Chapter 1

Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

Abstract  Export assistance attracted many researchers during the last three
decades. Considering the present realities and future possibilities in world trade,
governments in many countries have increased their efforts to boost national exports.
Researchers have investigated the impact of such assistance on export performance,
at the national and/or firm level. Despite increased interest in this area, few attempts
have been made to address the outcomes of such promotion at the firm level. The
few studies which exist have not been very successful in establishing strong link
between the two. In this chapter, we first provide a brief review of the evolution of
export assistance literature by including and analyzing the studies since 1964. Then
we summarize two existing review articles on export assistance literature which
covered studies on the topic until 1991. Next we try to extend the review beyond this
period to broaden our knowledge about current trends in the field. We critically
examine empirical studies on the subject and eventually develop a new, extended
model for the relationship between export assistance and firm performance. Finally,
we conclude by giving suggestions for future research in the field.

Keywords  Export assistance literature • Impact of export assistance • Export

performance • Future directions

1.1 Introduction

The concept of export assistance is as old as the history of international trade. Export
assistance is generally conceived as a vehicle of economic development in the
developing world as well as a tool for strengthening the competitive competence of
business in both the developed and the developing countries (Seringhaus and Rosson
1990). Therefore, the importance of such programs cannot be undermined in any
country irrespective of the level of economic development, despite their differential
nature, means, schemes, and scopes in developed and developing nations. In fact,

A.R. Faroque and Y. Takahashi, Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward, 1
SpringerBriefs in Business 4, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1296-0_1,
© The Author(s) 2012
2 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

export promotion constitutes an integral part of government’s foreign trade policy

as well as political manifesto.
Interest in exporting is driven by the changing world economy. These changes
are being initiated by the proliferation of new technology, reducing trade barriers,
the formulation of multiple country trade agreements, financial market deregula-
tion, and the convergence of consumer tastes (Dean et  al. 2000). These forces,
collectively, have given birth to a new kind of international firms known as born
globals (BGs) or international new ventures (INVs). These new types of young
internationalizing firms are defined by “BG” or “INV” frameworks (McDougall
et al. 1994; Oviatt and McDougall 1994) as opposed to “stage” theories (Johanson
and Vahlne 1977) that are used to characterize traditional sequential international-
ization. Most of the research in export assistance addressed stage theories to examine
traditional internationalizing firms until recently, although BG firms appeared in
international business arena since the 1990s in larger numbers. Realizing the changing
pattern of the world economy as early as in the 1980s, Drucker (1986) asserted that:
“From now on any country – but also any business……..that wants to prosper will
have to accept that it is the world economy that leads and that domestic economic
policies will succeed only if they strengthen, or at least not impair, the country’s
international competitive position” (p. 791). National economic policies, therefore,
play a very important role in the integration of the local economy with the global
one by giving exclusive treatment to “underdogs” as well as “top dogs” in interna-
tional business to increase the competitive position of the country.
To facilitate national exports, each county has its own export promotion agen-
cies (EPAs). Researchers have made recurring attempts to establish a causal rela-
tionship between export promotion programs (EPPs) provided by EPAs and
national or state export growth. However, such attempts have often produced
inconclusive and unconvincing results. While some researchers found significant
impact of export assistance on national export growth (e.g., Coughlin and Cartwright
1987; Kaiser et al. 2003; Lederman et al. 2010; Wilkinson 2006; Wilkinson and
Brouthers 2000a, b; Sharma et al. 2001), others are skeptical to endorse it on the
ground of methodological flaws (Gencturk and Kotabe 2001). In addition, mac-
rolevel data cannot distinguish between the results of firms that use such services
and those that do not. Also, national exports can be influenced by other national
and international trading and economic environmental factors which cannot be
captured by export assistance alone. The limitations and problems associated
with establishing the causal relationship between EPPs and macrolevel outcomes
catalyzed the shift of academic attention toward micro (firm/venture) level perfor-
mance (Gillespie and Riddle 2004).

