Dissertation AbstractGraduate Institute of Business
AdministrationNational Taiwan UniversityName: Wu-hwa Su (Mr.)
Advisors: Prof. Chih-Kang Wang Date: June 1997
Prof. Clement C. L. Wea Export Marketing
Strategy-Performance Relationship: An Empirical
Investigation into Taiwan's Firms A firm's strategic
behaviors in terms of export marketing estrategy can be
explained through international marketing,competition,
internationalization and contingency theories.However, these
theories are neither concentrated on exploring the process of
export marketing strategy, nor do they give us a complete
explanation of a firm's export marketing behavior. Forthis
reason, this dissertation concentrates on extracting
coreconcepts of the relevant theories, and applying a product-
marketventure as the unit of analysis to establish a research
framework and empirical model; and then conceptualizes the
empirical findings into what I term "the new theory of export
marketing internationalization." In contrast to other
theoretical explanations, this integrative theory focuses on
explaining corporate behavior as follows: 1. Firms engages in
a continual internationalization process through export
marketing, whatever the extent of their involvement in foreign
investment; as a result, firms take simultaneous actions
constantly with the aim of expanding their sales to different
foreign markets. 2. While firms continue their
internationalization process through export marketing, they
should choose a portfolio planning to export marketing
management. The portfolio planning approach can encompass
alldecision factors within the framework of export marketing
structure-conduct-performance(referred to hereafter Se-Ce-Pe),
so it endures that strategic decisions will bewhole, consistent,
balanced and that they will achieve an interactive fit at all
times. 3. Firms rationally strive to build their
competitiveadvantages in export marketing. They attempt to
accumulate their core competence, strengthen their positional
advantages and improve their operational efficiency; at the same
time, they should remember to enhance these three sources of
advantage through the re-enforcement process. Empirical
findings imply that firms should observe the following
principles: 1. ensuring a fuller understanding of interplay of
internal and external factors, and responding to them through
portfolio planning; 2. establishing a systematic process to
accumulate core assets in strategic formulation and
implementation; 3. seeking out both packaged and professional
services offered by government; 4. employing international
financing to accelerate the process of export marketing
internationalization. This research also concludes that research
agenda for the theory should be as follows: 1. making
comparative analysis by carrying out empiricalinvestigation of
different industries and representativemultinationals; 2.
investigating the recursive relationship between exportmarketing
performance and export marketing, and the resultant changes in
industrial structure; 3. designing a Se-Ce-pe-based analytical
tool. Overall, this dissertation conceptualizes corporate
behavior in regard to export marketing internationalization, and
models the relationship of strategy and performance in export
marketing.