Social capital and export performance within exporter-intermediary relationships: The mediated effect of cooperation and commitment

Abstract

Purpose

This paper draw insights from social capital theory and examines the synergistic effect of several constructs on export performance within the context of exporter–intermediary relationships. Specifically, it assumes that social capital and the set of resources embedded therein strongly influence the extent to which both commitment and cooperation occur, and how these, in turn, impact on export performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a quantitative methodological approach, a survey is applied to a sample of small and medium-sized enterprise exporters, to empirically test the proposed conceptual model. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to test the empirical model.

Findings

The findings reveal that there is a positive and direct impact of social capital on export performance. Results also confirm that the presence of high social capital between exporters and intermediaries affects both high commitment and high cooperation. The study also confirms the mediation effect of cooperation in the relationship between social capital and export performance.

Practical implications

One possible shortfall of this research relates to the fact that this analysis only incorporates the view of one actor, the view of exporter firms. This limitation could open a rewarding direction for future research, which would be to analyze the view of both sides in a dyadic relationship.

Originality/value

This paper presents the original approach of looking at the relational antecedents of export performance.

Citation

Pinho, J.C. (2016), "Social capital and export performance within exporter-intermediary relationships: The mediated effect of cooperation and commitment", Management Research Review, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 425-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-08-2014-0189