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This paper aims to investigate the difference between the impacts of indicators of trade barriers (TBs) on bankrupt enterprises (BEs), new enterprises (NEs) and other enterprises (OEs).

The paper has used a multiple-step approach. At the first stage, the initial data has been collected from interviews with 164 top managers of SMEs in West Azerbaijan in Iran during two periods of 2013–2015 and 2017–2019. At the second step, multiple correspondence analysis has been used to summarize the relationships between variables and construct indices for different groups of TBs. Finally, the generalized structural equation model method was used to examine the impact of export barriers.

The results showed that the political legal index is the main TBs for BEs and NEs, but it had a more significant impact on BEs; the financial index was the second major TBs factor for BEs, while OEs did not have a problem in performance index, and the financial index was classified as a minor obstacle for them. All indicators of marketing barriers (except production index) had a negative and significant effect on all enterprises; the most important TBs for NEs was the information index.

The results indicated that if enterprises have a strong financial system and function, they can lessen the impact of sanctions and keep themselves in the market.

Provides an empirical assessment of non‐exporters′ perceptions on the factors that hinder the initiation of export activities. The research investigation, which was conducted among a representative random sample of 112 Cypriot manufacturing concerns, revealed that the increasing competitive pressures in the world market constituted the most severe impediment to the export initiation process. A number of organizational determinants exhibited a discriminating effect on certain export barriers. Specifically, there was a tendency by firms with no prior export experience, of small size and with relatively few years in business, to overstress some of the export barriers addressed. However, the type of goods manufactured did not exhibit any differentiating impact. An attempted classification of the export barriers according to internal/external and domestic/foreign typologies revealed no significant differences in the inhibiting impact of the resulting groups.

This study aims to use analogical reasoning to draw a conceptual link between liabilities in International Business (IB) and export barriers.

Following a review of 130 articles on export barriers, the study develops and applies a “liabilities” metonymy to connect the source construct (liabilities in the IB) and target subject (export barriers).

Liabilities in the IB map to export barriers, and the concepts of liability of foreignness, liability of outsidership, liability of newness and liability of smallness can substitute export barriers.

Adoption of metonymy creates new opportunities for enhancing theory development while offering alternative perspectives regarding coping mechanisms for overcoming export barriers.

This, to the author’s best knowledge, is the first study in the IB to theorize based on metonymy.

This study is concerned with an empirical investigation that explores the barriers to export that emerging market entrepreneurs face when engaging in international business. The data was gathered from a survey of 214 manufacturing firms, headquartered in Malaysia, and considered to be an emerging market. Statistical analysis was carried out using one‐way analysis of variance and the Tukey‐Kramer Multiple Comparison Procedure. The study’s key findings indicate that exporters and non‐exporters perceive the importance of the need to adapt products to meet foreign customer preferences and a lack of capacity dedicated to a continuing supply of exports differently as barriers to export. However, other than those barriers to export the study findings indicate no significant differences in the perceptions of exporters and non‐exporters from an emerging market towards the different barriers to export.

Based on an institutional approach to explaining firms’ internationalisation, this paper aims to empirically investigate the role of Export Promotion Programmes (EPPs) in moderating the influence of export barriers perceptions on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) propensity to export.

The study uses evidence from Algeria, the largest North-African country. The data were collected using an online questionnaire, targeting SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector. The study considers the influence of procedural, informational, environmental and functional barriers on export propensity, to uncover the moderating role of trade missions, trade shows and export seminars and workshops on such relationships. To examine these links, five main hypotheses are proposed and tested through a non-linear partial least squares structural equation modelling on a sample of 128 Algerian SMEs.

The results show that while internal barriers decrease firms’ export propensity, EPPs including trade fairs and shows may independently pose either a positive or negative influence on such relationships.

The study confirms the applicability of the institutional perspective to explaining firms’ internationalisation. More importantly, the present study highlights the role of EPPs in moderating the influence of export barriers perceptions on SMEs’ international market entry, a role neglected by the extant empirical literature.

The current findings hold important implications to export promotion organisations operating in African countries. Notably, the results reveal that some programmes could have a negative influence if they are not delivered appropriately.

This study offers a rare focus on the moderating role of EPPs in the relationship between export barriers and export propensity, within the setting of a North-African country.

This study aims to identify some of the major barriers that may hinder potential small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) exporters and non‐exporters from exporting their operations in the international market.

Based on the aim of this study, a questionnaire based survey method was conducted among 250 Jordanian manufacturing SMEs using random sampling with usable response rate of 54 per cent. Data were analysed using relevant statistical methods ranging from factor analysis to regression analysis.

The results show that economic/political‐legal and governmental barriers, financial and information barriers have a significant negative relationship with the export performance of SMEs in Jordan. Also, the results show that exporters and non‐exporters significantly agree in their views of the various barriers.

The study was carried out on SMEs operating in Jordan. Hence, caution should be taken when generalisation across cultures is considered. However, the findings of the study provide public and company policy makers with valuable guidelines for the formulation of suitable export marketing strategies and national export assistance programs.

This is ascribed to the relatively small local market size and to the country's gradual shift from heavy reliance on import substitution strategies in the last two decades to contemporary export orientation. Also, there is now a need for an urgent action plan to correct the deficit in the trade balance in the Jordanian economy. This action plan needs to include what causes Jordanian SMEs to export or prevents them from doing so. Once the relative importance of these barriers is detected, their validity in predicting the probability of a SME firm being an exporter can be tested.

The objective of the study is to derive a classification of export problems of SMEs from developing countries on the basis of a comprehensive literature study.

