Export Marketing Performance: A Study of Thailand Firms

Because foreign markets have become increasingly more viable over the past twenty years, it is important to identify the key factors that influence export marketing performance. The purpose of this study of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand, which is of particular interest to market performance researchers, is to test the validity of the Cavusgil and Zou scale (an export marketing performance scale) across different countries. Following a review of relevant literature, the design of the study is outlined.A mail survey was sent to 1,000 Thai SMEs involved in direct exporting, and 151 firms responded.Respondents were asked to assess the importance of seven strategic objectives and to indicate whether these objectives were met.They then indicated the degree to which they felt that the export venture was successful. Results show that the four factors influencing export marketing performance are competition, commitment (to the product/service), export market characteristics (particularly market infrastructure, degree of government intervention, and degree of adaptation required for a product's positioning strategy), and product characteristics (including uniqueness, culture-specificity, and patent characteristics). Firm-specific characteristics and export marketing strategy were found to have no effect on the Thai firms' export marketing performance.(SAA)

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