Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies

Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies

Structural factors associated with the export performance of manufacturing firms
Edward E. Marandu University of Botswana ABSTRACT This study investigates whether the structures of High performance Exporter firms differ from those of Low performance Exporter firms. Data were obtained from a survey of managers of 60 firms in Tanzania, an underdeveloped country. The study produces interesting contributions to our understanding of export causal relationships. The findings are both at variance and in conformity with existing theory. The findings are different because only a few ormity of the structural factors are associated significantly with export performance. This can be explained in terms of the ‘‘unsettled’’ industrial development and inward looking strategies of strate Tanzania which seem to reduce the explanatory power of conventional trade theories. The findings are in some ways consistent with theory in the sense that although many of the structural variables are not related significantly to performance, nevertheless most were in the nevertheless hypothesized direction or could be explai explained by alternative hypotheses. This implies that structural factors affecting export performance may be universal. Keywords: export performance, manufacturing, Tanzania, underdeveloped countries

Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies INTRODUCTION This is an empirical study concerned with investigating the association between export structure and the export performance of manufacturing firms. The investigation centers upon whether the structure of high performing exporter firms differs from th ers those of low performing ones. The study has t distinct characteristics. First, it takes a broad view of two the concept of structure. Second, theory development, a major weakness of the literature on , exporting, has been given a good amount of attention. This study has been inspired by the seminal

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