scholarly journals Factors Influencing the Relationship Quality between Exporters and Foreign Intermediaries on SMEs Export Performance

Author(s):  
Norliza Hamir Basah

This study aims to investigate factors that influence the relationship quality between Malaysia SMEs exporter and foreign intermediaries. This paper draws insights from two integrating theories such as social capital theory (SCT) and internationalization process (IP) theory to evaluate the synergistic consequences of several constructs such as cultural similarity, effective communication, knowledge sharing and trust on export performance. The model is tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via Smart PLS on a sample of 203 SME exporters in Malaysia. The findings revealed that all hypotheses are supported. The research highlights that cultural similarity is a catalyst in internationalization process and show the mechanism on how cultural similarity can influence effective communication and knowledge sharing thus impetus trust which finally reflect the performance outcomes. The findings extended the application of the underpinning theories and their tenets in explaining the Malaysian SMEs’ export performance use foreign intermediaries.  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 399-418
Author(s):  
Norliza Hamir Basah ◽  
Siew-Imm Ng ◽  
Jo-Ann Ho ◽  
Raja Nerina Raja Yusof

Quality is a crucial component for developing a relationship between SME exporters and exporter intermediaries. The key role that quality plays in enhancing the performance of SMEs in foreign markets has been highlighted. Additionally, in order to support the development of such a relationship, cultural similarity is a fundamental catalyst particularly for initial stages of theinternationalization process due to the belief that companies perform better in foreign markets if they possess similar cultural backgrounds. However,there have beenprevious studies have reported inconsistencies in findings between cultural similarity andperformance. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine what are the mechanisms inwhich cultural similarity can lead to relationship quality as well as performance. This current study usedthe Internationalization Process (IP) Theory and the Relational Exchange Theory (RET) to examine the synergistic effect of several factors on export performance within the context of Malaysian exporting SMEs and exporter intermediaries. A quantitative method was employed in this study where the primary data derived from 203 SME manufacturing exporting firms in Malaysia. Structural Equation Modeling using SmartPLS was used for data analysis. The result indicates that all hypotheses are supported. Findings may contribute to enriching the existing literature on export performance of Malaysian SMEs which use foreign intermediaries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 556-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warat Winit ◽  
Sooksan Kantabutra

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between stakeholders’ perceived benefits and happiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that follow Thai’s corporate sustainability practices, called sufficiency economy, and their impact on stakeholder–company relationship quality and firm performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Derived from the literature, a structural model, expressing the relationship between stakeholders’ perceived benefits and happiness of SMEs and their impact on stakeholder–company relationship quality and firm performance outcomes, was developed. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 636 stakeholders from sufficiency economy SMEs in Thailand. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. Findings Results indicate that utilitarian benefits, and hedonic and eudaimonic happiness impact enhanced stakeholder–company relationship quality with the firm to varying degrees. Different levels of relationship quality also impact perceived corporate reputation and perceived brand equity differently. Originality/value This study is among the first that identifies the positive impact of happiness on corporate sustainability performance.


Author(s):  
Hassan Gharayagh Zandi ◽  
Sahar Zarei ◽  
Mohammad Ali Besharat ◽  
Davoud Houminiyan sharif abadi ◽  
Ahmad Bagher Zadeh

Coaching has often been viewed as a context within which coaches operate to largely bring about changes in athlete’s performance and flourishing. One key factor to successful outcomes in coaching is the quality of the relationship between coaches and athletes. The coach–athlete relationship is at the heart of coaching; however, limited studies have been conducted on its antecedents. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between coaches’ forgiveness and perceived relationship quality toward their athletes through verifying the mediating role of interpersonal behaviors of coaches. A total of 270 Iranian coaches participated in the survey, and the data sets were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that forgiveness positively predicted the coaches’ perceived relationship quality with their athletes, and this pathway was mediated by the coaches’ interpersonal behaviors.


Author(s):  
Imene Ben Yahia

This research investigates how the companies' efforts' visibility influence VCs members' loyalty. Based on the relationship marketing and the signaling theory, it posits that perceived benefits by members influence loyalty through the full mediation of the relationship investments and the relationship quality. However, this influence is moderated by the visibility of companies' efforts. Data from 342 members of company-managed virtual communities were collected. The sample was divided into two groups according to the visibility of the company's efforts. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques and multi-group analysis. Results show that this influence is significant when the efforts of the company are visible and not significant when they are not. Providing benefits to members is then not enough to foster loyalty. The company has to be a visible partner who contributes in the success of the virtual community.


SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401989883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kolawole Iyiola ◽  
Husam Rjoub

This study investigates conflict management climate as perceived by the owners and contractors significantly affect trust and relationship quality in the Nigerian construction industry. This empirical study also assesses trust as a mediator between conflict management climate and relationship quality. Data gathered from 426 owners and contractors employees in the Nigerian construction industry were used to verify the abovementioned relationships via structural equation modeling. The results show that conflict management climate significantly predicted trust and relationship quality. Trust significantly predicted relationship quality and partially mediates the relationship between conflict management climate and relationship quality. This study contributes to theory within this research by showing trust and relationship quality is significantly affected when owners and contractors are aware of the conflict management climate. The study offers important practical implications for managing conflict management between owners and contractors in the construction industry. Insights into future research directions are also documented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasha Afshar Jalili ◽  
Farideh Salemipour

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of organizational citizenship behavior’s sub-constructs including altruism, civic virtue, sportsmanship, conscientiousness and courtesy on knowledge sharing behavior (KSB). It also pays attention to the effects of group emotional climate on the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach This research was conducted based on the quantitative research strategy by applying structural equation modeling. Using a random sampling method, this research surveyed 116 participants and analyzed the data via partial least equation modeling. Findings The results claim that altruism, conscientiousness and civic virtue have a significant effect on KSB, while the relationship between courtesy and sportsmanship with KSB were not significant. Furthermore, the findings depict that positive and negative workgroup emotional climate would impede or enhance KSB among people with a high level of altruism, conscientiousness and civic virtue. Practical implications Given the importance of knowledge sharing in the today knowledge economy, by comprehending the influence of group organizational citizenship behavior’s sub-constructs on knowledge sharing, managers would improve organizational knowledge sharing by developing a culture encouraging altruism, conscientiousness and civic virtue as a substitute for incentive pay. Moreover, promoting an emotionally supportive climate fosters knowledge sharing within people. Originality/value This study makes three distinct additions to the knowledge sharing literature. First, although there are little studies that investigate the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and KS, a few of them examine the effects of OCB’s sub-constructs on KS behavior. Second, this is one of the first studies that examined the moderating role of workgroup emotional climate regarding knowledge sharing. Finally, examining the effect of OCB’s sub-constructs on KS in an Iranian public sector would contribute to the literature by broadening the examination of the constructs in a different context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Henry Boateng ◽  
Ramanah Visnupriyan ◽  
Kwame Simpe Ofori ◽  
Robert Ebo Hinson

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between some elements of social capital, knowledge quality, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)’ innovativeness and export performance. Data were collected from owners/managers of SME exporters in Ghana. Structural Equation Modeling was used for the data analysis. The results indicate that the elements of social capital facilitate access to quality knowledge which consequently improves SMEs’ innovativeness. The study also shows that SMEs’ innovativeness affects their export performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro ◽  
Arnold Japutra ◽  
Sebastian Molinillo ◽  
Ricardo Godinho Bilro

Purpose This paper aims to explore tourist perceived value and attachment to intelligent voice assistants (IVAs) as antecedents of the quality of the human–IVA relationship in the hospitality domain. This research also examines the moderating role of psychological factors (self-esteem) and knowledge factors (past experience and technology expertise) in the relationships between antecedents and relationship quality. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted two quantitative studies, collecting data via online surveys in Mechanical Turk (n1 = 124 and n2 = 281). The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The first study uncovers that tourist perceived value is the main influence on the quality of the relationship between tourists and IVAs. The second study confirms the direct relationships of the first and shows that self-esteem and technology expertise act as moderators. Practical implications This study advances the understanding of the tourism and hospitality stakeholders in using modern technologies (e.g. IVAs). Through comprehending the relationship building between individuals and IVAs, the stakeholders will be able to craft better strategies. Originality/value The study extends the attachment and social exchange theories to the tourist–IVA relationship context. Specifically, this research demonstrates the impact of tourist perceived value on the quality of the relationship with the IVA. It also points out that tourists’ self-esteem and technology expertise can weaken the tourist–IVA relationship.


Author(s):  
Srikant Panigrahy ◽  
Prahlad Mishra Professor ◽  
B. P. Patra

Focusing on internationalization process of firms of developing countries, the present study attempts to identify the important determinants/ variables which affect the Indian pharma firms' export performance. A causal model was built using contingency theory perspective by including important external variables, internal variables, export strategy and export performance affecting Indian pharma firms and was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The finding of this study support the conceptual model build using contingency framework and contributes both to export performance researchers for building further the theory and Indian pharma industry to focus on important determinants for export success.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goudarz Azar ◽  
Rian Drogendijk

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between cultural distance (both perceived and objective), innovation and firm export performance. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested here by structural equation modeling using data from 186 export ventures into 23 international markets by Swedish companies. Findings The results indicate that managers’ perceptions of substantial cultural differences as well as objective cultural differences (gauged using Hofstede’s (1980, 2001) scores for dimensions of national culture) and subsequent environmental uncertainty when expanding into culturally distant markets triggers strategies for interacting and integrating with the market environment. These include producing and adopting innovations to processes and products and to organizational strategy, structure and administrative procedures to cope with the new environment and overcome uncertainties. These innovations and the associated competitive advantages improve firm export performance. Originality/value Despite much research into the relationship between firm internationalization and innovation, little attention has been paid to the effect of the characteristics of the foreign markets (specifically cultural differences) on firm innovation strategies. Moreover, much research has been devoted to the effect of innovation on firm export performance, but such research has mainly focused on one type of innovation, i.e. technological innovation, while the influence of organizational innovation on firm export performance has been basically ignored. The present study validates the explanatory of cultural distance (both perceived and objective) in relation to innovation strategies (technological and organizational) and export performance.


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