This thesis documents a study of the dimensions of export market orientation associated with export performance. In particular, the research objective is to examine empirically the development and support of a corporate export market orientation and its successful implementation in Turkish clothing companies, as evidenced by successful export performance, and to investigate variations in export performance which may be related to export market orientation. In summary, this research aimed to explore the nature of market orientation in an international context by using empirical data from a sample of companies to examine some hypotheses regarding market orientation as applied to export operations in Turkish clothing industry. This aim was fulfilled by reliably and validly measuring the key constructs of export market orientation and finding statistically significant relationships between dependent and independent variables. The results of this thesis draw conclusions from an empirical investigation showing that the proposed relationship between export market orientation and export performance does exist, and in the case of Turkish clothing exporters, improving an export market orientation level is a significant contributor to the company's export performance. In order to explore the relationship between export market orientation and export performance, a two phase research design was adopted and conducted in the Turkish clothing industry. The sample for both stages were drawn from a listing of the member companies of the Turkish Textile and Apparel Exporters Association. This listing by the Association is complete and accurate because of the control which obligates exporters to register all their export actions. First, an exploratory phase was conducted in order to gain a clearer understanding of key issues. The stage 1 study was based on 103 responses received from a sample frame of 156 companies representing a 66 0/0 response rate. The primary objective of the first stage research was to develop a profile of the characteristics of the industry. Data generation was achieved through mail questionnaires and respondents were top managers of the selected companies. Second, the Cadogan, Diamantopoulos, and de Mortanges (1997) construct was used to test the hypothesis. The stage 2 study was based on 163 responses received from a sample frame of 384 companies representing a 43.47 % response rate. Data generation was achieved through mail questionnaires and respondents were again top managers of the selected companies. Results were analysed using the SPSS statistical analysis computer package. The findings, based on a sample of Turkish clothing exporters, show that the instrument developed by Cadogan, Diamantopoulos, and de Mortanges (1997) is reliable and exhibits content and convergent validity. Regression analysis found a significant effect of the level of export market orientation on dimensions of export performance. The positive relationship between export market orientation and dimensions of export performance indicated that a high level of export market orientation leads to a higher level of export performance and a low level of export market orientation produce a lower level of export performance. The research hypotheses are supported by the results of the study. The multidimensional operationalisation of export market orientation allowed the testing of the relationship between the dimensions of export market orientation with dimensions of export performance. Generally, there is a strong relationship between the dimensions of export market orientation and dimensions of export performance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:326999 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Akyol, Ayse |
| Publisher | University of Portsmouth |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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