The Key Role of Managers' Values in Exporting: Influence On Customer Responsiveness and Export Performance

The Key Role of Managers Values in Exporting: Influence on Customer Responsiveness and Export Performance
Carlos M.P Sousa, Emilio Ruzo, and Fernando Losada .
ABSTRACT
Values are an essential element explaining a persons attitudes and behavior. Therefore, it is surprising that despite the number of studies that have examined the organizational and managerial factors affecting export performance, little research has investigated the possible impact of a managers individual values on strategic choice and the export performance of the firm. To address this gap in the literature, the authors examine the impact of managers values on the firms customer responsiveness and export performance. In addition, they examine the mediating role of customer responsiveness in the valuesexport performance linkage. The authors explore the empirical usefulness of the psychic distance construct by examining its direct link with export performance and the extent to which it moderates the relationship between individual values and export performance. Overall, the results suggest that managers values significantly influence strategic decisions and the export performance of the firm, highlighting the need for more research attention in this area. Keywords: individual values, export performance, customer responsiveness, psychic distance
s competition in world markets has intensified, increasing numbers of firms are seeking opportunities in foreign markets to achieve their objectives. In this context, exporting is the most widely used firm strategy for international expansion. Exporting activity is also important for governments because it contributes to the economic development of nations,
Carlos M.P. Sousa is Lecturer of Marketing, Marketing Group, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin (e-mail: carlos.sousa@ucd.ie). Emilio Ruzo is Associate Professor of Marketing and Market Research, Department of Business and Marketing Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Santiago de Compostela (e-mail: emilio.ruzo@usc.es). Fernando Losada is Associate Professor of Marketing and Market Research, Department of Business and Marketing Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Santiago de Compostela (e-mail: fernando.losada@usc.es).
helps national industries develop, improves productivity, and creates jobs (Czinkota 1994). Not surprisingly, the premise that successful exporting is critical to both organizational and national prosperity has gained much support in recent decades (Diamantopoulos and Kakkos 2007; Katsikeas, Samiee, and Theodosiou 2006). Therefore, understanding the drivers of export performance is a significant area of research interest in marketing. However, despite the substantial published research that has been reported to identify the determinants of export performance, little research has investigated the possible impact of managers individual values on the export performance of the firm. This gap is both crucial and surpris-
Journal of International Marketing 2010, American Marketing Association Vol. 18, No. 2, 2010, pp. 119 ISSN 1069-0031X (print) 1547-7215 (electronic)
Key Role of Managers Values in Exporting 1
ing, given that the manager is the principal force behind the initiation, development, sustenance, and success of a firms export effort; moreover, values are an essential element explaining a persons attitudes and behavior. Values are relatively stable criteria that people use to evaluate their own and others behavior across various situations (Schwartz 1992) and are a crucial element for the subjective appraisal of events (Feather 1988). The way people perceive the world is influenced by their value systems (Schwartz 1992; Williams 1968). Therefore, understanding managers value systems is important in light of the growing evidence revealing that the way managers interpret a market situation directly affects the solutions considered, resources committed, and changes made in terms of strategic decisions (Thomas, Clark, and Gioia 1993; White, Varadarajan, and Dacin 2003). This is consistent with the view that managers values should be considered key determinants of strategic choices and firm performance (Carpenter, Geletkanycz, and Sanders 2004). Thus, the main purpose of this study is to investigate how managers individual values affect strategic choice and export performance. Specifically, we focus on the following research question: What is the impact of managers individual values on strategic choice and export performance of the firm? To this end, we develop and test a model that investigates the impact of individual values on the firms customer responsiveness and export performance. Customer responsiveness refers to the firms ability to respond quickly to customer needs and wants. We selected customer responsiveness because there is growing evidence that it is a key element of a firms marketing capabilities that influence the firms performance (Jayachandran, Hewett, and Kaufman 2004; Krasnikov and Jayachandran 2008). In the next section, we present the conceptual background to the research and develop specific research hypotheses. This is followed by a description of the research methodology. After presenting the results and discussing their implications, we conclude with a discussion of the limitations and suggestions for further research.
in a firms strategies and outcomes. In the area of strategic management, a considerable number of studies have been dedicated in the past four decades to emphasizing the importance of management in strategic choice and performance (e.g., Cannella and Monroe 1997; Hambrick 2007; Miller and Toulouse 1986). How much the individual manager matters in determining firm behavior and performance has also attracted recent research attention in economics and financean area that so far has given little consideration to this issue (Bertrand and Schoar 2003). Not surprisingly, in the area of marketing, several studies have also been conducted to investigate the impact of managers on firm strategy and performance. For example, in their study, White, Varadarajan, and Dacin (2003) show that marketing executives cognitive style affects their interpretation of a market situation and their response to it. In contrast, Griffith and Lusch (2007) investigate how marketers perceptions of the governance structure are related to their capital investments. Goldfarb and Yangs (2009) recent study questions whether all managers are created equal and suggests that managers abilities affect marketing outcomes. Consequently, there seems to be a general consensus in the literature that managers matter in organizations because of their influence on strategic choice and performance. Indeed, it is possible to argue that marketing managers play a significant role through their responsibility to interpret the environment and make crucial choices regarding which customers to serve, which competitors to challenge, and which products and services to offer (Day 1984). This importance is also acknowledged in the export literature, in which research has continuously identified management as the principal force behind the initiation, development, sustenance, and success of a firms export effort because of the direct responsibility for and involvement in export decisions (Miesenbck 1988; Sousa, Martinez-Lopez, and Coelho 2008). In this context, Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Piercy (1998) review the literature to identify the impact of managerial influences on exporting. Their study indicates that the most widely investigated managerial variables were of an objective nature (e.g., age, education, experience), which, in general, received weak empirical support. Though less researched, subjective managerial characteristics (e.g., risk perception, flexibility, dynamism) were found to consistently show a strong association with exporting, underlining their superior influence in this field. Traditionally, more attention has been devoted to demographic variables than to cognitive factors because of
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Theoretical Background

