Purpose

The literature on export channels suggests that intermediary resources, namely intermediary competence and availability, are critical for export success. However, little is known about how the beneficial effects of intermediary resources differ amongst integrated, independent and dual channel structures. One difference between these channel structures is the degree of reliance on independent intermediaries. This study aims to investigate (1) the impact of intermediary resources on export venture success, that is, export sales performance and channel maintenance costs and (2) the moderating role of the degree of reliance on independent intermediaries.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical testing was conducted using survey data collected from 204 Japanese industrial exporting ventures. To test the proposed hypotheses, this study estimated a structural equation model with the maximum likelihood estimation procedure.

Findings

Evidence shows that two aspects of intermediary resources have different beneficial effects on export venture success. Specifically, intermediary availability leads to export venture success by decreasing channel maintenance costs, whereas intermediary competence is not always beneficial for it. Furthermore, this study finds that reliance on independent intermediaries positively moderates the impacts of intermediary competence and availability.

Originality/value

Previous studies emphasise the importance of intermediary resources and export channel structures. However, the question of whether export channel structures determine the performance benefits of intermediary resources is unanswered. By addressing this question, this study provides helpful insight into how exporting managers can implement channel strategy and access intermediary resources to achieve export success.

中文翻译：

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不同出口渠道结构下的中间资源和出口创汇绩效

目的

有关出口渠道的文献表明，中介资源，即中介能力和可利用性，对于出口成功至关重要。但是，关于中间资源的有益效果在集成，独立和双通道结构之间如何差异知之甚少。这些渠道结构之间的差异之一是对独立中介机构的依赖程度。这项研究旨在调查（1）中介资源对出口企业成功的影响，即出口销售业绩和渠道维护成本，以及（2）依赖程度对独立中介者的调节作用。

设计/方法/方法

使用从204家日本工业出口企业收集的调查数据进行了实证测试。为了检验提出的假设，本研究使用最大似然估计程序估计了结构方程模型。

发现

有证据表明，中介资源的两个方面对出口企业的成功有不同的有利影响。具体来说，中间商的可用性通过降低渠道维护成本而导致出口企业成功，而中间人的能力并不总是对其有利。此外，这项研究发现，对独立中介机构的依赖可以积极缓解中介机构能力和可用性的影响。

创意/价值

先前的研究强调了中介资源和出口渠道结构的重要性。但是，出口渠道结构是否决定中介资源的绩效收益这一问题尚未得到解答。通过解决这个问题，本研究为出口经理如何实施渠道战略和访问中介资源以实现出口成功提供了有用的见识。