Firm Export Research Articles

Firm Characteristics on Export Performance (Case of Ethiopian Exporting Firms)

Firm Characteristics on Export Performance (Case of Ethiopian Exporting Firms)

Iron-ore Export Behavior and Performance of Goan Exporting Firms

Iron-ore Export Behavior and Performance of Goan Exporting Firms

Cross-Cultural Reliability and Validity of a Scale to Measure International Entrepreneurial Capability in Emerging Markets

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to validate a measurement scale of international entrepreneurial capability (IEC) across cultures. Firm-level survey data from exporting firms was collected from China and South Korea to evaluate the cross-cultural invariance of the scale of IEC. The configural, metric, variance, and covariance invariance of an existing IEC scale across Chinese and South Korean samples of export firms suggest that firms in emerging markets with different cultures and with different characteristics can use the IEC scale to evaluate relationships between IEC and various outcomes.

Prospects from Efficiency Analysis of Exporting and Non-Exporting Pakistani Firms

In the wake of global competition with greater economic and regional integration, a country's economic growth is largely determined by industrial efficiency. Operating and staying within market under cut throat competition appears as an unprecedented challenge for exporting and non-exporting firms. A data of 403 firms from World Bank Enterprise Survey 2013 is used for estimation of technical and scale efficiencies between and within exporting and non-exporting firms. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied for constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) efficiency scores. It has been found that the average technical efficiency scores for non-exporting firms is slightly greater than the exporting firms. But majority of the firm's technical efficiency remained the same for both type of firms. Industries with highest technical efficiency comprise of chemicals, food, garments and non-metals. Efficiency scores of some firms depict interesting results and found efficient in either of exporting and non-exporting firms. The efficiency analysis can help to identify potential changes which industry may require for its consistent growth in current surge of global competition and nationalization.

Exchange Rates and Firm Exports: The Role of Foreign Ownership and Subsidiaries

Exchange rates have been changed unusually large these days. From 2011 to 2016, the Euro and the Japanese Yen have depreciated against the US Dollar by more than 25 percent. According to a theory, since competitively valued exchange rate helps to boost export growth, we should have observed a sub-stantial increase in export in the EU and Japan. However, the effectiveness of the exchange rates on exports appears to be weak across countries. This anomaly is one of the central puzzles in international macroeconomics: why large movements in the exchange rate have modest effects on the aggregate variables such as import prices, consumer prices, and quantity of exports. In this paper, we examines the role of global production linkages on ex-change rate elasticities by using Korean firm-level data. At firm-level, foreign-owned firms or firms with foreign subsidiaries participated in the Global Value Chains (GVC) play an important role in weakening the effect of ex-change rate movements on firm exports. The empirical results show that the exchange rate elasticity of total export is about -0.64, which implies that 10% appreciation of Korean Won would make a drop in total export by 6.4%. However, the exchange rate elasticities of firms are not the homogeneous across firms. We find that the exchange rate elasticities of firm exports are significant and negative for domestic-owned firms and firms without foreign subsidiary whereas those are insignificant for foreign-owned firms and firms with foreign subsidiaries. After controlling exports to foreign affiliates, we still find that the estimated exchange rate elasticities of exports are statistically insignificant, but become negative and relatively larger for firms with global production linkages. More-over, firms with higher GVC integration measure or more imported inter-mediate inputs have the significantly lower exchange rate elasticities of firm exports. It suggests that developments of global production linkages via firm ownership, within-industry or within-firm in the last decade play an essential role in alleviating the effect of exchange rate movements on the firm exports.

Measuring market destination effect on export product innovation

In this work, we explore the impact of exporting to highly-developed destinations (the Nordic area) on the product innovative firm performance from a wide open and export-oriented country, Chile. In doing so, we carry out a longitudinal analysis (2006-2017) addressed to Chilean firms belonging to a sector in which Chilean firms are top exporting ones worldwide: the fruit one. From all 177 firms considered, 54 firms exported to Nordic countries in the period considered. To test our suggested hypothesis, we use the export product innovation index and a Tobit regression model. The results of the analysis confirm our hypothesis: exporting to advanced countries favour the firm product innovation. This finding underlines the importance of the market destination effect on the firm export product innovation performance, and consequently on the firm's international competitiveness.