Studies in several research streams consistently point out that managerial characteristics are critical and decisive
2 Journal of International Marketing
their convenience and the ease of data collection (Priem, Lyon, and Dess 1999). However, it may be more appropriate to focus on psychographic or cognitive variables because they have been found to be better predictors and may contain less noise than demographic indicators (Hambrick and Mason 1984; Priem, Lyon, and Dess 1999). The key factors that influence performance outcomes are the psychological characteristics of executives (Carpenter, Geletkanycz, and Sanders 2004) because they provide a pointed causal link to the executive behaviors (Finkelstein, Hambrick, and Cannella 2008). In this context, managers values have been identified as the main determinant of strategic outcomes and firm performance (Hambrick 2007). This is consistent with some studies in the export literature (e.g., Axinn 1988) that find that managers attitudes toward exporting are the most significant indicator of export performance. Considering that attitudes are based on values (Homer and Kahle 1988), the emphasis should be on values. People assess events and make decisions using values as their criteria (Kluckhohn 1951; Rokeach 1973). Therefore, understanding the peoples value systems is important because values are an essential element to explain their attitudes and behavior. Building on the preceding discussion, we present a model (see Figure 1) that includes the managers individual values as determinants of strategic decision making and
the export performance of the firm. In terms of strategic decision making, the marketing literature has long advocated the importance of responding to customer needs for the long-term sustainability of a firms competitive advantage (Deshpand, Farley, and Webster 1993; Kohli and Jaworski 1990). The firms capability to respond to customers requests is considered a key determinant and critical to the success of the firm (Jayachandran, Hewett, and Kaufman 2004). As a result, we include a firms customer responsiveness (i.e., its ability to respond quickly to customer needs and wants) as the strategic variable in our model. Our study also contributes to existing knowledge by investigating the moderating effects of psychic distance on the relationship between values and export performance. This is in line with the argument that psychic distance was originally conceived as a moderator (Ellis 2008). Figure 1 presents our research framework.
Values
Despite the importance of values, the difficulty is in knowing how to assess individual values. Schwartzs (1992) work addresses the assessment of individual values, but despite its strong theoretical foundation, Schwartzs theory has yet to be applied widely in the business literature. Therefore, given its strong theoretical foundations, it offers great potential for marketing research (Steenkamp 2001). Furthermore, Schwartzs theory has been tested in more than 200 samples from
Figure 1. Conceptual Model
Resultant conservation
Customer responsiveness
Export performance
Resultant self-enhancement Psychic distance Individual Values
more than 60 countries (Roccas et al. 2002), thereby increasing its confidence and validity. Schwartz and Bilsky (1990) define values as desirable goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in peoples lives. Values are relatively stable criteria that people use to evaluate their own and others behavior across various situations. Schwartz (1992) derives ten value types by reasoning that values represent, in the form of conscious goals, three universal requirements of human existence: (1) biological needs, (2) the requisites of coordinated social interaction, and (3) the demands of group functioning. These ten value types are universalism, benevolence, conformity, tradition, security, power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction. To understand the conceptual organization of the value system, Schwartz develops a theory of the dynamic relationships among these value types. The ten types of values form a continuum of related motivations, which gives rise to a circular structure (see Figure 2). Schwartz postulates that actions taken in pursuit of each type of value have psychological, practical, and social consequences that may conflict or be compatible with the pursuit of other types. As a result, he further organizes these ten value types into four higher-order value domains that form two basic
bipolar dimensions: (1) openness to change (stimulation and self-direction) versus conservation (security, conformity, and tradition) and (2) self-enhancement (power and achievement) versus self-transcendence (universalism and benevolence). The hedonism value type is enclosed by broken lines in Figure 2 because it includes elements of both openness-to-change and self-enhancement dimensions. These two bipolar dimensions constitute the most fundamental aspect of the Schwartz value system (Schwartz and Sagiv 1995) and are the focus of this study. Thus, we hypothesize that export performance and customer responsiveness are associated with the two bipolar dimensions of openness to change versus conservation and self-enhancement versus self-transcendence. To the best of our knowledge, this has not yet been investigated in the literature. The next section discusses the hypotheses underlying this framework.
Development of Hypotheses
Individual Values. As indicated previously, this study relies on the Schwartz value theory and its two bipolar dimensions (i.e., openness to change versus conservation and self-enhancement versus self-transcendence) to assess the importance of individual values on the firms customer responsiveness and export performance. Resultant Conservation. Resultant conservation refers to the importance attached to conservation relative to openness-to-change values. The two values underlying openness to change are self-direction and stimulation. Self-direction derives from the need for control, autonomy, and independence. The motivational goal is independent thought and action choosing, creating, and exploring. Stimulation derives from the need for variety and stimulation to maintain an optimal level of activation. Thus, the defining goal is excitement, novelty, and challenge in life. Underlying the conservation pole are the values security, conformity, and tradition. The defining goal of security is safety, harmony, and stability of society, relationships, and self. The motivational goal of conformity is the restraint of actions that might disrupt and undermine smooth interaction and group functioning and violate social expectations and norms. Finally, the motivational goal of tradition is respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that ones culture or religion provides (Schwartz 1992). In summary, the openness-to-change versus conservation dimension opposes values emphasizing own independent thought and action favoring change to those empha-
Figure 2. Schwartzs Theoretical Model of Relationships Among Values
Self-Transcendence Universalism Benevolence
Self-direction Openness to Change Stimulation Security Hedonism Power Achievement Self-Enhancement Conformity
Tradition Conservation
Source: Schwartz (1992).
sizing submissive self-restriction, preservation of traditional practices, and protection of stability. We hypothesize that resultant conservation (i.e., the importance attached to conservation minus the importance attached to openness to change [Feather 1995]) has a negative effect on a firms responsiveness in meeting customer needs. Conservation goals seem to be incongruent with customer responsiveness because the disposition to adapt and respond quickly to changing customer needs is in conflict with the acceptance of established customs and respect for traditional ways of doing things. In contrast, we believe that the opennessto-change values are congruent with customer responsiveness. The motivational goal is independent thought, creating, exploring, and action favoring change, which would seem to be more in line with the need to adapt and respond quickly to changing customer requirements. This is consistent with Kohli and Jaworskis (1990) argument that managers who are more open to new ideas and have a more positive attitude toward change are more likely to be responsive to changes in customer needs. Therefore, we hypothesize that the more a person attaches importance to conservation values relative to openness-to-change values (called resultant conservation [Feather 1995]), the lower the firms customer responsiveness will be. H1: Resultant conservation is negatively related to customer responsiveness. We also expect resultant conservation to have a negative effect on export performance. Values that emphasize submissive restriction and preservation of traditional practices seem to be incongruent with the development of successful export operations, whereas values associated with independent thought and action choosing, creating, exploring, and challenge in life seem to be more compatible with activities that lead to successful export operations. This argument is consistent with previous studies that have shown flexible, open-minded, risktolerant, and receptive managers to be more likely to engage and succeed in export operations (Dichtl et al. 1984; Gmez-Mejia 1988; Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Piercy 1998). Resultant conservation has also been found to be negatively related to innovativeness (Steenkamp, Ter Hofstede, and Wedel 1999). This is consistent with Schwartz and Bardis (2001) argument that conservation values maintain the status quo and weaken the motivation to innovate. However, managers in export organizations are expected to be innovative, creative, and willing to break away from existing norms
