When does export customer responsiveness strategy contribute to export market competitive advantage?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of the relationship between export customer responsiveness and export growth.

Design/methodology/approach: The study uses primary data obtained by questioning over 200 exporting firms. The model constructed predicts the export growth of those firms with export customer responsiveness data, together with a variety of moderator and control variables. The model is assessed using multiple regression.

Findings: Exporters with higher levels of export customer responsiveness often have higher export sales growth rates than those with lower levels of export customer responsiveness, but not always. For some firms, the opposite is true, such that those with lower levels of export customer responsiveness outperform those with higher levels.

Originality/value: The study is the first to provide export decision-makers with empirically grounded recommendations regarding (1) when it is advisable to have high export customer responsiveness levels and (2) those situations when firms may benefit from having lower export customer responsiveness levels.