E-commerce and Export Performance By Munib Karavdic

It is important to note that these changes imply a continuous evolution of export marketing strategy and the environment, as e-commerce transforms not only intra-organisational structures and processes, but also the nature and structure of linkages between them.

This research presents a fully integrated investigation of the link between business environments, export marketing strategy, e-commerce drivers, and export performance in an export venture market. The study blends theoretical concepts of internationalisation, industrial organisation economics, the resource-based view, and transaction cost economics to model the internal and external determinants of export marketing strategy influenced by e-commerce. Empirical research streams on export performance and e-commerce are also considered in the development of a theoretical framework.

While Cavusgil and Zou’s (1994) framework postulates that marketing strategy in an export venture is determined by internal and external forces, this study attempts to determine the influence of e-commerce drivers on export marketing strategy, and the effects of e-commerce utilisation on the export marketing strategy – export performance relationship. Justifications of internal force measures are drawn from resource-based view theory which explains that superior firm performance is regarded as increasingly dependent on the organisational resources, routines, replication and rent. External force measures are consistent with those of industrial organisation theory which argues that industry structure or business environment influences the conduct of firms within an industry and impacts the performance of the industry.

Internal e-commerce drivers are derived from the literature concerned with e-commerce and managerial research. The concept of e-commerce drivers represents structural determinants of differences among competitors in the cost of buyer or group activities. Product online transferability and e-commerce assets, as internal e-commerce drivers, are consistent with resource-based view theory and they are treated as firm-based resources.

External e-commerce drivers, export market e-commerce infrastructure and demand for e-commerce in export markets, are consistent with industrial organisation theory and are treated as external force measures.