Use of export marketing research by industrial firms: an application and extension of Deshpande and Zaltman's model

Abstract

The issue of information utilisation within an export setting has been neglected in the literature as most studies focus on the acquisition of export marketing research information rather than its actual use. In this paper, an expanded version of Deshpande and Zaltman's well-known model of information use is developed by incorporating export-specific variables, and subsequently applied to a sample of UK exporters. The analysis reveals that information use depends on the firm's internal structure, the degree of surprise in the research results, and the nature of the export market in question. The findings are placed in the context of previous evidence on marketing research information use and directions for future studies identified.