Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop and empirically test a model that describes the factors influencing a firm’s export performance; a model that can be adopted by future export researchers, policymakers and practitioners. Specifically, this study aimed to identify the main factors affecting the export performance of manufacturing small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda and determine the extent of influence of each identified factor on export performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design combines both exploratory research and causal research designs to test the proposed model. Interview guide and survey questionnaires were used to collect the raw data. The collected quantitative data were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique with the Analysis of Moment Structures software.
Findings
The findings revealed that all the factors identified, namely, organisational, entrepreneurial and industrial, and market factors had a significant positive impact on the export performance of SMEs. Moreover, entrepreneurial factors were proven to be the most influencing factors in export performance followed by market-level factors. In this context, the proposed resource-market-based model of export performance was tested and validated in a less developed country, Rwanda, for exporting SMEs.
Originality/value
The proposed model of export performance extends the existing literature in two ways: firstly, it integrates internal and external factors to explain the export performance of an SME and secondly, it tests the relative importance of these factors in driving and maintaining international performance.
Subject
General Medicine,General Medicine
Reference53 articles.
1. Determinants and measures of export performance: comprehensive literature review;Journal of Contemporary Economic and Business Issues,2014
2. Entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation as drivers of production innovation success: a study of exporter from a developing economy;International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship,2012
3. SME entrepreneurial orientation, international performance, and the moderating role of strategic alliances;Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,2015
4. Export market-oriented behavior and export performance: quadratic and moderating effects under differing degrees of market dynamism and internationalization;Journal of International Marketing,2009
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献