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This study aims to gauge the interactive effect of export intensity and diversity on export performance among exporters in an emerging economy and explore the moderating effect of export intermediaries on the internationalization–export performance relationship.

A survey was undertaken among a convenience sample of small and medium exporters located in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces in South China.

The results show that intensity and diversity interact negatively with export performance, whereas the use of export agents registered a positive effect. Exporters pursuing a strategy of high export intensity will achieve better performance provided that these exports are concentrated in a few countries. Using export agents can help in enhancing the intensity–performance relationship but not that for diversity–performance.

Chinese exporters are advised not to blindly pursue international expansion without regard to their own resources and capabilities. They should try to strike a balance between intensity and diversity and employ external agents when needed.

This research seeks to address the void in the literature on how export intensity and diversity should be balanced to create a positive effect on the performance of exporting ventures in an emerging economy, which is under-addressed in the literature. It is also found that employment of export intermediaries is not always good for export performance.

This study aims to explore the strategic impact of R&D and export activity on the diverse dimensions of US manufacturing firms’ performance. It also explores, using a predictive analytic model, the interactive synergistic effect that R&D and exports have on firm performance.

This study presents an innovative two-stage regression-neural network approach. Complementing conventional statistical analysis, the predictive backpropagation neural network explores the relative impact of R&D and exports and their synergistic effect on firm performance.

This study demonstrates the significant and positive effect of R&D and export strategy/activity on the economic performance of leading US manufacturing firms, particularly on their market-based performance (i.e. sustained growth rate or SGR). Furthermore, this study finds that the synergistic effect of R&D and exports on short-term performance (i.e. return on investment) is positive in high-tech firms but negative in low-tech firms. However, the synergistic effect on SGR is increasingly positive regardless of the level of technology.

In addition to traditional statistical analysis, this study uniquely investigates the relative importance of selected strategic variables, along with R&D and export activity and their differential synergistic effects, for firms’ economic performance in contrasting industry settings (high-tech vs low-tech).

Home-peer firms (i.e. firms from the same industry and country) noticeably influence the internationalization behavior of small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing from vicarious learning literature, the authors theorize how home-peer firms' success in export markets affects SMEs' export intensity into those markets.

The authors test the hypotheses on a sample of 32,108 Canadian SME exporters. A Tobit model was used to examine the effect of home-peer performance and its interactions with firm age, export experience, and geographic and institutional distance on export entry intensity.

The authors find that SMEs are more likely to enter export markets with higher intensity if home-peer firms perform well in those markets. This home-peer influence is stronger when the SME lacks export experience, when the home-peer information is more recent, and when environmental uncertainty is high.

The study is among the first to show empirically that the performance of home-peers positively influences the export intensity of SMEs in international markets, suggesting that SMEs use this measure to inform their internationalization strategies.

This study aims to identify extensive and intensive margins in exports and imports and examine whether incoming foreign direct investments (FDI) benefit local firms in Indonesia through the export and import channels.

Using Heckman’s two-step selection model to consider the potential of bias of self-selection in export–import participation, this study uses the firm-level data from 2008 to 2015 collected from Statistik Industri and proximate both export and import spillovers.

The authors found that internal factors are critical for a firm to be an exporter, signaling self-selection in exports and imports. Spillover effects from FDI (spatial properties) support export but lower import propensity and intensity.

This study implies that improving human capital (absorptive capacity) is needed to accelerate export intensity and policies supporting FDI inflows in complementary sectors (noncompeting industries) can increase export propensity and intensity and reduce imports.

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, the proposed export spillovers model that accounts for impacts through a demonstration channel is applied to the import channel. Moreover, this study extends the model developed by Franco and Sasidharan (2010) and Yasin et al. (2022) by incorporating spatial spillover effects at the provincial level. Subsequently, the authors test whether a firm’s technological intensity determines export–import propensity and intensity. This can indicate whether specific sectors are more likely to participate in international activities based on their use of technology.

The paper aims to investigate the effects of several determinants of firm import intensity in US foreign trade zones (FTZs). Even though the major objective for the establishment of US FTZs is to encourage exports by facilitating the duty-free entry of imports, US firms have used it as a gateway to import goods into the US market. Currently, over 90 per cent of US FTZ output is consumed in the USA. The author examines the major determinants for such import intensity in US FTZs.

The study is based on a survey that was conducted to explore the factors that influence import intensity of firms operating in US FTZs.

The findings reveal that besides export orientation of firms, the most promising predictors of import intensity of firms operating in USA FTZs are the policy environment in the form of inverted tariff benefits and firm business strategy.

The findings are important for managers presently operating in US FTZs or intend to do so in future.

Even though there are numerous studies on free trade zones and exports, this is the first study to examine the import intensity of US FTZs and their determinants.

The author contributes to the theory of the multinational enterprise by examining subsidiary-specific capability in financial management, defined as the stock of knowledge and capability to plan, manage, control and direct financial resources effectively and efficiently, and the perceptions of subsidiary managers of host country financial development as drivers of export intensity (the share of sales that are exported) of foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). The author theorizes that subsidiary-specific capability in financial management is conceptually a valuable subsidiary-specific advantage and it is as important as other traditional competitive advantages, such as research and development and marketing intensity. Perceptions of subsidiary managers of host country financial development are argued to be largely related to the characteristics of the host country-specific advantages.

The author uses a survey dataset of the foreign subsidiaries of Western multinational enterprises (MNEs) together with other public data sources.

The author provides empirical evidence to support for these arguments that export intensity of MNE foreign subsidiaries depends on subsidiary-specific advantages and host country specific advantages.