The study performed a comprehensive and systematic literature review of 40 articles published over a period of 25 years (1980‐2004). The export problems are classified into company barriers, product barriers, industry barriers, export market barriers and macro environment barriers.

The study provides a modified qualitative model that can be used by future researchers to further their research endeavour in export problems of firms from developing countries. It also identifies the similarities and differences of export problems in developed and developing countries.

The lack of extensive research on export problems limited the number of articles reviewed in this study. Thus, the results of this paper should be considered as a stepping stone for future research.

The export problems identified in this study can be used to develop a questionnaire for a regional or global survey of SME's exporters from developing countries.

The paper provides an important reference for researchers who intend to study export problems in developing countries. Moreover, policy makers in developing countries can use it to identify export problems that firms face and provide timely and effective assistance to SMEs.

Purpose – As a key crucial point, this study aims to examine the relationship between export barriers and the perceived export performance of Turkish SME's. Design/methodology/approach – Major export barriers perceived by SMEs in Turkey are identified and, subsequently, the relationship between export barriers and export performance are examined. A web‐based questionnaire method was conducted among 2,000 SMEs that listed export associations with 7.25 percent response rate. The empirical analysis was conducted in two phases. The first step was to perform an exploratory factor analysis to 20 export barriers. The second step was to run a structural equation model to determine which barrier groups have a greater effect on perceived export performance. Findings – The findings suggest that procedural barriers and competition in foreign markets have the most effective impact on export performance. Both structures have negative effects as expected. In other words, as the procedural and competition barriers decrease, export performance also increases. Research limitations/implications – First of all, not all export barriers that might affect export performance were examined. Another limitation is that, the data obtained related to a very specific period. Export performance was measured by only subjective method with Likert scale. In the context of future research, export barriers of the Turkish exporters in relation to individual countries of origin should be investigated. Practical implications – The analysis of exporting problems on the basis of firm differences between domestic and foreign markets, procedural barriers, internal inefficiency barriers, competition and governmental barriers can provide both corporate and public policy makers with valuable guidelines for the formulation of suitable export marketing strategies and national export assistance programs respectively Originality/value – This study generally confirms the literature, but comes to some original further conclusions, based on export barriers of Turkish exporters.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of export barriers at two different points in time, 1995 (t ₀) and 2010 (t ₁), respectively. Using “confidence” as a surrogate for affect, the study proposes an inverse relationship between affect and export barrier intensity with the influence of export barriers increasing as exporter confidence subsides.

The study draws two random probabilistic samples (1995/2010) of New Zealand’s SME exporters, from the same working population, using an identical survey instrument. Preliminary analysis combines exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis techniques. The research proposition is tested using binary logistic regression.

The results found that the influence of export barriers changes substantially across time. There was support for the proposition in that the 2010 sample of exporters were two to nine times more likely to consider export barriers influential than the 1995 group. Such evidence was particularly strong in the context of logistics and distribution factors, internal resource constraints, trade-related barriers, home market factors and currency and payments obstacles.

This research suggests managerial evaluation of the prevailing business atmosphere, as captured by exporter’s confidence, can influence perception of export barriers. Specifically, barriers tend to be evaluated as influential when there is a sense of pessimism within the export sector. Thus over time export barrier influence can be traced to the manager’s evaluation of export prospects as opposed to the frequently researched organizational and internationalization variables.

This is the first study to use theory to predict and empirically test the change in export barrier influence across time. While the majority of export barrier research adopts the cognitive or “objective-verifiable” view, the study supports the contention that export barrier influence can also be understood in the context of the emotive or “subjective-moot” perspective. Additionally, export managers should adopt long-term orientation towards exports while policymakers are encouraged (contrary to mainstream research) to move from targeted export support programs to inclusive or mass market approaches.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for understanding the relationships between resource commitment, management experience, firm size, internationalization, internal export barriers and export performance in firms. Specifically, this paper empirically investigates the impact of resource commitment, management experience, firm size, and internationalization on export performance, using internal export barriers as an intervening variable. These antecedents of export performance are selected because they are constraints that managers have an opportunity to influence. This study is therefore relevant to the managerial process.

A survey design using firms from Ghana was chosen. This was expected to be an appropriate population from which data could be gathered to investigate the authors' hypotheses. In order to test these hypotheses, questionnaires were designed to collect data from small and medium export firms in an emerging market. Data on resource commitment, management experience, firm size, internationalization, internal export barriers and export performance were collected. The data was then analysed by applying path analysis using LISREL 8 in testing the hypotheses.

Results from the study shows that in this market, firm size is related positively to internal export barriers, firm size and internal export barriers are related positively to export performance, and that internationalization is related negatively to export performance. The observation suggests that a large firm size and a good internationalization strategy are the most effective strategic options for enhancing firm export performance in this market. Another observation from the study was that firms in emerging markets lack the needed resource commitment to export.

Results of this study add to prior literature by identifying variables which contribute to the improvement of both internal export barriers and export performance in an emerging market (sub-Saharan Africa). The study provides advice to managers who are trying to improve the export performance of a firm in an emerging market and to policy makers about how an emerging market can improve its export industry.

This research work serves as an important guide for future researchers who intend to study export problems in other emerging economies. Policy makers in emerging economies may refer to this work to identify export problems that firms face in order to provide timely and effective assistance to small and medium scale enterprises engaged in export ventures. The paper believes the benefit of internationalization is realized as managers' leverage the learning opportunities accumulated over the years through exposure to the international market. Managers need to develop considerable capabilities and competencies to identify the specific barriers they must overcome in order to formulate appropriate export strategies.