Export memory: a preliminary investigation of its quality, its use, and its link to export performance

Exporting is one of the main ways in which organizations internationalize. With the more turbulent, heterogeneous, sophisticated and less familiar export environment, the organizational learning ability of the exporting organization may become its only source of sustainable competitive advantage. However, achieving a competitive level of learning is not easy. Companies must be able to find ways to improve their learning capability by enhancing the different aspects of the learning process. One of these is export memory. Building from an export information processing framework this research work particularly focuses on the quality of export memory, its determinants, its subsequent use in decision-making, and its ultimate relationship with export performance. Within export memory use, four export memory use dimensions have been discovered: instrumental, conceptual, legitimizing and manipulating. Results from the qualitative study based on the data from a mail survey with 354 responses reveal that the development of export memory quality is positively related with quality of export information acquisition, the quality of export information interpretation, export coordination, and integration of the information into the organizational system. Several company and environmental factors have also been examined in terms of their relationship with export memory use. The two factors found to be significantly related to the extent of export memory use are acquisition of export information quality and export memory quality. The results reveal that export memory quality is positively related to the extent of export memory use which in turn was found to be positively related to export performance. Furthermore, results of the study show that there is only one aspect of export memory use that significantly affects export performance – the extent of export memory use. This finding could mean that there is no particular type of export memory use favored since the choice of the type of use is situation specific. Additional results reveal that environmental turbulence and export memory overload have moderating effects on the relationship between export memory use and export performance.

Self-selection into export markets by business services firms:evidence from France, Germany and the United Kingdom

This study investigates business services firms that (start to) export, comparing exporters to firms that serve the national market only. We estimate identically specified empirical models using comparable enterprise data from France, Germany, and the UK. Our findings show that exporters are on average more productive and pay higher wages in all three countries. However, results for profitability differ across borders, where profitability of exporters is significantly smaller in Germany, significantly larger in France, and does not differ significantly in the UK. The results for wages and productivity hold in the years before firms start exporting, which indicates self-selection into exporting of more productive services firms that pay higher wages. The surprising finding of self-selection of less profitable German services firms into exporting does not show up among firms from France and the UK. In all three countries we do not find evidence for positive effects of exporting on firm performance. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Export propensity, export intensity and firm performance:the role of the entrepreneurial founding team

We investigate how the characteristics and experience of the entrepreneurial founding team (EFT) affect the export orientation and subsequent performance of the businesses they establish, while allowing for the mutually reinforcing relationship between exporting and productivity. Using a sample of UK technology-based firms, we hypothesise and confirm that the set of EFT human capital needed for entering export markets is different from that required for succeeding in export markets. Commercial and managerial experience helps firms become exporters, but once over the exporting hurdle it is education, both general and specific, that has a substantially positive effect. The overall pattern of human capital effects on productivity is similar to those for export propensity. We also find evidence that productive firms are more likely both to enter export markets and to be export intensive, and that exporting boosts subsequent firm productivity.

The innovation value chain and export performance:a study of Taiwanese manufacturing industries

This thesis involves the secondary data of 1806 innovative manufacturing firms derived from the database of 2nd Taiwanese Innovation Survey. Three topics are researched. The first topic investigates the innovation value chain (IVC) in Taiwanese manufacturing firms. Previous IVC studies are all done in developed countries such as UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Switzerland, and it leaves the gap of those non-developed countries. The result shows the overall knowledge sourcing pattern of Taiwanese manufacturing firms presenting a complementary relationship which is consistent to the previous IVC studies. The main innovation input is still derived from internal R&D which suggests more utilisation of external knowledge may boost innovation outcome. Product innovation does enhance firm growth while process innovation reduces a firm’s productivity. The second topic uses the lens of IVC to investigate the difference of the innovation process from knowledge linkages to value added between high-tech and low- tech sectors. The findings indicate (1) there are significant differences in the IVC between high- and low-tech sectors, however these are defined; (2) how you define ‘sector’ matters i.e. the nature of the high-tech and low-tech differences varies depending on whether the technology definition is carried out at the industry or firm level; and (3) the high uncertainty of innovation cause the difficulty to predict firm performance especially for those firms with high intensity of innovation. The third topic investigates the innovation-exporting relationship and explores the determinants of export performance. Product innovation enhances export performance once a firm enters international markets while process innovation affects negatively on a firm’s likelihood of being an exporter. Furthermore, IP protection is found to affect directly export performance positively.

