chen, Hu, Sun, & Zhao, 2011) .In global arena, companies which have strategic unities are competing actually and companies which are able to acquire, paraphrase and transfer information efficiently will be successful (Pen˜a-Vinces, Cepeda-Carrio´n, & Chin, 2012) .Jarvenpaa and Leidner (1998) showed that companies which use ITC more than other companies have more competitive power and have better export performance (Jarvenpaa & Leidner, 1998).Considering the above literature, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 4: use of ITC has a positive influence on export performance of exporting companies.

Learning Orientation

Many commentators believe that organizational learning consists of four stages: information acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation, information storage (Berthon, Pitt, & Ewing, 1998). after information was acquired, it must be distributed among employees and interpreted efficiently and it must be stored somewhere accessible( Souchon, Sy-Changco, & Dewsnap, 2012). Organizational learning is a vital factor for organizational success but it is hard to obtain it effectively. Many commentators in organizational learning believe that Learning orientation has a lot of impacts on export performance and successfulness of exporting companies (Berthon, Pitt, & Ewing, 1998). Changco et al (2005) concluded that use of export

memory is a key effective factor in export performance of exporting companies (Sy-Changco, Souchon, & Evangelista, 2005) .Anne L. Souchon et al (2012) believe that Learning orientation influences export performance of exporting companies and development of export ( Souchon, Sy-Changco, & Dewsnap, 2012) .Raven et al believe that exporting companies need more organizational learning than internally-active firms because eternal markets are more complex and dynamic (Souchon, Sy-Changco, & Dewsnap, 2012). Export learning is important because obtaining competitive competency and development of export is facilitated via knowledge and information (Seringhaus & Mayer, 1988) Considering the above literature, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 5: Learning orientation has a positive influence on exporting performance of exporting firms.

Mediating Role of Pivotal Strategy

Shamsuddoha et al concluded that export knowledge and managerial commitment influence selection of strategy type and exporting organizations which have high levels of managerial commitment and export knowledge use more of proactive strategy and influence export performance ( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006) .Young et al (2001) showed that exporting entrepreneurial firms have high tendency to using innovation and proactive strategies and believe that there is a strong relationship between entrepreneurship orientation and proactiveness strategy in exporting companies. Moreover, organizations can improve their exporting performance when they establish an acceptable relationship between organizational strategy and entrepreneurship orientation (Okpara, 2008). E-business technology influences the ways firms are run (organizational strategy). Companies which use this technology will have more efficient value chains and will have their competition improved. New technologies will also increase effectiveness of serving customers (Lucia Palacios, Bordonaba-Juste and Polo-Redondo, 2012). In international markets, corporate size, export experience and knowledge of firms and accessible resources influence selection of strategy and this in part influences export performance of exporting firms

(O’Cass & Julian, 2003).Considering the above literature, the following hypotheses are developed:

Hypothesis 6: export knowledge has a positive influence on pivotal strategy.

Hypothesis 7 Learning orientation has a positive impact on pivotal strategy.

Hypothesis 8: level of using ICT has a positive impact on pivotal strategy.

Hypothesis 9: entrepreneurship orientation has a positive impact on pivotal strategy.

Export Performance

Export performance means whether a company has been able to reach its exporting goals or not ( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006) .Companies' exporting performance has been investigated in three dimensions in the previous studies: export level, export growth, and export profitability. Export level refers to a traditional index which indicates the importance of export for the company. This is while sales growth and profitability are dynamic and consider economic aspects ( Lee & Yang, 1990). Companies' exporting performances have been studied from economic aspect in the present research.

RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Considering similar models and results of previous studies, the conceptual model of this research which involves 9 hypotheses is presented in figure 1. This model assumes that entrepreneurship orientation, export knowledge, ITC, and Learning orientation influence pivotal strategy and on the other hand, entrepreneurship orientation, export knowledge, ITC, Learning orientation and pivotal strategy influence exporting performance.