and patterns (Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Piercy 1998; Simmonds and Smith 1968). This is consistent with a recent study by Contractor, Hsu, and Kundu (2005), who find that managers with strong innovative abilities enhance the export performance of their firms. Therefore, we hypothesize that the more a person attaches importance to conservation values relative to opennessto-change values, the lower the export performance of the firm will be. H2: Resultant conservation is negatively related to export performance. Resultant Self-Enhancement. As indicated previously, the second bipolar dimension is self-enhancement versus self-transcendence. Self-transcendence comprises universalism and benevolence. These value types emphasize preservation and enhancement of the welfare of those with whom there is frequent contact (benevolence) and appreciation and protection of the welfare of all people (universalism). Constituting the self-enhancement pole are the value types power and achievement. These value types emphasize personal success by demonstrating competence (achievement), social status, prestige, and control or dominance over people and resources (power). Thus, this second bipolar dimension, selfenhancement versus self-transcendence, opposes values emphasizing the pursuit of ones own relative success and dominance over others to those values emphasizing acceptance of others as equals and concern with their welfare. We hypothesize that resultant self-enhancement (i.e., the importance attached to self-enhancement minus the importance attached to self-transcendence [Feather 1995]) has a positive effect on a firms responsiveness in meeting customer needs. Reward and compensation systems are positively related to manager sensitivity to deal with customer needs and requirements (Ruekert 1992). The emphasis on rewards is also a way to gain social status and generate admiration of others (Srivastava, Locke, and Bartol 2001). Therefore, it is plausible to expect that managers who emphasize success and power are more likely to have a disposition toward meeting customer needs. Managers who emphasize personal success by demonstrating competence are also more likely to show greater interest in knowing more about their customers. Therefore, we expect that the more importance a person attaches to self-enhancement relative to self-transcendence (called resultant self-enhancement [Feather 1995]), the better the firms customer responsiveness will be.
H3: Resultant self-enhancement is positively related to customer responsiveness. Values that emphasize personal success by demonstrating competence and dominance over others would seem to be compatible with a firms export success. Competent managers are more likely to be capable of coping with export-related problems as well as formulating and implementing effective marketing strategies (Cunningham and Spiegel 1971), thereby increasing the export performance of the firm. Higher levels of dynamism and aggression in relation to business activities and higher levels of self-confidence on the part of the manager have also been reported to be positively related to firm performance (Bilkey and Tesar 1977; Da Rocha, Christensen, and Da Cunha 1990; Simmonds and Smith 1968). Therefore, the more importance a person attaches to self-enhancement relative to selftranscendence (called resultant self-enhancement), the better the export performance of the firm will be. H4: Resultant self-enhancement is positively related to export performance. Customer Responsiveness. A firms customer responsiveness, or its ability to respond quickly to customer needs and wants, is critical for sustained success. In todays fast-changing environment, customer needs are continuously evolving. This implies that to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, a firm should monitor and respond effectively and quickly to changes in customer needs (Day 1994). Firms that are more responsive to their customer needs are more likely to achieve a more loyal and sustainable customer base (Jayachandran, Hewett, and Kaufman 2004; Krasnikov and Jayachandran 2008; Sinkula, Baker, and Noordewier 1997). The ability to respond quickly to customer needs may also have a positive impact on the firms performance because it provides the firm with a first-mover advantage (Kerin, Varadarajan, and Peterson 1992). Therefore, we expect customer responsiveness to be positively related to export performance. H5: Customer responsiveness is positively related to export performance. Although empirical evidence is lacking in examining intermediating variables through which individual values may ultimately affect firm performance, it has been argued that resources, whether at the firm or individual level, should be converted to capabilities or strategic choice before influencing firm performance (Chadwick
and Dabu 2009; Kim, Cavusgil, and Calantone 2006; Wang et al. 2009). In our study, this implies that managers individual values drive the firms customer responsiveness, which in turn drives the export performance of the firm. While we detail the underlying relationships in H1H5, in H6 and H7, we integrate the preceding arguments to formally test the mediating role of customer responsiveness in the valuesexport performance linkage, considering resultant conservation and resultant self-enhancement, respectively. H6: Customer responsiveness mediates the relationship between resultant conservation and export performance. H7: Customer responsiveness mediates the relationship between resultant self-enhancement and export performance. Psychic Distance. We define psychic distance herein as the perception of the differences that exist between the home country and the foreign country in terms of economic development, climatic conditions, lifestyles, consumer preferences, language, education, and cultural values (Sousa and Bradley 2006). The literature indicates that psychic distance has a direct impact on the performance of the firm (Evans and Mavondo 2002; Madsen 1989). However, because some scholars report a negative relationship (e.g., Madsen 1989) and others find a positive effect (e.g., Evans and Mavondo 2002), the literature fails to provide conclusive support for either a negative or a positive effect of psychic distance on the performance of the firm (Evans, Mavondo, and Bridson 2008; Prime, Obadia, and Vida 2009). The internationalization process literaturewhich has been widely accepted as a starting point for the research on psychic distanceimplies that psychologically close countries are more similar and easier to manage than psychologically distant countries, and therefore firms should achieve greater success in similar markets (Johanson and Vahlne 1977, 1990; Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975). The assumption is that firms will perform better in markets that are perceived to be similar because differences between markets can lead to environmental uncertainty. This uncertainty and lack of information about the foreign market may also increase the possibility of making the wrong decisions and therefore reduce the performance of the firm abroad (Lee 1998). Thus, to export successfully, it seems advisable for firms to choose countries at a small psychic distance rather than distant markets. Therefore, in line with the preceding arguments, we propose the following hypothesis:
H8: Psychic distance is negatively related to export performance. This study proposes that psychic distance moderates the influence of individual values on the export performance of the firm. The use of psychic distance as a moderator to explain export performance is consistent with Sousa, Martinez-Lopez, and Coelhos (2008) view that foreign market characteristics should be considered a moderator, as well as being in line with the argument that psychic distance was originally conceived in the Uppsala model as a moderator (Ellis 2008). This is also consistent with Carpenter, Geletkanycz, and Sanderss (2004) argument that the effects of managerial values on performance outcomes are dependent on the managers perceptions about environmental factors. Firms that decide to enter psychologically distant markets must be prepared for challenges, derived from differences in languages, lifestyles, cultural standards, consumer preferences, and purchasing power (Albaum and Tse 2001; Lu and Beamish 2001; Pealoza and Gilly 1999; Sousa and Bradley 2006). In addition, psychic distance creates difficulties for managers when they need to adapt to a different culture because it leads to higher levels of complexity and uncertainty for managerial decision making (Shane, Venkataraman, and MacMillian 1995). These higher levels of uncertainty and ambiguity in the international business environment favor managers who are flexible, are open to change, and exhibit greater tolerance for ambiguity (Herrmann and Datta 2002). As a result, we expect that psychic distance will enhance the negative relationship between resultant conservation and export performance. The reasoning for this is that as psychic distance increases, managers who emphasize openness-to-change values relative to conservation values will be in a better position to handle the increasing level of complexities associated with operating in a foreign market because they will be more flexible and open-minded in dealing with these issues. The internationalization process literature (Johanson and Vahlne 1977; Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975) also implies that managers have less experience and lower levels of competence when entering psychologically distant markets. As such, executives facing many requirements from the environment are only able to comprehend and process a small proportion of the facts (Hambrick, Finkelstein, and Mooney 2005), thus reducing the positive influence of their competence on performance. Moreover, the possible adverse effects of high levels of psychic distance occur even when a manager is achievement oriented. It would be naive to
consider that performance would simply depend on high levels of managers achievement orientation without recognizing that achievement orientation will not surmount completely the burden of high levels of uncertainty in psychologically distant markets. In H4, we predict resultant self-enhancement to be positively related to export performance because a manager who is achievement oriented and emphasizes success by demonstrating competence is more likely to succeed. However, as psychic distance increases, managers will find it more difficult to handle and cope with the challenges of the foreign market, thereby weakening the positive impact of resultant self-enhancement on export performance. Thus, on the basis of the preceding discussion, we propose the following hypotheses: H9: Psychic distance enhances the negative relationship between resultant conservation and export performance. H10: Psychic distance attenuates the positive relationship between resultant self-enhancement and export performance.
METHODOLOGY Sample and Data Collection Procedure

