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Export barriers and path to internationalization: A comparison of conventional enterprises and international new ventures

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Abstract

Twenty years after the seminal work on rapid and early internationalization, export barrier research remains detached from this path of internationalization. Thus far, export research has largely disregarded the relationship between path to internationalization and the influence of export constraints. This paper opens a new thoroughfare of inquiry by distinguishing international new ventures from conventional enterprises on the basis of the export barrier construct. Using a sample of 129 small multinational enterprises, our logistic regression model separates international new ventures from conventional enterprises, with accuracy approaching 80 % on the basis of eight underlying export barrier factors. Our results convey two dynamic implications: In the realm of export research, we demonstrate that export barriers can indeed predict the path to internationalization. Thus, gradual internationalization is induced by skill and knowledge shortages, while rapid internationalization ensues from positive managerial orientation and lack of confidence in the host market. From a policymaking perspective, this study provides a basis for predicting the international new venture-to-conventional enterprise ratio within the population as well as an instructive basis for needs-based targeting of incentives.

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Acknowledgments

The author is indebted to the editor (Prof. Hamid Etemad) and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and valuable ideas on earlier versions of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Business Management, Law and Marketing, Faculty of Commerce, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 84, Lincoln, Canterbury, 7647, New Zealand

    Eldrede Tinashe Kahiya

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Correspondence to Eldrede Tinashe Kahiya.

Appendix

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Table 7 Exploratory factor analysis for export barriers
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Table 8 Perception of export barriers by SMEs
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Kahiya, E.T. Export barriers and path to internationalization: A comparison of conventional enterprises and international new ventures. J Int Entrep 11, 3–29 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-013-0102-4

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