FIGURE 1 HERE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The main goal of this research is to investigate factors affecting export performance of exporting firms. Therefore, it is an applied research. Furthermore, it is a survey and descriptive study because of using questionnaire and presenting an exact description of the population. Statistical

population of the research included all exporting companies of Boushehr City (about 30 active companies). Because population size was finite, the questionnaires were distributed among employees and managers of the companies and 98 complete questionnaires were returned. In order to collect information, a standard questionnaire was used for measuring exporting companies' performance. Data were collected from managing directors, commercial managers, sales managers and export managers of the firms. The questions were based upon five-point Likert scale. 3 questions were demographic and 31 questions were used for measuring variables. Smart PLS software (version 20|) was used for analysis. Three academics made corrective comments on the questions of the questionnaire in order to verify the content validity of the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were above 0.7 for all latent variables and reliability of the questionnaire was verified. Table 2 indicates Cronbach's alpha coefficients for latent variables.

TABLE 2 HERE

Table 3 indicates AVE AND Composite Reliability coefficients for latent variables. . AVE coefficients were above 0.5 for all latent variables and validity of the questionnaire was verified.

TABLE 3 HERE

DATA ANALYSIS

In order to test the conceptual model, we used PLS which is a variance-based path modeling technique and makes it possible to show theories and indices simultaneously. Variance-based structural equations modeling approach which is usually known as PLS analysis has received a lot of attention by marketing and management researchers and it is considered as a good substitute for CBSEM approach. In PLS analysis, contrary to CBSEM approach, a block of variables is used instead of working with latent variables. in order to maximize the predicted variance of all endogenous constructs of the model in this analysis, the model's parameters are estimated by means of a collection of regressions of ordinary least squares (OLS). This approach is used because it does not require distributional preconditions and measurement scale, prediction goals and

theory-making, it is concordant with combinational models, it applies to small samples, it does not have impure solutions and unspecified factors (Azar, Gholam Zadeh & Ghanavati, 2012).

Descriptive Results of the Research

As it can be seen in table 4, the number of male respondents was 64 and the number of female respondents was 34. 10 respondents had high school degree, 54 people had bachelor degree, 30 people had master degree and 4 people had PhD. Furthermore, 96% of exporters in Boushehr City were industrial products exporters and 4% were active in agriculture sector, according to statistics published by Boushehr Organization of Industry, Mining and Commerce.

TABLE 4 HERE

Research Hypotheses Tests

As it was mentioned before, Smart PLS software was used for data analysis. Its outputs are depicted in figure 1. It is necessary to indicate t value for each path in order to investigate significance of path coefficient. T values of the coefficients show that 5 paths out of 9 predicted paths have t values above 1.96 which are significant in (95%) certainty level. However, other paths were not verified. T values of each path are indicated in table 5 and figure 2.

FIGURE 2 HERE

As it can be seen in table 5, 5 hypotheses out of the 9 presented hypotheses are supported (H1, H2, H5, H6, and H8) because they had t values above 1.96. the other hypotheses were rejected.

TABLE 5 HERE

CONCLUSION

SMEs are appropriate firms for national development because they compose 94% of firms and account for more than 60% of employment. Moreover, development of SMEs is a successful model for development of economic activities all over the world. Considering the importance of non-petroleum products export and potential capabilities in agriculture sector, SMEs which are active in this sector can help develop economy by virtue of proper planning and contribute to export.

In the following sentences, we investigate the direct impact of variables on export performance in the first section (hypotheses 1 to 5) and in the second section, we investigate the indirect influence of the research variables on export performance (hypotheses 6 to 9):

