A Resource‐Based Approach to the Study of Export Performance

This paper presents a comparative study of the export performance of U.S. and Canadian small and medium‐sized exporters. A parsimonious model is developed drawing on the resource‐based theory of the firm, with three sets of resources, namely firm size, enterprise, and technological intensity. These key resources are good predictors of the export strategy of a firm. Export strategy is modeled as degree of internationalization, and its effect on the overall firm performance is studied using firm‐level performance measures. LISREL's multiple group analysis feature is used in the analysis to test the model. The results confirm the validity of the model across the two data sets.

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