We conducted the study in 2008 using a sample of exporting firms headquartered in Galicia (Spain). Following Morgan, Kaleka, and Katsikeas (2004), we used a multi-industry sample to increase observed variance and reinforce the generalization of the results. To collect the data, we developed a structured questionnaire, beginning with a comprehensive review of the literature in the area. Five academic experts familiar with the topic assessed the content validity of the items, and ten export managers pretested the questionnaire. The sampling frame for the study was based on a government agency database. Questionnaires were distributed to 1222 senior managers with responsibilities in the field of exporting or foreign operations. After eliminating nonvalid questionnaires, we retained 208 usable questionnaires, representing a response rate of 17%. This constitutes a fairly good response rate, considering that the average top management survey response rates are between 15% and 20% (Menon, Bharadwaj, and Howell 1996). To encourage respondents to participate, we promised them a copy of the report with the results of the research.
We selected a single key informant in each firm to comment on a single export venture (main product or group of products exported and main important country to which those products were exported). The use of such an informant also allowed us to reduce the potential for systematic and random sources of error (Huber and Power 1985). In this context, it is important to select managers who are involved in a particular decision domain (Dutton, Fahey, and Narayanan 1983; Hambrick 2007). Thus, the focus of this research is on the decision makers with responsibilities in exporting because they influence export management through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources in this area. To ensure reliability of the data source, we required the respondents to be senior managers with responsibilities for exporting. A specific section of the questionnaire was used to establish the respondents title, knowledge, involvement, and responsibilities in exporting. The final analysis showed that approximately 54% were export managers, and for the companies without the position of export manager, the remaining 46% were general managers or other senior managers with export management responsibilities (see Appendix A). We examined the possibility of nonresponse bias by using the guidelines of Armstrong and Overton (1977) to test for significant differences between early and late respondents. We defined early responses as the first 75% of returned questionnaires and considered the last 25% late responses and representative of firms that did not respond to the survey (Weiss and Heide 1993). We performed a series of t-tests with these two groups on several key firm characteristics, such as number of employees and export performance. The results indicated no significant differences between respondents and nonrespondents, at the .05 level, suggesting that nonresponse bias was not a problem. We also tested the existence of common method bias by conducting two tests to determine the extent of variance. The first was the Harman one-factor test (Podsakoff and Organ 1986). The results indicated that the risk of common method variance was unlikely to be significant in this case because the exploratory factor analytic results showed that a single general factor did not account for most of the variance. As a confirmation, we performed a second test to evaluate common method variance following the procedure that Podsakoff and colleagues (2003) recommend. In this approach, we reestimated the model with all the indicator variables loading on a general method factor, and the resulting model fit was unacceptable. In addition, research indicates that value scores are
not contaminated by social desirability (Schwartz et al. 1997). Together, these findings suggested that common method bias is not a serious threat in the study.
Measures
To operationalize the variables, this study relied on previously validated scales (see Appendix B). We measured individual values with the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), which comprises 57 items. Schwartz and colleagues (Schwartz 1992; Schwartz and Sagiv 1995) developed and extensively tested the SVS, whose reliability and validity has been demonstrated in numerous studies (e.g., Schwartz 2006; Schwartz and Rubel 2005; Schwartz and Sagiv 1995). This study adopted a Spanish version of the SVS previously validated by Schwartz and colleagues. Moreover, the instructions and scoring procedure developed by Schwartz were also employed in this study. Accordingly, respondents were asked to rate the importance of each single value as a guiding principle in their own life using a nine-point scale ranging from 1 (opposed to my values) to 7 (of supreme importance). We obtained an index of the importance of a value domain by computing the mean importance for each value type separately and subsequently averaging the scores attributed to the value types within each domain. For example, to obtain scores for each value type that constitutes the conservation dimension, we obtained the mean score for each participant for the conformity, tradition, and security value types. We used the same approach to obtain the scores for the self-transcendence, self-enhancement, and openness-to-change dimensions. Following Schwartz (2005), we included hedonism in the openness-to-change domain. Subsequently, we computed resultant conservation by subtracting openness to change from conservation. Similarly, we computed resultant selfenhancement by subtracting self-transcendence from self-enhancement. This method to calculate the scores was also used by Feather (1995) and Steenkamp, Ter Hofstede, and Wedel (1999). We measured customer responsiveness using three items based on various measures of customer responsiveness in the extensive market orientation literature (Hooley et al. 2000; Jayachandran, Hewett, and Kaufman 2004; Kohli, Jaworski, and Kumar 1993). As such, we operationalized customer responsiveness using the following items: frequent measurement of customer satisfaction, quick to respond to the needs of the customer, and quick to adapt products to the needs of the customer. To operationalize psychic distance, we used the scale that Sousa and Bradley (2006) developed. As a result, we
measured psychic distance on a five-point scale (1 = very similar, and 5 = very different) using the following items: purchasing power of customers, climatic conditions, lifestyles, consumer preferences, language, level of literacy, and cultural values, beliefs, attitudes, and traditions. Finally, we measured export performance using five items: degree to which it improved global competitiveness, degree to which it strengthened strategic position, perceptions of how competitors rate the firms export performance, export sales growth, and export profitability. These items have been used in previous studies (Styles 1998; Zou, Taylor, and Osland 1998) to measure export performance. In addition to the variables specified in our theoretical model, we included the managers international experience as a control variable. Previous research suggests that a managers experience has an impact on the firms customer responsiveness (Franke and Park 2006) and the export performance of the firm (Sousa, Martinez-Lopez, and Coelho 2008). We measured manager experience by asking respondents to indicate the number of years they had been working with foreign markets.
managers. On the basis of these procedures, we concluded that the measures satisfied the requirements for content validity. We assessed discriminant validity, convergent validity, and scale reliability with confirmatory factor analysis in line with the paradigm that Gerbing and Anderson (1988) advocate. The results from the estimation of the confirmatory factor analysis model show that the overall chi-square for this model was 484.919 (p < .001) with 254 degrees of freedom. Four measures of fit were examined: comparative fit index (CFI = .98), TuckerLewis index (TLI = .97), incremental fit index (IFI = .98), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = .06). These fit indexes are inside conventional cutoff values (Vandenberg and Lance 2000), and thus we deemed the model acceptable. The results also reveal that all items load on their specified constructs and that each loading is large and significant, indicating convergent validity. In contrast, we assessed discriminant validity by observing the construct intercorrelations. These were significantly different from 1, and the shared variance between any two constructs (i.e., the square of their intercorrelation) was less than the average variance explained in the items by the construct (Fornell and Larcker 1981). Table 1 shows the correlation matrix for the constructs. Adequate discriminant validity is evident for all constructs because their diagonal elements are greater than the off-diagonal elements in their corresponding
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Reliability and Validity

