An investigation of export performance variations related to corporate export market orientation

This research explores the nature and dimensions of market orientation in an international context by using empirical data from a sample of companies to rigorously test hypotheses regarding market orientation as applied to export operations in the context of the Turkish clothing industry. This aim was fulfilled by reliably and validly measuring the key constructs of export market orientation and finding statistically significant relationships between dependent (export marketing orientation) and independent variables (primarily export strategy and export performance). The results of this study draw conclusions showing that the hypothesised relationship between export market orientation and export performance does exist, and in the case of Turkish clothing exporters, improving an export market orientation level is a significant contributor to the company’s export performance. The results of this study also show the dimension of export market orientation that has the strongest relation with each dimension of export performance, and identifying the other export market orientation dimensions that make a significant contribution to the explanation of export performance.