1.2 Evolution of Export Assistance Literature

Each research field has its own development history which bears the contribution of
many scholars. This history also provides future researchers an understanding of the
theoretical and empirical development and breakthrough in the field. Katsikeas (2003)
1.2  Evolution of Export Assistance Literature 3

complain that not enough effort is given to integrating the results of previous empirical
work in international marketing literature. In this section, we address this concern
by highlighting how export assistance literature has developed since 1964 so that
future scholars can have a clear idea of the past and present trends in the field. This
will also allow them to build upon the theories and findings while designing their own
research frameworks. Table 1.1 presents the chronological evolution of export
assistance literature in terms of study focus, country of study, and method of analy-
sis over the last five decades (1960–2009).
We have classified export assistance studies between 1960s and 2000s into three
groups based on their research theme as follows: (a) attributive studies of export assis-
tance (which explore awareness, use, benefit, adequacy, and importance of EPPs); (b)
need-based or gap-based studies of export assistance (which explore the specific need
of exporters and/or investigate the gap between demand (of exporters) and supply (by
EPAs) of export assistance; and (c) impact studies of export assistance (which inves-
tigate the impact of export assistance on venture or firm level export performance). In
addition, a fourth category exists that describes how to develop EPPs, evaluate them,
and target candidates eligible for getting assistance (“how-to” studies).
Since the 1960s, the urge to understand different aspects of export assistance has
spurred much research interest in the field. Tookey’s 1964 pioneering article “Factors
Associated with Successes in Exporting” inspired many researchers. During the 1960s
and 1970s, researchers were uncertain about their research focus and failed to contrib-
ute significantly. During the 1980s, the number of studies gradually increased as is
also evident in the reviews of Seringhaus (1986) and Diamantopoulos et al. (1993).
Seringhaus and Mayer (1988) ascertained the following characteristics of research on
the role and impact of external export marketing assistance (EMA) during the 1980s:
Little research is available although interest in the area is increasing; many studies are broad
investigations using weak research designs leading to uncertain findings; few studies look
at specific programs or services, or offer practical implications (p. 7).

By contrast, the 1990s can be considered as the golden epoch in the history of
export assistance literature. Although attributive and need-based studies predomi-
nated this period, we noticed a large variation among researchers in terms of num-
ber of studies, methods of analysis, research and country focus, and performance
measurement. Compared to previous decades, impact studies displayed a remark-
able growth in number and progress in analytical sophistication.
During the first decade in the new millennium, export assistance literature
observed some important landmarks which are in line with mainstream export per-
formance literature. Successful integration of export assistance and export perfor-
mance literature was made possible which is evident by the increase in the number
of impact studies, in addition to their statistical sophistication. Researchers were
particularly more interested to observe the ultimate impact of assistance on perfor-
mance, which is the holy grail of export assistance for both managers and public
policy makers. As Seringhaus (1986) commented:
What researchers should determine and management wants to know, is whether or not such
[export] assistance has any impact on exporting activity and to what extent such impact
manifests itself (p. 61).
 4

Table 1.1  Chronological development of export promotion literature (1964–2009)

Period Study focus Author (year) Country (no. of studies) Method of analysis
1960s Attributes of assistance Tookey (1964) 1 Descriptive (frequency)
UK (1)
1970s Attributes of assistance Mayer and Flynn (1973), Pointon (1978) 2 Descriptive (percent)
UK (1), Canada (1)
1980s Attributes of assistance Albaum (1983), Walters (1983), 8 Descriptive (mean, rank
Reid (1984), Bodur and Cavusgil (1985), USA (4), Canada (3), order, percent), K–S
Howard and Herremans (1988), Kedia and Turkey (1) test, correlation
Chhokar (1986), Seringhaus
( 1986/1987), Seringhaus and Mayer (1988)
Impact of assistance Reid (1984), Seringhaus (1987) 2 Correlation, index/cluster,
Canada (2) regression
1990s Attributes of assistance Kathawala and Elmuti (1990), 14 Descriptive (mean, percent,
Ramaswami and Yang (1990), Seringhaus and USA (7), Canada (2), rank order), chi-square,
Botschen (1991), Benito et al. (1993), Naidu UK (1), Norway (1), Turkey discriminant, MANOVA,
and Rao (1993), Ifju and Bush (1), Austria (1), Cyprus (1) hierarchical log-linear
(1994), Bruning (1995), Gopalakrishna et al. analysis, chi-square, T-test
(1995), Kumku et al. (1995), Vanderleest
(1996), Adams et al. (1997), Crick (1997),
Leonidou and Katsikeas (1997),
Moini (1998)
Need of assistance Dichtl et al. (1990), Crick (1992), Kotabe and 14 Descriptive (rank order,
Czinkota (1992), Evirgen et al. (1993), McAuley West Germany/Finland/South mean), MANOVA,
(1993), Crick (1995), Crick and Czinkota Korea/Japan/South Africa cluster, ordered
(1995),a Crick and Chaudhry (1997), Flemings (1), USA (4), UK (5), logistic, ANOVA,
et al. (1997), Gray (1997), Jensen and Hollis Canada (1), New Zealand analytical, MRA
(1998), Weaver et al. (1998), Carrier (1999) (1), Norway (1), Turkey (1)
Impact of assistance Donthu and Kim (1993), Singer and Czinkota 5 Discriminant, GLM (Logit),
(1994), Marandu (1995), Katsikeas USA (2), UK (1), Greece (1), ANOVA, multiple
et al. (1996), Souchon and Tanzania (1) regression, correlation,
1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