We established content validity through the literature review and by consulting experienced researchers and
Table 1. Correlation Between Constructs

Construct 1. Conservation 2. Openness to change 3. Self-enhancement 4. Self-transcendence 5. Customer responsiveness 6. Psychic distance 7. Export performance 8. Experience 1 .81 .47 .21 .16 .07 .04 .08 .13 .74 .09 .32 .04 .01 .06 .21 .84 .51 .06 .01 .17 .16 .82 .15 .05 .07 .18 .71 .07 .24 .07 .68 .18 .03 .66 .05 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Notes: Diagonal is the square root of the AVE.
Figure 3. Model with Mediation Effect
Resultant conservation
.01 (n. s.)
.14 (p <
.05)
Customer responsiveness
.29 (p < .01)
Export performance
Resultant self-enhancement
.13 (p < .10) Psychic distance
2 = 686.016, d.f. = 443; CFI = .97; TLI = .96; IFI = .97; RMSEA = .05. Notes: Standardized parameter estimate (significance level); n.s. = not significant.
rows and columns. With regard to reliability, all constructs present desirable levels of composite reliability (CR) and considerably exceed the minimum recommended by Bagozzi and Yi (1988) of .60: conservation (CR = .85), openness to change (CR = .78), selfenhancement (CR = .83), self-transcendence (CR = .81), customer responsiveness (CR = .75), psychic distance (CR = .85), and export performance (CR = .76). In terms of the average variance extracted (AVE), only psychic distance (AVE = .46) and export performance (AVE = .44) fell slightly short of the .50 guideline; all the others exceeded the recommended level.1 Therefore, we conclude that for all constructs, the indicators were sufficient and adequate in terms of how the measurement model was specified.
.05. Given that all the fit indexes were inside conventional cut-off values, we deemed the model acceptable (Vandenberg and Lance 2000). Next, we examined the relationships proposed in the model (Figure 3). H1 was not supported, because the effect of resultant conservation on customer responsiveness was not significant. However, we found support for the negative influence of resultant conservation on the export performance of the firm (H2). In contrast, we found that resultant self-enhancement had a positive effect on customer responsiveness (H3) and no significant impact on export performance (H4). Thus, the data were not supportive of H4 but rendered support for H3. The effect of customer responsiveness on export performance was significant and positive, in support of H5. Taking H1H5 together, our data suggest that customer responsiveness mediates the effect of resultant self-enhancement on export performance (H7). To examine the extent to which customer responsiveness mediates the influence of resultant self-enhancement on export performance, we relied on the three-step mediated regression approach that Baron and Kenny (1986) recommend. To meet the first mediation condition, we
Testing of Hypotheses
Because of the complexity of the model and the need to test the relationships between the constructs simultaneously, we used structural equations by applying the maximum likelihood (ML) method (AMOS version 5). Estimating the hypothesized model produced the following statistics: chi-square = 686.016, d.f. = 443 (p < .001); CFI = .97; TLI = .96; IFI = .97; and RMSEA =
.15 (
7 .1
p<
(p
<
n.s.) .08 (
.02 (n.s.)
.05 )
5) .0
found that resultant self-enhancement was significantly related to customer responsiveness (p < .05), thus satisfying the first condition of mediation. To test the second mediation condition, we estimated a new model that specifies only the direct paths between values and export performance. We found that without the presence of customer responsiveness, resultant self-enhancement was significantly related to export performance (p < .05). This result satisfies the second condition of mediation. Finally, after entering the mediator of customer responsiveness, the results indicate that customer responsiveness was significantly related to export performance. This suggests that customer responsiveness mediates the impact of resultant self-enhancement on export performance, in support of H7. We did not consider the mediation effect of customer responsiveness on the relationship between resultant conservation and export performance, because the first condition of mediation (the link between resultant conservation and customer responsiveness) was not met. Therefore, hypotheses regarding the mediating role of customer responsiveness in the valuesexport performance relationship were partially supported, being supported in the case of resultant self-enhancement (H7) but not in the case of resultant conservation (H6). With regard to the direct export performance implications of psychic distance, we predicted that psychic distance would be negatively related to export performance (H8). However, contrary to expectations, the estimated coefficient of psychic distance was positive (.15) and significant (p < .05), indicating that the greater the psychic distance between the home and foreign market, the better the export performance of the firm is. To estimate interaction effects using structural equations, we followed a method that Little, Bovaird, and Widaman (2006) propose. The Little, Bovaird, and Widaman orthogonalized approach uses the observed covariation pattern among all possible indicators of the interaction to form the latent interaction term. The interaction latent variable and its measures are then directly included in the model. Following this procedure, the results indicate that the coefficient of the interaction between resultant conservation and psychic distance was positive and significant (.13; p < .10). This contradicts H9, which predicted a negative effect. These results indicate that psychic distance is not a pure moderator but a quasi moderator. This is because, as the coefficients show, the main effect as well as the interaction effect of psychic distance is significant. Finally, we found no effect between psychic distance and the influence of resultant self-enhancement
on export performance, thus failing to support H10. In relation to the control variable, the managers international experience, we found no significant impact.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Despite acknowledging that managers play a key role in the initiation, development, sustenance, and success of a firms export operations, the extant literature has largely ignored the possible impact of the managers individual values on strategic choice and the export performance of the firm. The objective of this study, and therefore its contribution to the literature, is to examine for the first time the impact of managers values on the firms customer responsiveness and export performance. In addition, we examine the mediating role of customer responsiveness in the valuesexport performance linkage as well as the direct effect on export performance. We also investigate the empirical usefulness of the psychic distance construct by examining its direct link with export performance and the extent to which it moderates the relationship between individual values and export performance. The results indicate that resultant conservation is negatively related to export performance. This suggests that managers who are more flexible, open-minded, creative, innovative, and receptive to change are more likely to succeed in export operations. This is also consistent with previous studies that have found that managers who are innovative, creative, and willing to break away from existing norms and patterns are more likely to succeed in export operations (Contractor, Hsu, and Kundu 2005; Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Piercy 1998). However, contrary to expectations, the impact of resultant conservation on the firms customer responsiveness was not significant. A possible explanation for this surprising result is that the motivational content of the conservation versus openness-to-change dimension is not so important in shaping the firms customer responsiveness. Nevertheless, this is an issue that warrants further empirical investigation. We found that customer responsiveness had a significant and positive impact on the export performance of the firm. This confirms our hypothesis and supports our view that firms achieve better results when they are more responsive to their customers needs. This is also consistent with other studies that find customer responsiveness to be positively related to the performance of the firm
