International market selection behaviour: a study of New Zealand exporters

Abstract

This study represents an important step toward developing a more comprehensive view about the impact of global market environmental change, the importance of international market selection (IMS) criteria (foreign market information) and the use of export information sources among New Zealand exporting firms. The relationships between the three constructs were examined in this study. This study conducted a quantitative research methodology in an exporting setting. In general, results reveal that there are positive relationships between the impact of global market environmental change and the importance of all IMS screening criteria, and the use of export information sources. Findings also suggest that under conditions of higher perceived global market environmental impact, product specific IMS criteria become more important than general IMS criteria. Some new and important IMS criteria were also identified in this study. However, not all exporters are concerned about the impact of global market environmental change upon their market selection and entry decisions. Differences in ranking of the three constructs, and the significance of the examined relationships in this study across industry types, sizes of organisation and years of exporting are presented. The findings in this study provide insightful new thinking about the sustainability and appropriateness of conventional international market (IM) or international business (IB) approaches in a contemporary and rapidly changing market environment. It also provides a methodological contribution by deriving and validating scale to measure the three constructs in this study.