Decomposing the Exporter Wage Gap: Selection or Differential Returns?

There is a large literature documenting that workers in exporting firms receive higher wages on average than workers in non-exporting firms. This is also the case for Denmark, where the unconditional exporter wage gap is 3 percent. However, little is known about the sources behind the gap: Is it because more productive (and/or higher paying) firms export, because more productive workers select into the export sector, or is it because matches in the export sector are more productive? In this paper we decompose the gap in wages into these different sources and assess their relative importance. We are the first to show that the presence of exporter-specific worker traits, that are unobservable to the econometrician, is the primary driver of the gap. To reach this finding, we employ a novel econometric strategy and exploit two state-of-art estimators. We start out with an AKM-style wage equation with worker, firm, and match fixed effects. We then use the model in a series of classical decompositions of the exporter wage gap. We show that allowing workers to have time-invariant traits specific to the exporting sector is very important for correctly assessing which factors drive the exporter wage gap. Our results suggest that workers in exporting firms have e.g. skills that are particularly valuable in the exporting sector, therefore generating higher wages in that sector. We also show that workers make job transitions based on these differential returns and thereby the exporter wage gap becomes a result of workers selecting into the export or non-export sector based on their comparative advantage. Finally, we show that our findings are not changed substantially if we instead perform the analysis in a non-linear framework instead of the linear AKM-style framework.

Qualitative Study of Leadership Competences in Mexican Export Firms

The purpose of this study was to identify the export’s businessmen leadership competences profile through an interview with a qualitative approach in Guanajuato’s export firms. The research used the leadership competences model in six cases of companies that export. The research questions were: What are the leadership competences for businessmen in Guanajuato’s export companies? And, what is the businessmen leadership competences profile? The exploration was made with a narrative analysis conducted, to determine leader’s profile. The information was obtained through deep interviews, then narrative speech without speculation was used to analyzed the data. Besides a codification of the variables was used to determine the profile It was found common features such as vision, values, experience, knowledge and dialogue as focal elements of their activities. For the future, a quantitative research is required to corroborate these findings and to be related with the internationalization process of the firms.

The impact of African manager's values on exporting: influential managerial characteristics and export performance

Despite the substantial published research that has been reported to identify the determinants of export performance, little research has investigated the possible impact of managers' individual values on the export performance of the firm (Sousa et al., 2010). The extant literature has generally explored the effect of managerial characteristics on organisational outcomes in a variety of settings. This research study conceptualises how the unique set of values of top managers within the African context influences their choices and subsequent firm outcomes. The purpose is to posit into the export performance literature by exploring how variation in CEO values, demographic characteristics, and psychic distance influence firm export performance. Since strategic choices often involves a redistribution of the resources of whatever nature to those in need, top managers originating from the upper social classes ever being part of this group naturally conserve resources for their own group. It is arguable that the upper-class offspring will be reluctant as well to proactively engage in firm behaviour implying a shift of resources to their relative disadvantage (Kemayou, 2011). Specifically, the intended theoretical contribution is clarification of the mechanism which explains managerial choice influencing export performance for the firm.

The impact of African manager's values on exporting: influential managerial characteristics and export performance

Despite the substantial published research that has been reported to identify the determinants of export performance, little research has investigated the possible impact of managers' individual values on the export performance of the firm (Sousa et al., 2010). The extant literature has generally explored the effect of managerial characteristics on organisational outcomes in a variety of settings. This research study conceptualises how the unique set of values of top managers within the African context influences their choices and subsequent firm outcomes. The purpose is to posit into the export performance literature by exploring how variation in CEO values, demographic characteristics, and psychic distance influence firm export performance. Since strategic choices often involves a redistribution of the resources of whatever nature to those in need, top managers originating from the upper social classes ever being part of this group naturally conserve resources for their own group. It is arguable that the upper-class offspring will be reluctant as well to proactively engage in firm behaviour implying a shift of resources to their relative disadvantage (Kemayou, 2011). Specifically, the intended theoretical contribution is clarification of the mechanism which explains managerial choice influencing export performance for the firm.

