RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.3 Operational Definition, Indicator, and Measurement/Method
3.3.3 As an Independent Variable, Entrepreneurial Orientation
small and medium enterprises (Czinkota and Ricks, 1983; Tesfom and Lutz, 2006).
Because of these reasons entrepreneurial orientation played a key role in fostering export performance opportunities for the organization on fighting internal organizational challenges.
goods and services will encounter significant cost increases associated with potential export markets research and implementation of strategy (Leonidou et al., 2007). As a result, small and medium enterprises in the export business must bear high human capital costs, i.e. the improvement of staff‟s export competency in order to achieve their goals in international business (Jaffe et al., 1988; Westhead et al., 2002).
Limitation on resources and human capital are the obstacles or barriers to modification of policy formulation and assessment necessary for the improvement of export business functional factors. It must adapt in order to grow through increased education in technology (Grants, 1999). Moreover, organizations need to apply their competency for management associated with external environmental changes (Grants, 1999).
Operational definitions, indicators, and measurement levels/methods are shown in Table 3.1 below.
Table 3.1 Operational Definitions, Indicators, and Measurements/Methods
Sub Concept Definitions Items/Indicators Measurements Dependent
Variable Export Performance
Success or failure of the exporting of an
organization (Zou and Stan, 1998), dividable into financial and non-financial measures
Financial Performance
Organizational
performance via financial measuring
1) Annual sales compared to previous year
2) Annual profit compared to previous year
3) Growth compared to previous year
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10, where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Table 3.1 (Continued)
Sub Concept Definitions Items/Indicators Measurements Non-Financial
Performance
Organizational performance via non- financial measuring
4) Your business can achieve the specified product quality standard 5) Your business can respond to customer‟s needs as per the specified goal 6) Your business can achieve the specified sales growth target quality standard
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Independent Variable Entrepreneuria l Orientation
Focus on personalities and attributes of entrepreneurs, which are a key
management mechanism of the organizational
capability (Bygrave and Hofer, 1991)
Innovativeness Tendency of organizations to participate in or promote new ideas, inventions, experiments, and initiatives, which are different from previous thinking, which signals a willingness to abandon old habits or customs and trying to do something new and untested, or
abandoning old styles of working for new ones
7) During 1-3 years, your business has offered new products or services
8) Product or service development of your business can meet market demands keeping up with situational changes
9) Most of the time your business can offer new products, services, or production techniques
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Table 3.1 (Continued)
Sub Concept Definitions Items/Indicators Measurements Proactiveness Anticipation and action
toward future needs of the market, which allow organizations to gain a competitive advantage as the first-mover advantage
10) Your business often seeks new export
opportunities 11) Your business
focuses on R&D, leadership in technology, and innovation for a competitive advantage on adopting a foreign market
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Risk Taking Entrepreneurs‟ willingness on spending most of an organization‟s available resources on projects associated with high costs of failure or venturing into the unknown
12) Your business takes risks on spending available resources for investment of untapped export markets
13) Your business takes risks on making prompt changes toward its objectives
14) Your business has a venturesome strategy
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Export Barriers Factors hampering exports for small and medium enterprises (Leonidou Leonidas C., 2004) Internal Export
Barriers
Obstacles within the organization concerning resources utilization and management capability (Leonidou Leonidas C., 2004)
Informational Barriers
Ineffective use of data for selection of international markets and related contact persons.
15) Problematic
international market data 16) Limited information to locate/analyze markets 17) Identifying foreign business opportunities
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Table 3.1 (Continued)
Sub Concept Definitions Items/Indicators Measurements Functional
Barriers
Lack or deficiency of resources and capabilities in exporting functions
18) Inadequate/
untrained personnel for exporting
19) Lack of skillful workforce for production 20) Lack of excess production capacity for exporters
21) Shortage of working capital to finance exporters (inaccessibility of funds)
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Marketing Barriers
Barriers on products or marketing activities with respect to exporting
22) Meeting export packaging/labeling requirements
23) Difficulty in offering satisfactory prices to overseas customers 24) Difficulty in accessing export distribution channels 25) Excessive
transportation/insurance costs
26) Adjusting export promotional activities 27) Lack of business alliances and network of export enterprises (for boosting production)
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
External Export Barriers
Internal and external barriers beyond the control of organizations (Leonidou Leonidas C., 2004)
Table 3.1 (Continued)
Sub Concept Definitions Items/Indicators Measurements Procedural
Barriers
Barriers from export operations with customers abroad
28) Lack of
knowledge/difficulty with export procedures 29) Unfamiliar with exporting procedures/
paper work 30) Problematic communication with overseas customers
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Governmental Barriers
Two aspects of obstacles from the government: the lack of government support for exporters and the government trade barriers on export-related tax and non-tax measures
31) Lack of home government assistance/
incentives
32) Unfavorable home laws, rules, and regulations
33) Lack of confidence from overseas markets due to domestic political and social problems
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data
Task Barriers Barriers from customers and competitors in foreign markets
34) Different foreign customer habits/attitudes 35) Competition with similar products with a country with lower cost production
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data Environmental
Barriers
Barriers from economic, political, legal, social, and cultural situations in foreign markets
36) Poor/deteriorating economic conditions 37) Political instability in foreign markets 38) High tariff and non-tariff barriers 39) Foreign currency exchange risks 40) Different language and socio-cultural traits
-Interval scale -Questionnaire rating scale of 10 where 1=least agree and 10=strongly agree -Subjective data