Diamantopoulos (1997) chi-square, significance test

Period Study focus Author (year) Country (no. of studies) Method of analysis
“How-to” (evaluate, Seringhaus (1990), O’Hara et al. (1993), 3 Analytical
develop EPPs, target Hibbert (1998) NA
candidates) of Naidu et al. (1997), Czinkota (1994), 3 Analytical
assistance Czinkota (1996) USA (1), India (1), NA (1)
Weaver et al. (1998) 1 Regression, ANOVA
Norway (1)
2000s Attributes of assistance Bell et al. (2000), Van-Voorthuizen et al. 13 Descriptive (frequency, mean,
(2001), Ahmed et al. (2002), Schuster and USA (3), NZ (2), UK (2), SD), CART, correlation,
Lundstorm (2002), Diamantopoulos et al. Canada (1), Germany (1), cluster, ANOVA,
(2003), Fischer and Reuber (2003), Spence Austria (1), Malaysia (1), ANCOVA, scheffe test,
and Crick (2004), Owusu-Frimpong and Ghana (1), Turkey (1) chi-square
Mmieh (2007), Koksal (2009)
Need of assistance Ryans and Shanklin (2000), Chiara and 3 Descriptive (percent, mean,
Minguzzi (2002), Silverman et al. (2002) USA (2), Italy (1) ranking), ANOVA, FA
Impact of assistance Gencturk and Kotabe (2001), Spence (2003),a 10 SEM, Probit, ANOVA,
1.2  Evolution of Export Assistance Literature

Alvarez (2004), Francis and Collins-Dodd USA (2), UK (1), Canada (1), Correlation, MRA, CFA,
(2004), Lages and Montgomery (2005), Ireland (1), Portugal (2), EFA
Shamsuddoha and Ali (2006), Wilkinson and Bangladesh (2), Chile (1)
Brouthers (2006), Ali and Shamsuddoha (2007),
Bonner and McGuinness (2007), Sousa and
Bradley (2009)
“How -to”(develop) of Czinkota (2002) 1 Analytical
assistance NA
NA not available/applicable, GLM general linear model, ANOVA analysis of variance, MANOVA multivariate analysis of variance, ANCOVA analysis of covariance,
CART classification and regression tree, MRA multiple regression analysis, FA factor analysis, EFA exploratory factor analysis, CFA confirmatory factor analysis,
SEM structural equation model, K–S test Kolmogorov–Smirnov test
Studies have been organized chronologically rather than alphabetically
Studies in bold have been carried out in multiple countries
a
 Longitudinal study
5
6 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

st
1990s 1 Decade in the Ne w
-Broader focus Millennium (2000-2009)
1980s -Focus narrowed down
1960s and 70s -Complex/advanced methods started
-Few studies -Complex and much
-Only a few studies to be used
-Simple methods advanced methods used
-Very simple method -USA & other developed country
-Mainly focus on attributes of -Developing country gained
of analysis dominant, but started to focus on
export assistance attention very recently
-Mainly focus on developing countries
-‘Impact of assistance’ gained -Impact studies increased
attributes of export - Attributive and need-based studies
attention twice as much as 1990s
assistance predominating, with a remarkable
increase in impact studies -Attributive and need-based
studies reduced significantly

Fig. 1.1  Chronological development of export promotion literature: Major changes

When we compare the five decades of export assistance research, a very clear
picture of progress and sophistication emerges. Figure 1.1 shows the chronological
development and changes in the literature. It can be anticipated that future research
in export assistance will follow the current trend with much research on developing
and developed countries using sophisticated research methodologies, and integrating
diverse theories from different disciplines, thus making the field widely accepted in
academia.

