Firm Orientations: Do the Five Orientations Affect Export Performance?

Firm strategic orientations (product, production, selling, marketing, and societal marketing) are routinely discussed in the introductory chapters of marketing management texts. However, to the best of our knowledge, only one empirical paper has been reported to date (Shoham 1999) and this paper was in the context of domestic operations of Israeli firms. Neither the existence of these orientations nor their performance implications have been examined empirically in an exporting context. This research examines orientations of Israeli firms in their export operations. The data suggest that the five orientations have different effects on export performance. The results highlight the need for future research on the relationships between firm orientations, environmental conditions, and performance.