Sustainable Export Marketing Strategy Fit and Performance

Аннотация

Despite the growing global importance o f sustainability issues, scant research has examined marketing strategy sustainability issues in international settings. Although significant prior work has examined drivers and performance consequences o f adaptation/standardization o f marketing strategies in international markets, researchers have yet to apply this avenue o f inquiry to sustainable marketing strategies. Building on contingency theory and the concept o f strategic fit, the authors develop a model o f drivers o f sustainable export marketing strategy adaptation and explore the circumstances under which such a strategy affects export performance. Using a sample of U.K. exporters, they find that various macro- and microenvironmental factors are responsible for sustainable export marketing strategy adaptation, which shapes the nature o f sustainable export marketing strategy fit and its export venture performance outcomes. The results indicate that sustainable export marketing strategy adaptation is the outcome o f the differences between home and export markets in terms o f economic and technological conditions, competitive intensity, customer characteristics, and stakeholder pressures. Moreover, the performance relevance o f sustainable export marketing strategy adaptation requires adequate fit with these macro- and microenvironmental factors.