By combining a strategy-based perspective with the Resource-based view of the firm, this paper explores the factors that support the export performance of the firm when expanding in EMs. It provides an original framework that includes direct and indirect effects on export performances, such as the firm international experience, its marketing capabilities, and the level of adaptation of the marketing strategy. Moderating roles are also considered. In particular, we look at the moderating role that marketing capabilities and international experience have on the relationship between adaptation strategy and export performance. We test our hypotheses though multiple logistic regression on a sample of 258 Italian firms belonging to the fashion, furniture, and engineering industries.
Our paper provides three contributions to the literature. First, it advances our understanding on the factors that favor firms in achieving export performance in the context of EMs, and in particular, international experience and degree of adaptation of the marketing strategy. Second, it explains the moderating role that the marketing capabilities of the firm exert on adaptation strategies. Third, it shows that the achievement of satisfactory performances in the context of EMs is not a matter of size of the firm or industry belonging. On the contrary, our data support the claim that firms of any size and industry can succeed in EMs if appropriately endowed from a strategic and a capability point of view.
