Structural Factors Associated with the Export Performance of Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

This study investigates whether the structures of High Exporter firms differ from those of Low Exporter firms. Data were obtained from a survey of managers of 60 firms in Tanzania, an underdeveloped country. The findings are both at variance and in conformity with existing theory. The findings are different because only a few of the structural factors are associated significantly with export performance. This can be explained in terms of the “unsettled” industrial development and inward looking strategies of Tanzania which seem to reduce the explanatory power of conventional trade theories. The findings are in some ways consistent with theory in the sense that although many of the structural variables are not related significantly to performance, nevertheless most were in the hypothesized direction or could be explained by alternative hypotheses. This implies that structural factors affecting export performance may be universal.