| dc.contributor.advisor | Skallerud, Kåre | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ahamed, A. F. M. Jalal | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-12-10T08:19:55Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-12-10T08:19:55Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-11-13 | |
| dc.description.doctoraltype | ph.d. | en_US |
| dc.description.popularabstract | Purpose – Four main objectives are defined in this thesis: 1) to investigate the effects of relationship quality on export performance and to see if and to what extent export performance is linked to exporter satisfaction and the expectation of continuing the relationship; 2) to investigate how distance and communication climate affect export performance, both directly and as mediated by relationship quality (RELQUAL); 3) to investigate both the direct and indirect effects of TCE variables on export performance; 4) to investigate whether competitive intensity moderates the commitment–trust relationship and their links with export performance in the exporting context of a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach – The empirical foundation for this thesis is based on a survey dataset collected from 185 organizations exporting ready-made garments in Bangladesh. The empirical findings draw primarily on structural equation modelling (SEM) using partial least squares (PLS) techniques.
Findings and contributions – First, this thesis shows that there is a positive relationship between relationship quality and financial and strategic export performance and that financial export performance has a positive effect on exporter satisfaction. Furthermore, there is a positive effect of exporter satisfaction on the exporters’ expectations of continuing the export–import relationship. Second, this research finds that relationship quality plays a mediating role in the relationships between distance and export performance and between the communication climate and export performance. This research proposes that in cross-border export–import relationships, distance may not be a serious problem or a critical issue if the parties can ensure strong relationship quality and a healthy communication climate characterized by a good amount of information sharing and information of adequate quality.
Third, the influence of transaction cost economic (TCE) constructs (asset specificity and uncertainty) on export performance is mediated by relationship quality. Finally, this study finds that competitive intensity moderates the commitment–trust link and its association with export performance. The discussions and findings in this thesis contribute to a deeper understanding of exporter–importer relationships in emerging economies.
Managerial implications – This study shows that exporters, especially those in emerging economies, should pay more attention to maintaining strong relationship quality with their importers to ensure higher export performance. Relationship quality can neutralize the negative effects of distance on export performance, or may work as a bridging variable between transaction costs and export performance. This research also shows the vital importance of the communication climate characterized by the amount and quality of the information shared. Exporting companies need to take extra care in establishing an enhanced communication climate with their importers to ensure higher export performance.
Research limitations – A limitation of this thesis is the use of a cross-sectional research design and a convenience sample. The next limitation is that this research uses only ‘focal constructs’ to define and measure relationship quality; employing these focal constructs means that other important first-order constructs may be overlooked (Leonidou et al., 2014). The final limitation is associated with the data analysis technique: I used partial least squares (PLS) to analyse the dataset. The small sample size, the complexity of the model and the measurement items compelled the use of PLS in this thesis; however, with a larger sample size, covariance based structural equation models (SEM), such as LISREL could be used in future studies.
Originality/value – The findings of this thesis are in line with those of previous research in the field of export marketing. The findings also have implications and potential benefits for export–import strategy decision makers.
Keywords: Bangladesh, Disconfirmation of expectation theory, Social exchange theory,
Commitment–trust theory, Transaction cost analysis, Relationship quality, relationship marketing, Partial least squares (PLS), SmartPLS, WarpPls, developing countries, ready-made
garments. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | UiT Stipendiat | en_US |
| dc.description | Paper I, II and III of this thesis are not available in Munin:<br>Paper I. The link between export relationship quality,
performance and expectation of continuing the relationship: A South Asia exporters' perspective. Ahamed, A. J. and Skallerud, K. Available in <a href=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-04-2012-0036>International Journal of Emerging Markets, 10 (1), 16–31</a><br>Paper II. Effect of distance and communication climate on export performance: The mediating role of relationship quality. Ahamed, A. J. and Skallerud, K. Available in <a href=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2013.830170>Journal of Global Marketing, 26 (5), 284–300</a><br>Paper III. The mediating effect of relationship quality on the transaction cost–export performance link: Bangladeshi exporters’ perspectives. Ahamed, A. J., Stump, R. L. and Skallerud, K. Available in <a href=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332667.2015.1042345>Journal of Relationship Marketing, 14 (2), 152–169</a> | en_US |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-82-8266-106-5 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8296 | |
| dc.identifier.urn | URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_7877 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
| dc.publisher | UiT The Arctic University of Norway | en_US |
| dc.publisher | UiT Norges arktiske universitet | en_US |
| dc.rights.accessRights | openAccess | |
| dc.rights.holder | Copyright 2015 The Author(s) | |
| dc.subject.courseID | DOKTOR-002 | en_US |
| dc.subject | VDP::Social science: 200::Economics: 210::Business: 213 | en_US |
| dc.subject | VDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Økonomi: 210::Bedriftsøkonomi: 213 | en_US |
| dc.title | Antecedents and outcomes of exporter – importer relationship quality - An exporting developing country’s context | en_US |
| dc.type | Doctoral thesis | en_US |
| dc.type | Doktorgradsavhandling | en_US |
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