1.3 Existing Reviews on Export Assistance

To date Seringhaus (1986) and Diamantopoulos et al. (1993) attempted to review

and synthesize the extant literature on export assistance between 1964 and 1991 to
determine whether assistance programs and services have any impact on the perfor-
mance of a firm. However, these failed to reach any conclusion due to equivocality
of the findings and measurement problems in the studies. Both reviews are mostly
identical in terms of inclusion of studies as well as of findings. In this section, we
will briefly review the main characteristics of the two reviews, their conclusion, and
then attempt to extend the reviews beyond the 1964–1991 period.

1.3.1 Seringhaus (1986)

Seringhaus (1986) reviewed 21 studies published between 1964 and 1985. He

focused on the methodological and measurement problems that appeared to have a
confounding effect and may account for broad equivocality of the findings in many
of the studies. Research was carried out in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand,
Norway, Sweden, UK, USA, Uruguay, and West Germany. The respective samples
were diverse in characteristics, size, and response rates. Few researchers drew
systematic and stratified samples. Most of the studies mention measures of firms’
perception of or attitude toward government EMA.
1.4  Extending the Existing Reviews (1990 Onwards) 7

Because of varying definitions and constructs of government assistance difficulty

arises in interpreting the helpfulness of such programs. The measurement of help-
fulness was also confounded by global measure rather than specific measure of
EMA. This review mainly focuses on EMA because of its direct role in a firm’s rela-
tion with its markets. Seringhaus (1986) observed that despite its potential contri-
bution to the overall exporting activity of a firm, government EMA had in the past:
(a) not been mentioned by firms as an area of importance; (b) not been linked to
successful exporting; (c) not been related to the different phases of firms’ exporting
process; and (d) been regarded as uncertain in terms of its impact on firms.
Although businesses ranked EMA highly in several studies, the empirical valida-
tion of the role and potential impact of EMA was very subtle. He specified two rea-
sons for this: (a) such government assistance is inconsequential to a firm’s exporting
behavior and performance; and (b) the uncertainty about the impact of EMA is
directly related to the methodology and measurement used in the respective studies.

1.3.2 Diamantopoulos et al. (1993)

Diamantopoulos et  al. (1993) reviewed 25 empirical studies between 1973 and
1991. Research was carried out in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand,
West Germany, Uruguay, Norway, India, and Netherlands. Twelve studies relied
exclusively on a global construct of government assistance while 13 added or only
used individual or specific measures.
This review reported low awareness of government support. Regarding percep-
tions and attitudes toward assistance programs, they presented rather inconsistent
picture due to different studies’ contrasting results. Actual use of assistance pro-
grams also presented counter-intuitive findings with regard to size of firms. Finally,
perceived contribution and impact of assistance programs also failed to show any
unequivocal results as no fixed-type measurements were used. After analyzing the
findings from both the reviews, we present their cumulative findings in Table 1.2.
The reviews included 46 studies in total, covering 28 years of export assistance
research with a particular focus on EMA. Most of the findings were inconclusive, if
not contradictory. Methodological problems were also evident from the reviews which
drove the reviewers to suggest future directions for export assistance research.

1.4 Extending the Existing Reviews (1990 Onwards)

Previous reviews on export assistance done by Seringhaus (1986) and

Diamantopoulos et al. (1993) focused on EMA while some researchers were inter-
ested in investigating the impact of export financial assistance (EFA), in addition to
EMA, on export performance (e.g., Ali and Shamsuddoha 2007; Bonner and
McGuinness 2007). Moreover, previous reviews emphasized the various approaches
8 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

Table 1.2  A bird’s eye view of two previous reviews (Seringhaus1986; Diamantopoulos et al. 1993)
Issues Cumulative findings
Major facts
No of studies 46 Studies in total (some are common)
Time period covered 28 Years (1964–1991)
Type of assistance EMA
Construct of assistance Global, narrow-global, individual, specific
Country of focus 11 Countries (10 developed, 1 developing)
Major findings
Attitude toward EMA Four studies found positive while other four found
negative attitudes toward EMA. Confusing as
number of studies is inadequate to support either
of the views
Gap between demand and supply Gap between supply and demand of export assistance
of EMA is evident only by two studies
Stage of internationalization Exporters in early stages use assistance or perceive
benefit more. However, it is difficult to reach any
conclusion as experienced exporters continue to
use EMA and are more successful in meeting
objectives
Awareness and attention Strong awareness is evident by four studies but
number of studies is inadequate to reach a
conclusion
Firm size and use of assistance Confusing as out of two studies one found smaller
firms use more EPPs than larger firms while the
other found the opposite
Use of contrast group More than 50% of studies did not include contrast
groups
Construct of assistance Around 50% of studies relied exclusively on global
construct
Quantitative impact Failed to establish relationship between export
assistance and performance
Use of experiential information Usefulness of trade mission/trade fair perceived
assistance
Use of objective information Little use or value perceived
assistance
Methodological problems Methodological problems are evident from both
reviews. Based on these problems both reviewers
identified future direction for researchers
Global: measure combines all export marketing (and/or financial) assistance services or programs
offered by government
Narrow-global: measure combines similar-purpose services or programs, for example, those pro-
viding objective information for export planning and market entry, etc.
Individual: measure of individual assistance provided by a service or program, for example, the
Canadian Trade Commissioner service which can assist with information, contacts, visits, etc.
Specific: measure of specific assistance provided by a specific program, for example, a trade
mission used to enter export market (adopted from Seringhaus 1986)
Note: For reference of the studies, please see Seringhaus (1986) and Diamantopoulos et al. (1993).
Detail of this table can be obtained directly from the first author
1.4  Extending the Existing Reviews (1990 Onwards) 9