(e.g., Jayachandran, Hewett, and Kaufman 2004; Martin and Grbac 2003). The results also confirm that customer responsiveness fully mediates the effect of resultant selfenhancement on the export performance of the firm. The positive impact of resultant self-enhancement suggests that managers who are motivated by power and personal success through demonstrating competence are more likely to succeed in foreign markets. This seems to confirm prior research (Bilkey and Tesar 1977; Cunningham and Spiegel 1971; Da Rocha, Christensen, and Da Cunha 1990), which has found that competence and higher levels of dynamism and aggression of the manager in relation to business activities have a positive impact on the export performance of the firm. The results indicate that the relationship between psychic distance and export performance is positive and significant. This discloses an unexpected relationship and is contrary to our hypothesis, implying that firms perform better in psychologically distant countries. Though surprising, this finding is consistent with previous results reported by Evans and Mavondo (2002), Evans, Mavondo, and Bridson (2008), OGrady and Lane (1996), and Sousa and Lengler (2009). These authors argue that firms entering psychologically distant markets are likely to perceive a higher level of risk, which results in a strong desire to learn more about the foreign market, enabling them to be better prepared for the challenges and opportunities presented by that market. Therefore, similarities between markets could lead to managerial carelessness and failure. Firms entering psychologically close markets may also find it difficult to establish a clear basis for differentiation and, as a result, will encounter stronger local competition, which could affect performance negatively (Evans, Mavondo, and Bridson 2008). The emphasis on the perceptual nature of psychic distance may also provide an explanation for the observation of a psychic distance paradox (Yamin and Sinkovics 2006). The paradox is that contrary to an intuitive view of psychic distance being negatively related to export performance, this construct has a positive effect on performance (OGrady and Lane 1996). As psychic distance increases, managers may become aware of their knowledge limits, and this perception reinforces the need for learning about foreign countries. As a result, the expectations in relation to learning barriers may induce counteracting behavior on the part of the internationalizing firm, thereby devoting greater resources to learning about the market and, consequently, increasing the likelihood of a better performance.
The interaction between resultant conservation and psychic distance has a positive sign, indicating that the latter attenuates the negative effect of resultant conservation on export performance. This result contradicts our hypothesis. The effects of resultant conservation become positive on export performance when psychic distance is high. When psychic distance is low, the relationship becomes negative. Thus, managers who emphasize conservation values relative to openness-to-change values are more likely to succeed in psychologically distant markets. A possible explanation is that as psychic distance increases, for managers to be successful, they must be increasingly careful not to violate social expectations and norms, to respect traditions, and to accept the customs and ideas that a different culture or religion provides. All these actions would be consistent with the motivational goal of the conservation dimension. To a certain extent, this finding is also consistent with the view that to succeed in export operations, firms must adapt their strategies to the idiosyncrasies of the foreign market (Cavusgil and Zou 1994; Lee and Griffith 2004). Thus, firms that enter psychologically distant markets are more likely to imitate the strategies of local companies. Neo-institutionalists have emphasized the role of uncertainty in propelling mimetic isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell 1983; Mizruchi and Fein 1999). They have shown that mimetic processes tend to occur as the levels of uncertainty increase. Because managers who emphasize conservation values are more likely to use mimetic processes or to imitate, they may be more efficient in psychologically distant markets than managers who emphasize openness-to-change values in situations in which it is necessary to follow similar strategies as local competitors.
Managerial Implications
When developing their export operations, managers should take into account the unexpected finding that psychic distance has a positive effect on export performance, which has been denoted as the psychic distance paradox in the literature (OGrady and Lane 1996). The appeal of similar markets, suggested by the Uppsala model as the main reason for entering psychologically close countries (Johanson and Vahlne 1977; Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975), may direct managers to underestimate the small but important differences that exist between the home and the foreign market. In addition, the same reasoning may lead export managers not to target psychologically distant countries, thereby losing export opportunities. For example, a firm entering a
psychologically distant market may face less direct competition, have a greater ability to differentiate, and be able to capitalize on a growing market (Evans, Mavondo, and Bridson 2008). Therefore, when operating in psychologically close countries, managers should pay attention to all the differences that exist between markets. A direct consequence of our results is that managers should consider exporting to psychologically distant countries because these markets may represent good opportunities to develop successful export ventures. Given that customer responsiveness had a significant, positive impact on export performance, managers should constantly monitor the needs and wants of their customers to ensure that they are able to respond effectively and quickly to any changes. Therefore, managers should create a system that enables them to track their customer complaints, measure their customer satisfaction, and monitor changes in the marketplace. Managers must also make sure that these monitoring results are analyzed and evaluated. This should lead firms to generate internal conditions to allow different departments to have access to these monitoring results and work articulately to respond to market changes. Because a high degree of departmentalization in the firm makes it more difficult to communicate information and respond quickly to market changes (Matsuno, Mentzer, and zsomer 2002), managers should consider reducing departmentalization in the organization and/or increase interdepartmental connectedness. In addition, this study finds support for the notion that managers values are important in being a main force behind export performance. By focusing on individual values rather than classical variables such as age, experience, or education, this study addresses a gap in the literature and offers some noteworthy implications from a managerial perspective. The results of this study suggest that firms should pay attention to managers value orientations to maximize the export performance of the firm. Our findings indicate that managers resultant selfenhancement values have a positive influence on the firms customer responsiveness. From a managerial side, firms should take this into account when deciding on the appropriate profile of export managers. In this case, it implies the selection of managers who emphasize achievement and power values. Therefore, implementing a reward and promotion system that is directly related to performance could play an important role in export management because this would be consistent
with the mind-set of managers who emphasize resultant self-enhancement values. In relation to resultant conservation, our findings suggest that managers who emphasize openness-to-change values relative to conservation values should perform better in foreign markets. However, the interaction between resultant conservation and psychic distance is positive, indicating that psychic distance attenuates the negative effect of resultant conservation on export performance. Thus, when firms enter psychologically distant countries, managers should emphasize conservation values; conversely, openness-to-change values are more important in the case of psychologically close countries. In summary, this study shows that individual values are important in explaining the export performance of the firm and that in the case of resultant conservation, psychic distance moderates this impact. Given that values have an effect on export performance, firms should place considerable effort on assessing managers values. To determine individuals value orientations, firms could administer value scales (e.g., the SVS) to potential and current employees.
Limitations and Directions for Further Research

