Key Factors Affecting Export-Venture Success: Evidence from Korean Start-Up Firms

An export-venture is one of the strategic options for a start-up firm that desires to compete internationally, especially when the firm’s resources are insufficient. Recent research has advocated that export-ventures are valuable options for start-up firms that suffer from limited resources such as knowledge of internationalization that can acquired mostly from experiential learning. Few studies, however, have explained the long-term success of export-ventures. The present study examines the key factors that influence export-venture success. Based heavily on the resource-advantage of competition, this study theorizes the key relationships between export-ventures’ resources and positional advantage. These relationships were tested using data from a survey of start-up firms in Korea. The data were analyzed using partial least square analysis. The structural model shows that export competence was positively related to export-venture positional advantage. In contrast, the relationship between partner brands’ awareness and export-venture positional advantage was insignificant. Manufacturing capability was positively related to export-venture positional advantage. Likewise, partnering experience was positively related to export-venture positional advantage. The relationship-destroying factors, however, were negatively related to export-venture positional advantage. The current study may contribute to knowledge extension of two research streams-international business and strategic management-by emphasizing the importance of export-partnerships in the context of start-up firms’ internationalization. This article is concluded with a discussion of further implications for theory and management and some directions of future research in addition to the limitations of the present research.