taken by researchers in investigating mainly the role and perception and, in a few
cases, the impact or effectiveness of EMA. The impact or effectiveness of export
assistance has been exclusively measured in export sales volume, export ratio, or
order receipt that is not appropriate for different kinds of assistance. This is because
different sets of assistance programs aim at achieving different objectives, for example,
trade fair or trade mission is targeted for entry into new markets. As Seringhaus
(1986) pointed out, the main reason behind equivocality of research findings seems
not so much a result of the export support services themselves or management’s
ambivalence about them, but a result of the methodological and measurement issues
in the existing research. Both reviews concentrated mainly on conference proceedings,
book chapters, and PhD dissertations with only a few journal articles published on
the topic. This is because export assistance literature was in infancy during that
period. Thereafter significant changes and developments took place. It would be a
sweeping generalization to infer based on previous reviews as Wilkinson and
Brouthers (2006) commented: “Subsequent to Seringhaus’ review the literature has
been less ambiguous (p. 238).” Since 2000 some scholars (e.g., Ali and Shamsuddoha
2007; Gencturk and Kotabe 2001; Lages and Montgomery 2005) have contributed
significantly to the literature in terms of theoretical, methodological, and measurement
advancement by exorcizing the demons of previous research on the topic. Therefore,
we feel the need for an up-to-date review on export assistance since 1990 to develop
an overall framework of export assistance and its impact on export performance.

1.4.1 The Scope of the Review

Coverage: Although previous reviews on export assistance included different types

of studies, for example, book chapters, published and unpublished dissertations,
proceedings of conference as well as published journals (Diamantopoulos et  al.
1993; Seringhaus 1986), our search was confined to the journal articles published
between 1990 and 2009 that satisfy several criteria. In particular, we included only
those studies that focus on or use:
1. Either global, semiglobal, specific, or individual construct of export assistance
offered by the government.
2. The impact of assistance on export performance.
3. Firm or venture export performance rather than national or industrial sector
export performance (a handful of studies investigated the impact of export assis-
tance on national exports, for example, see Coughlin and Cartwright 1987; Kaiser
et al. 2003; Sharma et al. 2001; Wilkinson 2006; Wilkinson and Brouthers 2000a, b);
or corporate performance (Beeman et al. 2007: change in employment).
4. Quantitative research method. Therefore, case studies (Chaudhry and Crick 2002;
Lefebvre et al. 2003; Toften and Rustad 2005) are omitted from the review.
10 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

5. Investigate the impact on performance assessed by the exporting firms. Therefore,

studies that concentrate on the evaluation of effectiveness of export assistance by
government agencies rather than exporters or firms (e.g., Goodnow and Goodnow
1990) are excluded.
Based on the criteria adopted, 13 studies were selected. Articles were found via
computerized as well as manual search. Searches were confined to English language
published papers only.

