Profiling Managers to Improve Export Promotion Targeting

One of the major criticisms of government export promotion schemes in many countries is that they tend to be poorly targeted. Awareness levels about export schemes among managers of companies at exporting or pre-exporting stages of internationalization are often quite low, and the perceived usefulne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of international business studies 1997-06, Vol.28 (2), p.387-420
Main Author: Gray, Brendan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Business and Management
Business education
Business Strategy/Leadership
Business structures
Business studies
Cluster analysis
Education
Export managers
Export promotion
Exporters
Exports
Foreign investment
Global corporations
Globalization
Influence
International Business
International trade
Internationalization
Management
Management science
Managers
Market entry
Market penetration
Marketing
Marketing management
New Zealand
Organization
Sales growth
Skills
Studies
Target markets
Trade promotion
Training
Typology
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Summary:One of the major criticisms of government export promotion schemes in many countries is that they tend to be poorly targeted. Awareness levels about export schemes among managers of companies at exporting or pre-exporting stages of internationalization are often quite low, and the perceived usefulness of schemes may decline as companies internationalize and their needs become more specific. One solution may be to develop a better understanding of the needs of managers who make export market development decisions, and to target segments of managers (rather than companies) who share similar strengths and weaknesses. This study attempts to address these concerns by devising a typology of senior international marketing managers. The most senior marketing decisionmakers in a broad, multi-industry sample of New Zealand exporting firms were surveyed. The results of the cluster analysis suggest that groups of managers who share similar characteristics can be identified and profiled, based on shared international business attitudes and similar levels of knowledge and skills. This appears to be a useful method for segmenting international marketing managers to determine what sort of educational and export assistance particular groups may require.
ISSN:0047-2506
1478-6990
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490106