Symbolic use of export information:a multidimensional conceptualisation, its' effect on performance and key antecedents

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Pricing-to-market and the volatility of UK export prices

This empirical study examines the Pricing-To-Market (PTM) behaviour of 20 UK export sectors. Using both Exponential General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) and Threshold GARCH (TGARCH) estimation methods, we find evidence of PTM that is accompanied by strong conditional volatility and weak asymmetry effects. The PTM estimates suggest that when the currency of exporters appreciates in the current period, exporters pass-on between 31% and 94% of the Foreign Exchange (FX) rate increase to importers. However, both export price changes and producers' prices are sluggish, perhaps being driven by coordination failure and menu driven costs, amongst others. Furthermore, export prices contain strong time varying effects which impact on PTM strategy. Exporters do not typically appear to put much more weight on negative news of (say) an FX rate appreciation compared to positive news of an FX rate depreciation. Much depends on the export sector. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Az exportpiac-orientáció előzményei és annak exportteljesítményre gyakorolt hatása a magyar felsőoktatási intézményekben (Antecedents to the export market orientation of Hungarian higher education institutions, and their export performance consequences)

A felsőoktatás nemzetközi versenyképességének vizsgálata azt mutatja, hogy egyre szélesebb körben alkalmazzák a sikeres egyetemek azokat a megközelítéseket, amelyeket az elmúlt fél évszázadban a menedzsmentirodalom az üzleti szférában meghonosított. A szerzők a felsőoktatási ágazatra terjesztik ki az exportpiac- orientáció elméletét, és azt vizsgálják, hogy milyen előzmények vezetnek annak kialakulásához. Elemzik továbbá, hogy az exportpiac-orientáció milyen hatással van a felsőoktatási intézmények exportteljesítményére. A tanulmány továbbá kitér az exportpiac-orientáció és az exportteljesítmény kapcsolatát befolyásoló környezeti tényezők hatásának vizsgálatára is. A szerzők az említett összefüggéseket két almintán vizsgálják (a nemzetköziesedésben és a tudományos kutatásban vezető egyetemek vs. az előbbi dimenziókban gyengébben teljesítő felsőoktatási intézmények). Az eredmények alapján megállapítják, hogy az exporttapasztalat mindkét egyetemi csoportnál az exportteljesítmény szignifikáns előrejelzője, míg az exportkoordináció csupán a nemzetköziesedésben gyengébben teljesítő egyetemek csoportjánál magyarázza az exportpiac-orientáció változását. Megfigyelhető továbbá, hogy az exportpiac-orientáció exportteljesítményre gyakorolt hatása erősebb a nemzetköziesedésben vezető magyar egyetemeknél, míg a nemzetközi piacokon tapasztalható verseny intenzitása fokozza a nemzetközi irányultság kialakulását ugyanezen csoportnál. ______ The authors extend the theory of export market orientation to the higher education sector, and explore the association between export coordination, export experience, export market orientation, export performance and the competitive environment in the context of Hungarian higher education sector. The aforementioned relations are analyzed on two subsamples (universities with a top performance vs. universities with a lower performance in regard of internationalization and scientific research). Based on the results, the authors conclude that export experience is a significant predictor of export performance in both groups of institutions, while export coordination can only explain changes in export market orientation for the group comprising the universities that lag behind in terms of internationalization. They observe, moreover, that export market orientation becomes stronger as competitive forces in the environment intensify.

Kamatlábak és árszint kis, nyitott gazdaságban = Interest rates and price levels in a small open economy

A tanulmány azt vizsgálja, hogy a különböző kamatlábaknak milyen hatásai vannak az árszintre, illetve a nominális árakra egy nyitott elsősorban kis, nyitott gazdaságban szabad tőkeáramlás mellett. Míg a zárt gazdaságban csupán a nominális és reálkamatláb megkülönböztetése a lényeges, nyitott gazdaságban a kamatlábak vizsgálatakor meg kell fontolnunk a kamatlábparitás kérdését is. Tisztáznunk kell a reálkamatláb összetevőit, amelyben fontos szerepet kap mind az árfolyam-begyűrűzés (pass-through), mind pedig a kockázati prémium mértéke. A kamatlábhatások vizsgálatakor először azt a mechanizmust elemezzük, amely által a kamatláb befolyásolja a tartós jószágok költségét (explicit vagy implicit bérleti díját). Másodszor az exportszektor termelési döntése és a hazai kamatláb viszonyára vonatkozó mechanizmust vizsgáljuk. Belátjuk, hogy az exportáló szektor döntései függetlenek lehetnek a belföldi kamatlábaktól. Harmadszor bizonyos árazási viselkedéseket tanulmányozunk. Bebizonyítjuk, hogy a kamatláb olyan növelése, ami nem változtat a jelenlegi árfolyamon, árszintnövelő az importőr ország számára. Megfogalmazható az a nézet, hogy ha van is a kamatlábaknak keresleti hatása a zárt gazdaságban, a kis, nyitott gazdaságban ez vélhetőleg sokkal gyengébb. _____ The study examines what effects various interest rates have on the price level and nomi-nal prices in an open (primarily small) economy with free flows of capital. A closed economy calls for a distinction only between nominal and real rates of interest, but in an open economy, questions of interest-rate parity have to be considered as well. It is nec-essary to clarify the factors behind the real interest rate important for price-level pass-through and for the scale of risk premium. Analysis of interest-rate effects begins with the mechanism whereby the interest rate influences the cost of fixed assets (explicit or implicit rents). Secondly, the mechanism behind the relation of export-sector production decisions and domestic interest rates is examined. It emerges that decisions of the export sector are independent of domestic interest rates. Thirdly, certain types of pricing behav-iour are studied. It is shown that a rise in the interest rate that does not alter the present exchange rate is a price-raising factor for the importing country. It can be assumed that if the interest rate has a demand effect in a closed economy, this will presumably be much weaker in a small open economy.