1.4.2 Findings of the Review

Only 13 quantitative studies were identified since 1990. In these studies, mail sur-
vey was found to be the dominant data collection method. There was a little focus
on interview. With regard to firm size, most of the studies included responding firms
of small and medium size. Sample size of the studies ranged between 51 and 694
with an average of 243. Response rate ranged between 18 and 65% with an average
of 32%. All the studies were cross-sectional except Spence (2003).
Most studies used advanced data analysis methods. Regression and correlation
were used frequently along with ANOVA and chi-square test. Lages and
Montgomery (2005) used structural equation modeling (SEM) for the first time in
the literature followed by Shamsuddoha and Ali (2006). With regard to country
focus, studies from developed countries seemed to be predominating. Developing
countries warrant more research “because of their growing presence in an inte-
grated global economy” (Sousa et al. 2008). They provide “a suitable context for
assessing the generalizability of the existing knowledge in this area” (Zou et al.
1997). Despite an awareness of the limitations associated with corporate level data,
in most cases, researchers followed the trend of examining export performance at
the firm level. There were only two exceptions that examined venture level data
(Lages and Montgomery 2005; Sousa and Bradley 2009). This can be attributed to
“greater willingness of key informants to disclose information at this broad level”
(Katsikeas et  al. 2000, p. 500). In terms of export performance measure, most
researchers used multiple measures although the past trend was toward a single
measure. Overall, export assistance literature in terms of investigating the impact
of assistance on export performance, measured by the number of studies, appears
to be still in its infancy.
Table 1.3 shows the impact of external assistance on export performance. Most
of the results are significant with a few nonsignificant results. No negative relation-
ship was observed between the two. There were some contrasts between the results,
for example, Spence (2003) through a longitudinal research found positive signifi-
cant relationship between trade mission and export sales, whereas Alvarez (2004)
found insignificant results. Alvarez’s nonsignificant results can be attributed to the
cross-sectional research design because the impact of trade mission cannot be
realized in the short run.
Table 1.3  Impact of export assistance: export assistance as determinant of export performance
Author/country Type of Type of Independent Control Dependent
of study measure assistance variable Moderator Mediator variable variable Relationship
Donthu and Global (federal, NA EPPs NIL NIL NIL Export growth +S
Kim (1993) state, local, GOVT, (level of use)
USA private NGOVT
agencies)
Singer and Individual MKT EPPs (number NIL NIL NIL Number of export +S
Czinkota (Minnesota (information/ of services outcomes
(1994) Trade Office: experiential used) (preexport
USA MTO) services) activities/export
GOVT performance)
Marandu Individual MKT, FIN EPPs (use of NIL NIL NIL Export intensity +S
(1995) (Board GOVT foreign
Tanzania of External exchange
Trade: BET) retention,
seed capital
fund and export
award)
Gencturk and Global MKT, FIN EPPs Export NIL NIL Competitive +S
Kotabe (2001) involve- position NS
USA ment Export sales NS
growth
Export
profitability
Spence (2003) Specific MKT Trade mission NIL NIL NIL Export sales +S
UK GOVT Acquired +S
competence
Alvarez (2004) Specific MKT Trade shows NIL NIL NIL Probability of NS
Chile GOVT, Trade missions being a NS
NGOVT (participation in) permanent +S
Exporter committees exporter
(continued)
Table 1.3  (continued)

Author/country Type of Type of Independent Control Dependent

of study measure assistance variable Moderator Mediator variable variable Relationship
Francis and Collins- Global MKT, FIN EPPs (use of assistance) NIL NIL NIL Achievement of export +S
Dodd (2004) GOVT objectives
Canada
Lages and Global MKT, FIN EPPs NIL Pricing strategy NIL COM [export +S
Montgomery GOVT, EU, TA GOVT, adaptation sales revenue, export
(2005) NGOVT sales volume,
Portugal export profitability]
Shamsuddoha Global MKT, FIN EPPs NIL Export NIL COM [export +S
and GOVT knowledge, sales, export profit,
Ali (2006) management export sales growth,
Bangladesh perception of new market entry]
export market
environment,
export
commitment,
export
strategy
Wilkinson and Specific MKT Trade show NIL NIL No of emplo- COM [satisfaction with +S
Brouthers GOVT Trade mission yees, sales sales growth, market NS
(2006) Programs volume, share, no of countries +S
USA identifying export exporting to, overall
agents and intensity, export performance]
distributors export
barriers
Ali and Global MKT, FIN EPPs NIL Export know- NIL COM [export +S
Shamsuddoha GOVT ledge, export sales, export profit,
(2007) commitment, export sales growth,
Bangladesh export new market entry]
strategy
Author/country Type of Type of Independent Control Dependent
of study measure assistance variable Moderator Mediator variable variable Relationship
Bonner and Specific MKT, FIN EPPs NIL NIL NIL Export sales +S
McGuinness growth
(2007)
Ireland
Sousa and Global MKT, FIN EPPs NIL NIL Size, age, COM [competitors’ +S
Bradley GOVT, EU, TA GOVT, foreign ratings, market share,
(2009) NGOVT market overall satisfaction
Portugal coverage with firm’s export
performance]
COM composite measure, +S positively significant, NS not significant, NA not analyzed/not available, MKT marketing assistance, FIN financial assistance, GOVT government
assistance, NGOVT nongovernment assistance, EU European Union, TA trade association
Note: Only direct effects have been analyzed although some studies investigated indirect and total effects
14 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