This study contains several limitations that should be addressed in further research. First, we tested our hypotheses using cross-sectional data; therefore, we were unable to empirically predict causality in the relationships examined or capture the dynamic aspects of the drivers of export performance. Consequently, researchers should consider adopting a longitudinal design to shed light on the evolution of these variables over time. Moreover, the cross-sectional survey research design that relies on a single key informant per firm has its limitations. Although the use of a single informant is prevalent within export marketing research, it increases the risk of common method variance. However, the statistical tests we undertook to assess the presence of common method variance in our results indicated that this issue is not likely to be a significant concern in our study. According to Podsakoff and colleagues (2003), the use of multiple respondents would have reduced concerns about potential response bias, but in a large sample study identifying and obtaining responses from multiple well-informed respondents, it is extremely problematic. The use of multiple respondents may also
pose further difficulties for the researcher, such as a possibility of a decrease in response rate and the need for more time, effort, and funding to carry out the research. Nonetheless, the use of multiple respondents and longitudinal studies should be considered in the future to enable researchers to examine more closely the relationships we proposed in this study. Although our response rate was fairly good and we followed Armstrong and Overtons (1977) methodology to test for nonresponse bias, researchers can use different approaches to minimize survey nonresponse. One approach is to increase mailings or contact efforts. Although this approach is probably the most costly and time consuming, obtaining the highest response rate possible is the best way to reduce response bias. Mixing modes can also enable researchers to reach people who are inaccessible using a single mode. However, a critical issue in multimode surveys is the comparability of data across modes because answers to certain questions may be affected by the mode of collection (Fowler 2002). Therefore, to combine data collected using different methods, it is important that the researchers ensure that the data are comparable. Alternatively, the researcher may collect data on key variables from nonrespondents by telephoning a randomly selected set and then comparing them with the respondents to assess representativeness (Short, Ketchen, and Palmer 2002; Very et al. 1997). Further studies should also investigate the significance and relative importance of other moderating factors not considered in the current study. Although this study considered the role of psychic distance a moderating variable, other possible factors could be examined for potential moderator effects. Moreover, further research that identifies additional factors that may be affected by the managers values would contribute greatly to the understanding and the importance given to individual values in the international marketing literature. For example, the impact of values on the decision to adapt and/or standardize the firms marketing strategy to the conditions of the foreign market would be of interest. Individual values are desirable goals that serve as guiding principles in peoples lives and explain the attitudes and behavior of the individual. Inevitably, they influence managers attitudes and behavior toward their firms export operations. However, the impact of a managers individual values on the export performance of the firm is largely ignored in the literature. Our study contributes
to the attempt to close this void and could stimulate others to pursue this research stream.
NOTE
1. Psychic distance and export performance fell slightly short of the .50 guideline. Despite this, we decided to keep the number of items, given the high CR and Cronbachs alpha coefficients for both constructs (psychic distance: CR = .85, = .85; export performance: CR = .76, = .74). Moreover, each indicators estimated pattern coefficient on its posited underlying construct is significant, suggesting the convergent validity of each factor (Anderson and Gerbing 1988). The same rationale has also been used in the literature in which an AVE greater than .40 is considered acceptable (Iglesias 2004; Verhoef, Hans, and Hoekstra 2002).
Appendix A. Respondent Profile (n = 208)
Characteristics Managers Age 2630 years 3135 years 3640 years 4150 years 51+ years Managers Education Primary school High school Undergraduate Postgraduate Position Export manager General manager/owners Other positions (e.g., vice president, sales director, finance director)
Sample Population (%)
Number
12 21 25 26 16
24 44 52 55 33
4 20 64 12
8 42 133 25
54 25 21
111 53 44
Notes: Decimal points are omitted for clarity.
REFERENCES Appendix B. Constructs and Measures