The study broadens the understanding of the relationships between subsidiary-specific advantage in financial management, host country specific advantage, and export intensity of MNE foreign subsidiaries. In this way, the author makes an original contribution to new internalization theory by emphasizing the internal capability building of subsidiaries. The author discusses the implications of the findings for MNE foreign subsidiary managers, and policy makers because exporting is critical to the overall strategy of foreign subsidiaries, and it also contributes to the balance of trade and economic development of host countries where foreign subsidiaries operate.

This study aims to determine the simultaneous effect of exporting firms' competitive strategies and capabilities on the achievement of competitive advantages and export performance under the boundary conditions of competitive intensity. In so doing, the study combines the alternative theoretical lenses of the resource-based view (RBV) and the structure–conduct–performance (SCP) paradigm.

Primary data were obtained from 281 Turkish manufacturer–exporter firms operating in different sectors and located in several regions of the country. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test our conceptual framework, which combined the effects of RBV-based and SCP-based factors on competitive advantages and export performance under the moderating influence of competitive intensity.

This study reveals that unique firm capabilities, specifically informational, relational, and marketing capabilities, and competitive strategies, including differentiation and cost leadership, provide export firms with a competitive advantage and improve their export performance in foreign markets. Furthermore, competitive advantages partially mediate the effects of competitive strategies and unique firm capabilities on export performance. Finally, unexpectedly, and contrary to most of the existing literature, we find that competitive intensity negatively moderates the link between service advantages and export performance.

This research offers a comprehensive view of manufacturer–exporter firms' export performance by accounting for the overlooked simultaneous effect of firm capabilities and competitive strategies through the mediation of competitive advantages and under the boundary conditions of competitive intensity.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether differences exist between low and high export intensity Tanzanian internationalising small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in respect of their perceived competitiveness in overseas markets. In this study, export intensity, i.e. the percentage exports make towards total turnover, is viewed as a representation of firms' commitment to serving overseas markets.

The methodology employed a quantitative phase involving a questionnaire completed by 205 Tanzanian SMEs; 112 low intensity (exporting less than 50 per cent of their sales) in comparison with 93 high intensity exporting firms (exporting 50 per cent or more of their sales); also a qualitative phase of interviews with international entrepreneurs in 23 firms.

The findings provide an initial understanding of the two types of firms' patterns of internationalisation and, more specifically, statistically significant issues are identified in respect of items perceived as affecting their competitiveness in overseas markets, including the extent to which they concentrated on serving key markets rather than diversifying risk over a number of markets.

The results offer insights into the practices of Tanzanian exporting firms and recommendations for policy makers as well as an indication for further research.

This research study explores managerial practices of particular types of firms in Tanzania, which have been largely viewed from a developed as opposed to a developing African country perspective.

Drawing on the knowledge-based view of the firm (KBV) and Dynamic Marketing Capabilities (DMC), this paper examines the role of key internationalization knowledge absorption processes as learning strategies, namely market exploitation and market exploration in enabling internationalization knowledge absorption in export-oriented firms involved in manufacturing goods or producing electrical/engineering products.

The data were gathered via a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire (i.e. n = 315) on a sample of Bangladeshi manufacturing firms exporting in US and European markets.

The findings suggest that an export firm's internationalization absorption strategies are positively associated with export performance. The authors also found that the mediator, DMC, strengthened the relationship between knowledge absorption and export performance. Moreover, the findings of moderated mediation model revealed that the direct and indirect effects of market exploitation on export performance are more prevalent when competitive intensity is low. While competitive intensity is high, the direct and indirect effects of market exploration on export performance are more prevalent.

By introducing a higher-level dynamic marketing capability approach and linking it to ambidexterity constructs (learning though exploration and exploitation), export business professionals should appreciate the full spectrum of mid-level marketing capabilities they need to develop alongside their exploration and exploitation strategies to improve their export performance. This study directs attention to the competitive intensity conditions the exporting firm is facing. When export business professionals are faced with high-level of competitive intensity in the market, they should establish a clear focus on their exploration learning strategies if they wish to enhance their export performance.

The authors contribute to two broad domains of literature: organizational learning and DMC strategy. The study results show that how the two components of international ambidexterity as organizational learning constructs (i.e. market exploration and exploitation) influence knowledge management processes within firms through a firm's possession of a fine configuration of higher-level marketing capability. This study also theoretically and empirically examines how higher-level DMC strategy can mediate the consequence of international knowledge absorption mechanism on firm export performance. From a practical perspective, this study provides useful lessons for exporting firms wishing to enhance their performance.

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and structure–conduct–performance (SCP) paradigm perspectives, this study aims to investigate the influence of the innovation and technical capabilities of exporting organisations on their export performance moderate by competitive intensity.

Primary data were collected from 162 Chinese manufacturer–exporter companies operating across China. The conceptual framework of this study, which incorporated the impact of RBV and SCP paradigm determinants on export performance through the interaction effect of competitive intensity, was tested using structural equation modelling (Smart-PLS).

Results show that the technical and innovation capabilities can increase its export success in international markets. Furthermore, this research finds that competitive intensity moderates the positive relationship between technical capability and export performance but not the relationship between innovation capability and export performance.

This study presents a holistic assessment of the export performance of manufacturer–exporter enterprises by accounting for the overlooked effect of organisational capabilities through the moderating function of competitive intensity. This study has far-reaching consequences for export academics and practitioners, including the fundamental concept of an internationalizing small- and medium-sized enterprises, especially the manufacturers.