Patterns and Drivers of the Agri-Food Intra-Industry Trade of European Union Countries

This paper investigates the drivers of agri-food intra-industry trade (IIT) indices in the European Union (EU-27) member states during the period from 2000–2011. The increased proportion of IIT in matched two-way agri-food trade of the EU-27 member states is consistent with economic integration and economic growth. When export prices were at least 15% higher than the import prices, high-vertical IIT, increased for most member states. This finding suggests that quality improvements occurred when comparing agri-food exports to similar imports of agri-food products. The IIT indices for both horizontal and vertical IIT are positively associated with higher economic development levels, new EU membership and EU enlargement. Additionally, as higher levels of economic development decreases, the size of the economy and marginal IIT increases the effects of agri-food trade liberalization on the costs of the labor market adjustment. Understanding how improvements in agri-food trade quality impact agribusiness and managerial competitiveness reveal significant policy implications.

An evaluation of exchange rate policy and economic adjustment in Nicaragua, 1993--1995

Since the late 1970's, but particularly since the mid-1980s, the economy of Nicaragua has had persistent and large macroeconomic imbalances, while GDP per-capita has declined to 1950s' levels. By the second half of the 1990s, huge fiscal deficits and a reduction of foreign financing resulted in record hyperinflation. The Sandinista government's (1979–1990) harsh stabilization program in 1988–89 had only modest and short-lived success. It was doomed by their inability to lower the public sector deficit due to the war, plus diminishing financial support from abroad. Hyperinflation stopped only after their 1990 electoral defeat ended the war and massive aid began to flow in. Five years later, macroeconomic stability is still very fragile. A sluggish recovery of export agriculture plus import liberalization, have impeded a reduction of huge trade and current account deficits. Facing the prospects of diminished aid flows, the government's strategy has hinged on the achievement of a real devaluation through a crawling-peg adjustment of the nominal rate. However, at the end of 1995 the situation of the external accounts was still critical, and the modest progress achieved was attributable to cyclical terms-of-trade improvement and changes in the political outlook of agricultural producers. Using a Computable General Equilibrium Model and a Social Accounting Matrix constructed for this dissertation, the importance of structural rigidities in production and demand in explaining such outcome is shown. It is shown that under the plausible structural assumptions incorporated in the model, the role of devaluation in the adjustment process is restricted by structural rigidities. Moreover, contrary to the premise of the orthodox economic thinking behind the economic program, it is the contractionary effect of devaluation more than its expenditure-switching effects that provide the basis for is use in solving the external sector's problems. A fixed nominal exchange rate is found to lead to adverse results. The broader conclusion that emerges from the study is that a new social compact and a rapid increase in infrastructure spending plus fiscal support for the traditional agro-export activities is at the center of a successful adjustment towards external viability in Nicaragua. ^

Stream drying drives microbial ammonia oxidation and first-flush nitrate export

Funded by Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Grant Number: CGL2012-32747 MINECO. Grant Numbers: CGL2012-32747, CGL2011-30590-CO2-02 EU Commission. Grant Number: 244121 FP7

Integrase, the central DNA flap and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nuclear import

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Explaining intermittent exporting:exit and conditional re-entry in export markets

Intermittent exporting is something of a puzzle. In theory, exporting represents a major commitment, and is often the starting point for further internationalisation. However, intermittent exporters exit and subsequently re-enter exporting, sometimes frequently. We develop a conceptual model to explain how firm characteristics and market conditions interact to affect the decision to exit and re-enter exporting, and model this process using an extensive dataset of French manufacturing firms from 1997 to 2007. As anticipated, smaller and less productive firms are more likely to exit exporting, and react more strongly to changes in both domestic and foreign markets than larger firms. Exit and re-entry are closely linked. Firms with a low exit probability also have a high likelihood of re-entry, and vice versa. However, the way in which firms react to market conditions at the time of exit matters greatly in determining the likelihood of re-entry: thus re-entry depends crucially on the strategic rationale for exit. Our analysis helps explain the opportunistic and intermittent exporting of (mainly) small firms, the demand conditions under which intermittent exporting is most likely to occur, and the firm attributes most likely to give rise to such behavior.

Editor's choice Regional trade agreements and export competitiveness: the uncertain path of Nicaragua’s apparel exports under CAFTA

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been a mixed blessing for economic development. While exports to the US economy have increased, dependency may hinder economic growth if countries do not diversify or upgrade before temporary provisions expire. This article evaluates the impact of the temporary Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) granted to Nicaragua under CAFTA and the consequences of TPL expiration. Using trade statistics, country- and firm-level data from Nicaragua’s National Free Zones Commission (CNZF) and data from field research, we estimate Nicaragua’s apparel sector will contract as much as 30–40% after TPLs expire. Our analysis underscores how rules of origin and firm nationality affect where and how companies do business, and in so doing, often constrain sustainable export growth.