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Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face challenges in internationalisation due to their limited resources. Research on service firm internationalisation as well as the antecedents and consequences is scarce. Literature suggests that internationalisation for service firms is even more demanding than for manufacturing firms due to the characteristics of services such as intangibility. Extant literature states that firms introducing innovations are more likely to export. However, research on learning by exporting and thus investigating the effect of a firm’s export status on innovation is comparatively scarce. Therefore, the authors investigate the influence of different market entry strategies on innovation and firm performance. The authors employ a quantitative, survey-based approach to test our hypotheses based on a sample of internationally active firms headquartered in Austria. Regarding firm financial performance, the analysis of the data shows that the entry strategy of direct entry excels the direct export strategy. In terms of non-financial performance, the strategies of direct entry and direct export seem to be equally feasible.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how market-oriented and entrepreneurial-oriented behaviour drives firm performance in an emerging markets context.

Using data from 170 Austrian exporters to Central and Eastern Europe, the authors test a conceptual model including market-oriented and entrepreneurial-oriented practices as predictors of performance.

Results indicate that both market-orientated and entrepreneurial-oriented strategies have positive performance effects in emerging markets.

A limitation is that firms were not examined longitudinally, as this is a cross-sectional study. Future research may include longitudinal studies or focus on other markets/regions.

Firms are encouraged to adopt a market-oriented and entrepreneurial-oriented strategy to achieve better results in international, emerging market operations.

The authors add to the emerging economy research literature by studying the relevance of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation in determining firm performance in emerging markets. Furthermore, this study supports the generalizability of findings from an advanced to an emerging economies research setting.

In this paper, we examine the elements of pricing approaches in export businesses and their performance in an international environment. The elements of pricing approaches consist of cost-based, competitor-based, and value-based decisions made by different levels of management. By providing an integrated, holistic view, we investigate how different types of export-pricing strategies influence export performance, and which elements strengthen or attenuate the outcomes of strategic actions.

Using data from a survey of 172 export managers, we test our hypotheses in a two-step approach. First, we use an unsupervised approach to group the export companies and to validate the cluster solution internally and externally. Second, we test our hypotheses regarding export performance.

The results show that the types of export-pricing strategies are unequally distributed, and the elements of the strategies have different complexities. Export performance varies significantly by type of pricing orientation used.

In this study, we examine the influence of different components of dynamic capabilities on value-based pricing and export performance. We develop a research model investigating the three component factors of dynamic capabilities, that is, adaptive capability, absorptive capability, and innovative capability, and their respective influence on value-based pricing and export performance. Furthermore, we hypothesize a relationship between value-based pricing and export performance. Building upon a sample of 172 Austrian CEOs and marketing managers, we test our hypotheses through structural equation modeling using partial least squares. The results reveal that a firm’s adaptive capability and innovative capability both positively influence value-based pricing. Furthermore, our results show that adaptive capability has a positive influence on export performance. The relationship between value-based pricing and export performance could not be supported. Hence, we conclude that a firm’s adaptive capability plays a central role in international pricing and leads to enhanced export performance.

This study aims to examine the impact of branding aspects on firm performance in several markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Specifically, the question of brand promotion standardization is the focus of attention.

After literature review, a conceptual model suggests that the standardization of brand promotion, as well as a long-term brand vision provided by management, positively influences firm performance in the target market. Furthermore, the model considers the external environmental factors of media infrastructure and customer homogeneity. Data gathered from a survey with managers allow testing the hypotheses through structural equation modeling.

The results of the quantitative study largely support the hypotheses. A positive relationship between media infrastructure and promotion standardization was found. Promotion standardization and brand vision both have a significant impact on firm performance in the target market. The relationship between customer homogeneity and promotion standardization could not be supported.

The conceptual model depicts a highly specific area of investigation. Future research may include other variables and/or focus on different markets or regions to further add to the generalizability of the results.

The existing media infrastructure in the foreign target markets of Central and Eastern Europe should be thoroughly considered. A standardized approach toward brand promotion is recommended for Central and Eastern European markets to enhance firm performance.

This study contributes to the literature by considering branding in an international context which is still underrepresented in international management and marketing research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate market-contextual variations in consumers’ self-service technology (SST) usage intentions.

Applications of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology support the exploration of antecedents of usage intention for SSTs in two market contexts, through a survey among Taiwanese and Austrian college students. The cross-cultural nature of the study suggested the need for factor analyses to evaluate measurement equivalence. A Chow-Test confirmed structural stability, followed by regression analysis and independent samples t-tests to confirm the hypotheses.

Substantial differences arise across market contexts that shape usage intentions. In a collectivistic, emerging market context (Taiwan), performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and personal innovativeness significantly influence usage intention. In an individualistic, advanced market context (Austria), only performance expectancy and social influence have significant impacts on usage intention. Personal innovativeness moderates only the relationship between performance expectancy and usage intention.

The findings suggest that usage intention is subject to the market environment in which the technology is introduced. Consumers are influenced by the local and institutional-cultural environment.

Globalization has accelerated the launch of retail services innovations. It is imperative to understand consumers’ usage intentions from a global perspective. This study advances SST research by analyzing and comparing adoption behavior in an advanced vs emerging market setting.