First Section

Results showed that pivotal strategy, export knowledge and Learning orientation influence directly on export performance of firms. Exporting firms which seek improvements in their exporting performances can fulfill this goal via improving pivotal strategy, export knowledge and Learning orientation. This result conforms to the results of studies conducted by Nils-Erik Aaby et al (1988), Shamsuddoha et al (2006), Giusy Cannone et al (2012) and Anne L. Souchon (2012).as it was mentioned in research background section, exporting firms which want to improve their export performance via increasing their pivotal strategy had better use proactive strategies which is a kind of preventive strategy. This strategy aims to prevent from future threats. Globalization process theory also emphasizes on acquisition, integration and application of knowledge about external markets. Furthermore, it states that absence of knowledge and resources are main barriers ahead of globalization and they can be removed via learning about external markets and organizational operation. Therefore, exporting organizations can improve their exporting performance by virtue of acquisition, integration and use of knowledge about external markets. Organizational learning is made up of four stages: acquisition, distribution, interpretation and storage of information. Organizations which want to improve their exporting performance via improving Learning orientation must be able to take the four steps effectively.

Second Section

in this section we deal with the indirect influences of research variables on export performance. Results showed that export knowledge and ICT influence exporting performance of the firms indirectly. Export knowledge and ICT influence on pivotal strategy of an organization and because pivotal strategy has a direct impact on export performance, it can be concluded that export

knowledge and ICT have indirect influences on export performance. This result conforms to the results of studies condicted by Shamsuddoha et al (2006), William Mackinnon et al (2008). Many researchers believe that export knowledge acquisition results in a reduction in environmental uncertainty and this helps organizations with operationalizing pivotal strategies and improves managerial decision-making and therefore improves export performance. Further, results showed that Learning orientation and entrepreneurship orientation do not influence pivotal strategy and cannot affect export performance indirectly.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following applied recommendations are proposed based on research results:

1. Organizations which want to increase their export performances can make this possible by means of improving use of ICT, pivotal strategy and export knowledge because these variables have direct impacts on export performance improvement.

2. Exporting firms can make use of ICT and develop their export knowledge and improve their pivotal strategies. This indirectly results in an improvement in export performance improvement.

REFERENCES

Aaby, N. E., & Slater, S. F. (1989). Management influences on export performance: a review of the empirical literature 1978-1988. International marketing review, 6(4).

Champlin, G. (1991). Proactive & Reactive Strategies.

Chen, X., Hu, Z., Sun, X., & Zhao, P. (2011). Typology of the Chinese exporter: Strategist, hesitator, experimentalist and the prospector. Chinese Management Studies, 5(3), 235-255.

Lee, C. S., & Yang, Y. S. (1990). Impact of export market expansion strategy on export performance. International Marketing Review, 7(4).

O'Cass, A., & Julian, C. (2003). Examining firm and environmental influences on export marketing mix strategy and export performance of Australian exporters. European journal of marketing, 37(3/4), 366-384.

Okpara, J. O., & Koumbiadis, N. J. (2009). Strategic export orientation and internationalization barriers: evidence from SMEs in a developing economy.Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies, 1(1), 1-10.

Salavou, H. E., & Halikias, J. (2009). Strategy types of exporting firms: a view on the basis of competitive advantage. European Business Review, 21(2), 144-158.

Shamsuddoha, A. K., & Yunus Ali, M. (2006). Mediated effects of export promotion programs on firm export performance. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 18(2), 93-110.

Souchon, A. L., Sy-Changco, J. A., & Dewsnap, B. (2012). Learning orientation in export functions: impact on export growth. International Marketing Review,29(2), 175-202.

Lopez, N. V. (2007). Export barriers and strategic grouping. Journal of Global Marketing, 20(2-3), 17-29.

Yeoh, P. L., & Jeong, I. (1995). Contingency relationships between entrepreneurship, export channel structure and environment: a proposed conceptual model of export performance. European Journal of Marketing, 29(8), 95-115.

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage.Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120.

Berthon, P., Pitt, L. F., & Ewing, M. T. (2001). Corollaries of the collective: the influence of organizational culture and memory development on perceived decision-making context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(2), 135-150.

Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (1986). The development and testing of an organizational-level entrepreneurship

scale. Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, 1(1986), 626-639.

Francis, J., & Collins-Dodd, C. (2000). The impact of firms’ export orientation on the export performance of high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises.Journal of International Marketing, 8(3), 84-103.

