The Effects of Export Market Orientation on Sustainability

Previous research has little accounted for the effects of newborn exporters’ market-orientation efforts on their long-term success by building long-term relationships with importers. Against this backdrop, we aim to extend the boundaries of understanding the effects of a newborn exporter’s market-orientation engagement on an importer’s loyalty by enhancing importer trust and identification. Relying heavily on the knowledge- and competence-based theory of the firm, we conceptualize two facets of newborn exporters’ market-orientation efforts: customer orientation and business-environment orientation. In addition, we attempt to identify positive long-term relationship-building mechanisms for each facet. Furthermore, our study presents empirically testable propositions that would explain how a newborn exporter’s market orientation activities influence the outcomes of long-term relationships with importers in export marketplaces. Finally, this manuscript presents a discussion of the current study’s implications for academia and management and limitations that naturally induce further studies on newborn exporters’ market orientation engagement in their export marketplaces.