Foreword

xi

Preface

xiii

Executive Summary

xvii

Acknowledgements

xxv

List of Abbreviations

xxvii

1 Introduction

1

1.1 Background of the study

1

1.2 Motivation of the research

4

1.3 Research objective and research questions

5

1.4 Contributions

6

1.5 Limitations.

7

1.6 Delimitations of scope and their justification.

7

1.7 Definitions used in this research

7

1.8 Thesis outline.

8

2 Theoretical background.

9

2.1 Introduction

9

2.2 Theoretical foundations of export marketing strategy.

9

2.2.1 Theory of internationalisation (TI)

10

2.2.2 The industrial organisation theory (IO)

12

2.2.3 The resource-based view theory (RBV)

13

2.2.4 The transaction cost economics theory (TCE)

15

2.3 Review of export performance literature

17

2.3.1 Determinants of export performance

18

2.3.2 Export performance measures

29

2.4 Emerging e-commerce literature

30

2.4.1 Defining e-commerce

30

2.4.2 Schumpeter’s "creative destruction" theory

32

2.5 Influence of e-commerce on export marketing strategy performance relationship

34

2.5.1 E-commerce export strategy

34

2.5.2 Impact of e-commerce on export marketing strategy

35

2.5.3 Utilisation of e-commerce in export business

39

2.5.4 Internal and external e-commerce drivers

41

2.5.5 Summary

45