Comparative Profiles of Foreign Customers and Intermediaries

Reports on a study of attitudes of exporting managements in different national and regional settings, regarding business exchanges. Compares also existing non‐exporting managements. First, ascertains to what extent and in what respects managers differentiate between various peoples and, second identifying differences among managers in this regard, to find out how these differences are associated with their firms' export involvement. Uses five national and regional settings as follows: US, Canadian, West European, Latin American and Asian and African. Data was analysed from a questionnaire, presented to chief executives, of a judgement sample of 175 firms in Canada, of these 158 questionnaire responses were obtained – four of these were unusable, ergo 88% were used. Sums up that management is, or should be, concerned with differences among customers rather than intermediaries.