Jarvenpaa, S. L., & Leidner, D. E. (1998). An information company in Mexico: Extending the resource-based view of the firm to a developing country context.Information Systems Research, 9(4), 342-361.

Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J. E. (1990). The mechanism of internationalisation.International marketing review, 7(4).

Kazem, A., & van der Heijden, B. I. J. M. (2006). Exporting Firms' Strategic Choices The Case of Egyptian SMEs in the Food Industry.

La, V. Q., Patterson, P. G., & Styles, C. W. (2005). Determinants of export performance across service types: a conceptual model. Journal of Services Marketing, 19(6), 379-391.

Leonidou, L. C., Katsikeas, C. S., Palihawadana, D., & Spyropoulou, S. (2007). An analytical review of the factors stimulating smaller firms to export: Implications for policy-makers. International Marketing Review, 24(6), 735-770.

Miles, R. E., Snow, C. C., Meyer, A. D., & Coleman, H. J. (1978). Organizational strategy, structure, and process. Academy of management review, 3(3), 546-562.

Moore, R. E. (2003). From genericide to viral marketing: on ‘brand’. Language & Communication, 23(3), 331-357.

Okoli, C., Mbarika, V. W., & McCoy, S. (2010). The effects of infrastructure and policy on e-business in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. European Journal of Information Systems, 19(1), 5-20.

Peña-Vinces, J. C., Cepeda-Carrión, G., & Chin, W. W. (2012). Effect of ITC on the international competitiveness of firms. Management Decision, 50(6), 1045-1061.

Rolf Seringhaus, F. H., & Mayer, C. S. (1988). Different approaches to foreign market entry between users and non-users of trade missions. European Journal of Marketing, 22(10), 7-18.

seyedin, s. (2006). Competitive advantage of marketing technique and effect on performance.

Shafieyan, n., & parhizgar, m. (1390). Investigate effect of marketing mix in exporting promotion.

Sharma, C., & Mishra, R. K. (2011). Does export and productivity growth linkage exist? Evidence from the Indian manufacturing

industry. International review of applied economics, 25(6), 633-652.

Sy-Changco, J. A., Souchon, A. L., & Evangelista, F. (2005). Quality of export memory content: a conceptual framework. Journal of Marketing Management,21(3-4), 291-306.

Ting, Z., Guijun, L., & Bojun, L. (2010). Important export skills comparison in different export stage: An empirical study of Chinese firms. Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, 3(3), 204-220.

APPENDIX

Table 1: Research Background

line Variable Authors Title

1 External environment, Export channel structure, Strategic orientation, Export performance

Poh-Lin Yeoh and Insik Jeong(1995)

Contingency relationships between entrepreneurship, export channel structure and environment

2 Firm Characteristics, Management Commitment, Management Perceptions, Export Performance, Export Strategy

Nils-Erik Aaby and Stanley F.

Slater(1988)

Management Influences on Export Performance

3 international competitiveness, ITC Jesu´s C. Pen˜a-Vinces and Gabriel Cepeda-Carrio´n(2012)

Effect of ITC on the international competitiveness of firms

4 Learning orientation, export functions

Anne L. Souchon and Joseph A. Sy-Changco and Belinda Dewsnap(2012)

Learning orientation in export functions: impact on export growth

5 Commitment, Competence, Learning orientation, Performance

Xi Chen and Zuohao Hu and Xuanzhong Sun and Ping Zhao (2011 )

Typology of the Chinese exporter

6 Firm’s innovation propensity, Firm’s industry specific features, Entrepreneurs, Access to business networks

Giusy Cannone and Gaia Costantino and Alessia Pisoni and Alberto Onetti(2012)

Drivers of international development for born global companies founded by Italian entrepreneurs

7 Managerial factors, Organizational factors, Targeting factors, Marketing strategy, Environmental factors, Export performance

Constantine S. Katsikeas and Leonidas C. Leonidou and Neil A. Morgan(2000)

