Exporting Services Successfully: Antecedents and Performance Implications of Customer Relationships

This research is among the first to present a study of the drivers of service export performance. The authors develop and empirically test a theoretical framework of the antecedent and performance implications of cross-border customer relationships (CCRs) in the context of service exports. Survey data front 142 business-to-business service providers show that valuable CCRs have positive impacts on the export performance of services, but there is no influence derived from the number of cross-border relationships. The results also indicate a positive link between relationship marketing activities and the cross-cultural skills of service employees on the one side with valuable and numerous CCRs on the other. That is, relationship marketing activities receive positive influences front export commitment, customer orientation, and managers' cross-cultural skills.