Export performance
· Sales growth
Export · Profitability
marketing · Market share
strategy · Export intensity
Use of export · Number of export
assistance countries
Export Export · New market entry
knowledge commitment · Efficiency
· Export objectives
· Export marketing
competencies
· Competitive position

Fig. 1.2  Framework of export assistance and performance

After 2000, due to the availability and popularity of advanced statistical software,
some researchers used mediator in their model. Lages and Montgomery (2005)
found that while the direct effect of export assistance on short-term export perfor-
mance of Portuguese firms is positive, the indirect effect (through pricing strategy
adaptation) is negative (the total effect becomes nonsignificant). Thus, a model
using only direct effects could have supported a misleading conclusion that export
assistance has a positive performance payoff.
Shamsuddoha and Ali (2006) investigated direct and indirect effects of using
EPPs on export performance of a developing country, Bangladesh. They reported
the use of EPPs (an index of financial and marketing programs together) has direct
as well as indirect impact on export performance through export knowledge, man-
agement perception of export market environment, export commitment, and export
strategy. They also offered a guideline for managers of exporting firms as to how
they can benefit from EPPs in the following areas: (a) improving positive attitude
toward the export market environment; (b) building knowledge about export mar-
kets; and (c) enhancing commitment to exporting for better success in their interna-
tional operations. Similar results were reported by the same authors in another study
(Ali and Shamsuddoha 2007). The main difference between the two studies is that
the former reported the impact of EPPs in aggregate while the latter categorized
them into finance and market-related EPPs.

1.4.3 A Framework of Export Assistance and Performance

After we analyzed the findings, a theoretical framework emerged. This is shown in

Fig.  1.2. Antecedents of export performance include both export assistance and
other variables. Since recent contributions by several authors confirmed indirect
effects between export assistance and performance, this is also reflected in the
1.5  Conclusion/Future Directions 15

framework. While previous researchers investigated only the direct effect of export
assistance on performance, recent observations show that such assistance might
have a positive impact on foreign market knowledge, marketing strategy, and export
commitment too. Various outcome variables are also found in empirical literature,
ranging from sales growth to competitive position.

1.5 Conclusion/Future Directions

There have been several changes in export promotion literature that can be consid-
ered significant compared to the earlier periods reviewed by two former reviewers.
First, in terms of construct of assistance, previously researchers adopted global con-
struct, i.e., EMA sponsored by government. However, in our review, we found that
some researchers successfully used some narrow-global and individual financial
assistance construct along with marketing one sponsored by both government and
nongovernment agencies. With respect to geographic focus, researchers were not
able to achieve significant improvement as they continued using domestic or single
country as their study focus following earlier studies. Although previous reviews
complained about this tendency of researchers to study either North American or
European countries, we found studies from developing countries that have contrib-
uted to the literature. We noted earlier that developing countries are often culturally
different from the more advanced ones and thus provide a suitable context for
assessing the generalizability of the findings in current literature (Zou et al. 1997).
Future studies are suggested to continue this trend. Table 1.4 provides a comparative
analysis of findings in different reviews (including this one) along with future direc-
tions for export assistance researchers.
As for research design, descriptive and cross-sectional research gained more
popularity among researchers since export promotion literature started to evolve.
However, during the 1990s, there were vast improvements in research design. In the
first decade of this century, export promotion literature observed further advance-
ment in terms of using advanced research methods as well as of export performance
measures. The contributions of several scholars (e.g., Lages and Montgomery 2005;
Shamsuddoha and Ali 2006; Singer and Czinkota 1994; Spence 2003) are praise-
worthy in this respect.
Earlier studies in the literature used a nonprobability sampling technique. Many
researchers now are concerned about the problems associated with this method and
have therefore emphasized and applied probability sampling technique. Personal
interview as a data collection method has become less popular, while mail survey
has achieved widespread recognition and acceptability among researchers due to its
cost and time effectiveness. Since personal interview can provide in-depth informa-
tion, it is suggested that future studies use a combination of mail survey and
interview.
Most scholars utilized the stage theory of internationalization (Johanson and
Vahlne 1977) as a theoretical base in export assistance studies and often tried to show
Table 1.4  Comparative analysis of findings in different reviews and future direction
Seringhaus (1986) and
Diamantopoulos et al. (1993) This review Future direction
Construct of assistance Mainly global, EMA Global, narrow-global, Individual and specific, EMA, EFA
individual, EMA, EFA Government and nongovernment
Mainly government Mainly government with some non- assistance
government assistance
Geographic focus Domestic/single country (mostly Mainly domestic/single country Cross-cultural (more focus on developing
developed countries). Only one (18% carried out in developing ones) countries or a combination of
study in Diamantopoulos et al. (only three studies carried developing and developed ones)
(1993) carried out in Canada out in more than one country)
and Australia (Seringhaus
and Botschen 1990)
Industry focus Mainly nonstratified Nonstratified, stratified, inter-intra Stratified, inter-intra industry groups
industry groups
Unit of analysis Firma Firm (some venture) Multilevel
Size of firms SMa Mainly SMEs with a few studies SML
that include large with small
and medium enterprises
Research design Descriptive, cross-sectional Descriptive, causal, cross-sectional Causal, longitudinal
(only two studies are
longitudinal)