Exchange Rate Exposure and Crude Oil Price: The Case of an Emerging Market

The purpose of this study is to examine the depreciation of USD and crude oil price on exchange rate exposure in Malaysia. Based on the argument that domestic and foreign markets could affect foreign exchange exposure, the study examined 993 public listed firms that involved in domestic business, foreign sales, and assets, respectively. The sample period of 2014 to 2016 illustrates different time-varying conditions when the depreciation of Ringgit Malaysia and crude oil price were the most severe for the last decades. The findings show that firms with foreign sales face the most significant negative exposure of foreign exchange, followed by domestic firms and firms with foreign assets. The study shows that many Malaysia export firms are not effective in hedging, hence, they did not benefit from the depreciation of Ringgit Malaysia and crude oil price. The study concludes that there is an influence of domestic and foreign market effects on foreign currency exposure in the economy.

A Comparative Analysis of Firms’ Financing Decisions in Export and Non-Export Sectors: Evidence from Portugal

This paper examines the effect of export intensity on a firm's capital structure using a sample of 7,676 Portuguese SMEs. Results obtained from a system GMM estimation method show that the leverage ratio is negatively affected by export intensity. We document that firms with more growth opportunities have a higher leverage, while firms that have more profits, higher asset tangibility and face higher business risk have lower debt ratios. Our results also show that the implementation of governmental mechanisms that support export firms’ borrowing activities are critical in economies facing a financial crisis.

Financial vulnerability and export dynamics

AbstractThis paper examines the implication of financial shocks on firms’ export dynamics in developing economies. To address this question, we use the Exporter Dynamics Dataset, which contains new data on the microstructure of exports for 34 developing countries between 1997 and 2011, and investigate how exporter behaviour is affected by financial crises. We find that financial crises in both the origin and destination countries have a large negative effect on firm, product and destination dynamics, particularly in industries dependent on external finance. Financial crises make the costs of exporting more difficult to meet and in turn reduce firms’ ability to start exporting, introduce new products and sell to new destinations. We also find that the impact of financial crises is less pronounced in exporting countries with relatively more open capital accounts, suggesting that portfolio inflows may be a good substitute for underdeveloped domestic financial markets.

Cod stories: Trade dynamics and duration for Norwegian cod exports

In recent years, trade dynamics have been receiving increased attention, and the general literature indicates that commodities are different. In this paper, the duration of trade relationships for Norwegian export firms to various markets is investigated for six product forms of one commodity, cod. The results indicate that the duration of most trade relationships is very short, and shorter than what is normally reported in the literature. Still, the substantial variation in duration by product form and factors influencing it, indicates heterogeneous dynamics for each supply chain even for slight differences in the characteristics of a commodity. Moreover, the short duration of trade relationships in the supply chains for Norwegian cod indicates that they remain very traditional food supply chains, with few attempts at reducing transaction costs through vertical coordination or relationships.

Does an Environmental Marketing Strategy Influence Marketing and Financial Performance? A Study of Indonesian Exporting Firms

Purpose – Broadly speaking, the implementation of green practice leads to higher performance in exporting firms. To test this concept empirically, this study proposes environmental marketing strategy as an antecedent of product differentiation and cost leadership as a means to promote marketing and financial performance. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study was conducted on 388 respondents serving as operational, production, and marketing managers of Indonesian exporting firms and used structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS 18 as an analysis technique. Findings and implications – The findings revealed that environmental marketing strategy significantly influences product differentiation and cost leadership. More specifically, product differentiation simultaneously influences marketing and financial performance. However, cost leadership influences financial performance but not marketing performance. This study implies the importance of environmental orientation in setting a firm strategy and promoting the performance of international firms. Limitations – The measurement items proposed in this study were adopted from studies conducted in developed countries; they have not been proven appropriate for direct application in developing countries such as Indonesia. Originality – This study is original in that it explores the importance of environmental studies in setting a firm strategy and promoting the performance of international business.

