The international orientation of a nation is a precondition for economic success and is embodied within the nation’s trade policies (Dichtl, Koeglmayr and Mueller 1990; Edwards 1993; Gencturk and Kotabe 2001).  Internationally oriented economies have liberal trade policies, support international business efforts through export assistance programs, provide financial assistance, etc. (Dichtl et al. 1990; Gencturk and Kotabe 2001).  Alternatively, nations who are not internationally oriented employ protectionist policies, characterized by limitations on imports and exports, lower levels of export assistance programs, etc.  Although the international orientation of a nation is a necessary condition for the economic development of a nation, it is not sufficient.  Rather, a nation’s economic success is driven by the firms within the nation, who serve as conduits of a nation’s trade policies.  Thus, taken at a lower level of abstraction, the international orientation of exporters and other firms that can offer products to foreign markets, play a critical role in the economic success of a nation (Aulakh et al. 2000). 

It could be argued that the international orientation of exporters can be classified along a continuum from proactive to conservative (cf., Francis and Collins-Dodd 2000). Further, I wonder if we could develop credible arguments that those that are proactive aggressively seek out new export markets, export opportunities and are committed to international growth, thus employing adaptive and brand building marketing strategies? Alternatively, could we develop arguments that exporters who fulfill unsolicited orders, are not engaged in the active search for export opportunities, export as low-cost suppliers, export as an additional revenue stream to their domestic operations, etc., could be classified as more conservative?  While this conceptualization differs from the classic definition of proactive and conservative orientations taken in the literature (e.g., Francis and Collins-Dodd  2000; Julien et al. 1997; Piercy 1981; Suzman and Wortzel 1984; Tesar and Tarleton 1982; Yeoh and Jeong 1995), I wonder whether it could be valid.

We know that the international orientation of an exporter determines the firm’s marketing strategy (Johnston and Czinkota 1982; Katsikeas and Piercy 1993).  We could argue that proactive, international orientated exporters are strongly committed to their international operations, employing adaptive marketing strategies to more effectively meet the local demands of each market, thus competitively positioning themselves in the market to achieve long-term performance success. Alternatively, firms employing a conservative international orientation engage in marketing strategies that minimize investment in international markets (e.g., achieving economies of scale through standardized marketing strategies), often times serving as low-cost suppliers to importers in other markets.  As such, one could argue that within the context of an export-driven developing economy, those firms employing adaptive marketing strategies derived from a proactive international orientation develop a sustainable competitive position within foreign markets, thus achieving higher performance when compared to exporters adopting standardized marketing strategies, characteristic of a more conservative international orientation.

Given the importance of exporting to a nation’s economic development, a significant amount of research has been undertaken in this area.  Traditionally, academic studies on export marketing have focused on identifying the profiles of exporters or differences between exporters and non-exporters (i.e., Aaby and Slater 1989; Bilkey 1978, 1982; Cavusgil 1984; Ogram 1982; Tesar and Tarleton 1982), the determinants of export decisions (i.e., Cavusgil and Nevin 1981; Wiedersheim-Paul Olsen, and Welch 1978), the stages of exporting (i.e., Bilkey and Tesar 1977; Johanson and Vahlne 1977; Rao and Naidu 1992; Sullivan and Bauerschmidt 1990; Turnbull 1987), and most recently the relationship between export marketing strategy and export performance (e.g., Aulakh et al. 2000; Cavusgil and Zou 1994; Francis and Collins-Dodd 2000, etc.). However, with few exceptions (e.g., Dominguez and Sequeira 1993; Aulakh et al. 2000, etc.), studies examining the relationship between export orientation’s influence of marketing strategy and its overall effect on export performance have been conducted within developed economies as well as have been focused at the firm level. Here, the question posed is whether we could gain insights into the marketing strategy to export-driven economy relationship.

Granted, there will be challenges in linking governmental orientation to firm level marketing strategy as well as linking firm level marketing strategy to national economic development. Clearly, unit of analysis issues are raised by what is suggested. However, with challenge comes reward. In this case, the reward offered is one of understanding intricate macro and micro level linkages. If you find this interesting and would like to see if we can work together to more fully develop this idea, e-mail me.
 

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