The influence of psychological contract on exporter-distributor relationships and export venture performance

Abstract

This study explores the relational paradigm of export venture performance. Although the relational paradigm has been explored within the exporting literature, little is known about the influence of managerial cognitive predispositions (for instance, psychological contract) on relational variables and performance outcomes. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of psychological contract on relational variables (trust and commitment) and its subsequent impact on export venture performance.

Drawing on social exchange theory and institutional theory, this study develops a new relational model of export venture performance. Specifically, this research explores the psychological contract perspective (an offshoot of social exchange theory) in the domain of exporter-distributor relationships. Managerial perceptions are critical for the development of relationships with business partners. Therefore, the psychological contract perspective can shed light on the influence of an individual manager’s cognitive predispositions (psychological contract) on relationship building and performance outcomes.

The conceptual model includes several constructs: psychological contract, goodwill trust, competence trust, affective commitment and calculative commitment, which are derived from social exchange theory and institutional distance derived from institutional theory. Export venture performance is the key dependent variable in this study. A mixed-method research design, including exploratory qualitative interviews, followed by a web-based survey is employed. Using PLS-SEM, the conceptual model is tested on a sample of 127 New Zealand exporting firms.

The results demonstrate that psychological contract enhances goodwill trust, competence trust and affective commitment. In addition, psychological contract reduces calculative commitment. More importantly, the results highlight the full mediating influence of competence trust and affective commitment on the relationship between psychological contract and export venture performance. Moreover, in conditions of high institutional distance, export managers tend to display less goodwill trust and affective commitment and more calculative commitment, despite a strong psychological contract. The study also suggests that institutional distance does not moderate the relationship between psychological contract and competence trust. Furthermore, goodwill trust does not influence export venture performance. While competence trust and affective commitment have a positive influence, calculative commitment has a negative influence on export venture performance.

This research offers four contributions to the literature: 1) development and testing of a new relational model of export venture performance, 2) integration of psychological contract theory into the exporting domain, 3) the identification of a mediating role of trust and commitment on the relationship between psychological contract and export venture performance, 4) identification of the boundary conditioning effect of institutional distance.