Sources of competitive advantage in high performing exporting companies

Abstract

The requirements for success in export market ventures are likely to differ not merely from the critical success factors in the domestic market, but also from the policies effective in the fully internationalized or global enterprise. Exporting activities are a vitally important area of international business, where the foundations for superior performance are not well understood. A recent study of export market ventures in the U.K. links superior exporting performance to the establishment of key competitive advantages, which may be traced to foundations in specific competencies (competitive skills in exporting) and capabilities (competitive resources in exporting). This simple model of the sources of superior export performance and this study's findings provide important insights for executives.