Export Market Orientation Strategy, External Environment, and Export Performance of SMEs in Malaysia

Globalization phenomena have changed the trends of business performance all over the world. As a result, many researchers embarked upon different journeys to examine the aftermath of globalization. Many past studies examined the relationship between export market orientation (EMO) and export performance from different parts of the world. Nevertheless, the importance of export market orientation on the firm's export performance is still a hot debate amongst the researchers. The research examined the relationship between export market orientation, external environment, and export performance for manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The survey was done on 779 manufacturing companies listed with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) involved in the exporting activity and fit the SME criteria. Data was further analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS) techniques. The research found that EMO had a significant influence on the export performance. However, the research could not support that the external environment moderated the relationship between the EMO and export performance.

Research on the Peer Effect of Firms’ Export Behavior

Because of the information asymmetry and risk uncertainty, export firms will learn to adjust export decisions from their peers. Based on the micro-matching data of China’s customs export products and listed firms, this paper examines the peer effect of firms export activities by introducing equity shock as an exogenous variable. It is found that first, the values, scopes and number of destinations of exporters’ products are positively influenced by their peer firms; second, exporters with lower product quality, growth capability and export intensity will follow those exporters with better export performances to change their behaviors. These asymmetric results prove that peer effect of firms’ export behavior is in accordance with the law of logical imitation; third, CEOs with different demographic characteristics have great impact on the magnitude of export peer effect, showing that risk preferences and cognitive patterns of CEOs are significant for firms’ export behavior.

A Perceptual Measure of Innovation Performance: Firm-Level Evidence from Turkey

This paper aims to introduce a qualitative indicator to measure innovation performance of Turkish firms by using firm-level data collected by Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) in 2008 and 2009. We propose a new indicator to measure the innovation performance which is simply based on the perception of firms regarding to the impacts of innovation. In order to create performance indicators, we conduct a factor analysis to group the firms’ perceptions on the impacts of innovation. Factor analysis gives us product and process-oriented impacts of innovation. There are significant differences among product innovators, process innovators and firms engaged in both product and process innovations with respect to their perceptions on product and process-oriented impacts of innovation. Among these three groups, product- and process-oriented impacts provide a highest value for the firms that perform both product and process innovations. As far as the link between firm characteristics and the impact of innovation is considered, there is a significant difference between small and large firms with respect to their perceptions on product-oriented impact of innovation. While product-oriented impact is larger for small firms, large firms focus more on process-oriented impact. Anova results also indicate that perceptions on process-oriented impact significantly differ among exporter firms, domestic market-oriented firms and firms being active in internal and external markets. Process-oriented impact generates results in favor of exporting firms.

RMB Exchange Rates and Export Firms' Markups:Analysis Based on Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises

Based on the firm-level micro data from China customs and industrial enterprise databases from 2000 to 2007,this paper comprehensively investigates the effects of changes in RMB exchange rates on Chinese manufacturing export firms' markups,and simultaneously reveals possible function mechanisms behind.It comes to the results as follows:firstly,RMB appreciation significantly reduces export firms' markups;and RMB appreciation has stronger negative effects on mark-ups of firms with higher dependence on export;secondly,dynamic analysis shows that the influence of RMB appreciation on export firms' markups may has a delay of one year,which means export firms' markups will decline more as time passes;thirdly,the effects of RMB exchange rates on export firms' markups are significantly featured by heterogeneity:the negative effect of RMB appreciation on export firms' markups decreases with the improvement of firm productivity,and increases with the enhancement of firm financing constraints;in view of firm ownership,markups of private export firms suffer a big hit from RMB appreciation,while processing export firms are less affected as for mode of trade.Furthermore,it explores the role of RMB appreciation in export firms' markups through a mediating effect model,and shows that RMB appreciation reduces export firms' markups through price competition and scale effects.This paper provides some enlightenment and reference for firm behavior choice and trade policy formulation under the condition of the opening-up capital market.

Connect to trade

A key foundation of Chinese-style institutions is that governments at different levels control resources and utilize their power to support businesses connected to them. We examine how this institutional feature affects firm exports. We first provide a simple model to demonstrate the underlying mechanisms. In our model, politically connected firms gain a comparative advantage in contract-intensive and financially-dependent sectors. But political connections also have an adverse effect on firm exports because of managerial inefficiency. The overall effect is thus ambiguous and differs across sectors. Employing merged Chinese listed manufacturing firm data and Chinese custom data for the years 2004–2013, we find robust evidence consistent with our model's predictions.