Sampling technique
Data collection method
Impact measures
Validity of measures
Control variables
Contextual variables
Theoretical base
Internationalization
theory
Entrepreneurship theory
a
 The reviews did not explicitly analyze this, therefore anticipated from previous and current trend by analyzing some of the studies in these reviews
EMA export marketing assistance, EFA export financial assistance, IB international business, INV international new venture, SML small-medium-large
Seringhaus (1986) and
Diamantopoulos et al. (1993) This review Future direction
Nonprobability Nonprobability, probability Probability
Single method with emphasis Single method with emphasis Combination of mail survey and personal
on personal interview on mail survey interview
Mainly attributes of assistance Mainly attributes and need of assistance Direct, indirect, and total effects on
with a little focus on need or impact with increasing attention toward export performance
of assistance on performance impact on performance
Little concern with threats Concern regarding validity and reliability Multiple measures, validity, and
to validity raised significantly, reliability
as evident by the use of
advanced methodology
in some instances
None Few Organizational and environmental factors
None Few Organizational and environmental factors
None or vaguea Moderately clear Clear, multitheoretical, multidisciplinary,
especially network theory
Stage theories Mainly stage theories Integrative perspective of both INV/BG
and stage theories
None None Impact on entrepreneurial process and
activities involved in IB
18 1  Export Assistance: The Way Back and Forward

the different needs of exporters at different stages of the internationalization process.

The emergence of BGs or INVs and recent developments in international business
(IB) and international entrepreneurship (IE) literature have offered contrasting views
posing a substantive challenge to the traditional stage theories of internationalization
(McDougall 1989; McDougall et al. 1994; Bell 1995; Zahra et al. 2000; Moen and
Servais 2002).While BGs have attracted a lot of research interest in recent times, no
studies have investigated the need of such firms and the impact of assistance on their
performance. This requires further investigation in this area.
The new field of academic enquiry IE has emerged at the intersection of entre-
preneurship and IB (McDougall 1989). Entrepreneurship also has implications for
export assistance scholars. It is not enough to investigate only the impact of export
assistance on export performance of firm or venture because it has simultaneous
impact on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) (proactiveness, risk taking, and innova-
tiveness) of the firm (Miller 1983) as well as on the entrepreneurial process involv-
ing opportunity search, recognition, and subsequent exploitation of international
markets. Export assistance in the form of EMA can give potential exporters the
necessary information to enter a market. This in turn can initiate the risk taking
behavior of firms, and encourage them to be more proactive in searching for and
pursuing new opportunities. Technical assistance would also help them to design,
produce, and offer a unique innovative product or service to international buyers.
In addition, EFA can do the same by financing exporters’ new endeavor and innova-
tive activities, thus having large influence on EO. However, all these aspects have
seriously been ignored in export assistance literature. Researchers need to rethink
and rebuild their theoretical underpinnings by incorporating such evolving and
emerging aspects. As IE scholars note: entrepreneurial activities not only exist in
INVs, they also exist in firms of all size and age. Thus, it necessitates that export
assistance researchers should include EO and entrepreneurial process in investigat-
ing the impact of assistance on export performance, irrespective of firm size, age,
and type they are interested in. This will not only enrich the literature but also
increase the efficiency of promotion agencies by guiding them to target specific
programs which would contribute to the ultimate goal of superior export perfor-
mance both at the firm and national levels.

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