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THE AUTHORS
Carlos M.P. Sousa is Lecturer of Marketing at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin. His research interests are in the areas of international marketing strategy, determinants of company performance, the measurement and impact of psychic distance and cultural distance on international activities, and cultural influences on international marketing strategies. He has published in Journal of International Marketing, Journal of World Business, International Business Review, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Management Reviews, International Small Business Journal, Journal of Marketing Management, and Academy of Marketing Science Review, among others. Emilio Ruzo is Associate Professor of Marketing and Market Research, Business Management Faculty of Lugo, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). He holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of Santiago de Compostela. His research interests include competitive market analysis, international marketing strategy, brand equity, consumer behavior, entrepreneurship, and family business. His research has been published in International Journal of Market Research, Journal of World Business, and other journals. Fernando Losada is Associate Professor of Marketing and Market Research, Business Management Faculty of Lugo, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). He holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of Santiago de Compostela. His research interests include international marketing strategy, competitive market analysis, consumer behavior, entrepreneurship, and family business. His research has been published in International Journal of Market Research, Journal of World Business, and other journals.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the anonymous JIM reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. The authors also thank Shalom H. Schwartz for his advice and comments during the development of this article.

The Key Role of Managers' Values in Exporting: Influence On Customer Responsiveness and Export Performance

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The Key Role of Managers Values in Exporting: Influence on Customer Responsiveness and Export Performance

Carlos M.P Sousa, Emilio Ruzo, and Fernando Losada .

Key Role of Managers Values in Exporting 1

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Theoretical Background

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Figure 1. Conceptual Model

Resultant self-enhancement Psychic distance Individual Values

Key Role of Managers Values in Exporting 3

Figure 2. Schwartzs Theoretical Model of Relationships Among Values

Self-Transcendence Universalism Benevolence

Source: Schwartz (1992).

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METHODOLOGY Sample and Data Collection Procedure

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ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Reliability and Validity

Table 1. Correlation Between Constructs

Notes: Diagonal is the square root of the AVE.

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Figure 3. Model with Mediation Effect

.01 (n. s.)

.29 (p < .01)

.13 (p < .10) Psychic distance

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DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

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Limitations and Directions for Further Research

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Appendix A. Respondent Profile (n = 208)

Sample Population (%)

Notes: Decimal points are omitted for clarity.

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REFERENCES Appendix B. Constructs and Measures

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