Firm-Level Export Performance Assessment: Review, Evaluation, and Development

8 EMO Behavior, Export Performance John W. Cadogan and Olli Kuivalainen and Sanna Sundqvist(2007)

Export market-orientation behavior and export performance

9 Enterprise Information Systems , Strategic Flexibility

William MacKinnon and

Enterprise Information Systems and Strategic

Gerald Grant and David Cray(2008)

Flexibility

10 Business Strategies, Export Performance,

Edward E. Marandu(2009)

strategically factors associated with the export performance of manufacturing firms

Table 2: Cronbach's Alpha and Measurement of Variables

variable Questions reference Cronbach's alpha

Pivotal strategy

1. customers' segmentation has been conducted clearly. 2. long-term and short-term goals have been clarified. 3. adequate budget has been allocated to enter external markets. 4. target external markets have been clarified. 5. the organization has necessary abilities to collect data from external market.

( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006)

Export knowledge

6. our salespeople have enough knowledge about external markets. 7. our company has enough knowledge about external markets. 8. we have adequate information about public regulations of external markets. 9. we have enough information about economic situation of the external countries.

( Shamsuddoha & Yunus Ali, 2006)

Learning orientation

10. we collect information about export market in this company. 11. we collect information about external environment very rapidly. 12. we provide the right employees with right information we obtain. 13. it is easy for our organization to interpret the collected data. Our organization spends enough financial cost on registering and storing the obtained data. 15. our organization has formal procedures for documentation and storing the obtained information.

(Sy-Changco, Souchon, & Evangelista, 2005)

16. our organization uses automatic inventory management system. 17. we use scanners for creating price labels in distribution centers. 18. our organization uses internet systems (like email and …) for creating relationship between different sections and distribution centers. 19. our organization uses scanner for collecting data from customers and pricing products in its sales centers. 20. our organization is in contact with customers via internet. 21. our organization uses integrated internet network for establishing relationship with raw materials suppliers.

(Pen˜a-Vinces, Cepeda-Carrio´n, & Chin, 2012)

entrepreneurship orientation

22. our organization puts a lot of emphasis on development of new products. 23. our organization spends a lot on R&D. 24. we have a lot of investments in external markets and export. 25. our organization looks for identification of opportunities in external markets. 26. we conduct many studies on identification of opportunities in external markets. 27. our organization has a comprehensive planning for exporting its products.

( Yeoh & Jeong, 1995)

Export performance

28. level of satisfaction with conducted export 29. increase in profit in comparison with last year 30. increase in market share in comparison with last year 31. increase in total income in comparison with last year

Invalid source specified.

Table 3: measurement of AVE and Composite Reliability

Composite Reliability

AVE Variable

80/0 51/0 Entrepreneurship

82/0 53/0 Export Knowledge

89/0 67/0 Export Performance

85/0 52/0 Learning orientation

84/0 56/0 ITC

88/0 59/0 strategic orientation

Table 4: Demographic Analysis of the Sample

Sexuality Male Female

Count 64 34

Percent 65/0 35/0 Education Diploma License Master's Degree PhD

Count 10 54 30 4 Percent 10/0 52/0 29/0 4/0

Activity Industry Agriculture

Percent 96./ 4/0

Table 5: Total Effect

Hypothesis Path t Hypothetical results

H1 strategic orientation export performance 423/2 confirmed

H2 export knowledge export performance 353/5 confirmed

H3 entrepreneurship orientation export performance 137/0 rejected

H4 ITC export performance 153/0 rejected

H5 Learning orientation export performance 649/2 confirmed

H6 export knowledge strategic orientation 993/3 confirmed

H7 Learning orientation strategic orientation 429/1 rejected

H8 ITC strategic orientation 891/7 confirmed

H9 entrepreneurship orientation strategic orientation 754/0 rejected

Figure 1: Conceptual Model

Learning

orientation

Strategic

orientation

Export knowledge

Export

performanc

Entrepreneurship

orientation

Figure 2: Analysis of the conceptual model

Figure 3: Factor loadings

Influence of Intra-Organizational Factors on Export Performance of Exporting Companies

Documents