1. ¹Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, MIT School of Engineering, USA
2. ²Faculdade de Economia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
3. ³Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
4. ⁴Eli Broad Graduate School of Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

Correspondence: Luis Filipe Lages, Marketing and International Business, Faculdade Economia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa 1099-032, Portugal. Tel: +351 21 3801601; Fax: +351 21 3886073; E-mail: lflages@fe.unl.pt

Received 4 November 2003; Revised 19 January 2006; Accepted 20 April 2007; Published online 29 November 2007.

Abstract

This paper employs organizational learning theory to examine the short-term effect of past export performance, and internal (management) and external (market) forces on marketing strategy adaptation and current export performance. Results from a survey of over 500 export managers indicate that current-period performance improvement (in terms of performance achievement, export intensity, and performance satisfaction in the current year) is influenced by the firm's commitment to exporting. Further, the authors found that while performance satisfaction feeds performance improvement in the following year, both the previous year's export intensity and export performance achievement produce a negative impact on current-period performance improvement. More importantly, the level of development in the export market facilitates marketing strategy adaptation in the short term, as does export intensity in the previous year. However, satisfaction with previous-year performance negatively influences the degree of distribution adaptation. Implications for international business researchers and practitioners are also discussed.