An investigation of market information use in export channel decisions ‐ Antecedents and outcomes

As the number of firms participating in export activities increases, information regarding the international environment in turn becomes critical in effectively managing corporate ventures. Given the level of economic volatility within certain export markets and the increasing levels of competition worldwide, effective distribution management venturing and strategy will also become more complex. Decision support is crucial in effectively monitoring and modifying marketing channels in an overseas environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that drive market information use in export distribution decisions, these factors being both internal and external to the organization. Concurrently, the linkage between market information use and export performance is investigated, in order to better understand the role of this strategy in export operations. First, a discussion of strategic, organization specific, and environment specific factors and their association with market information use is discussed. Second, research hypotheses are developed through the support of the existing literature. Next, data collection and analysis procedures are discussed along with results of the hypothesis testing. Finally, a presentation of the findings along with theoretical and managerial implications is offered. The research reveals the strategic importance of market information usage in distribution control, market positioning, venture planning, and market volatility.