Key Drivers of Export-Venture Competitive Advantage : An Empirical Assessment of Korean Start-Up Firms

An export-venture is one of the strategic options for a start-up firm that desires to compete internationally, especially when the firm’s resources are insufficient. Recent research has advocated that export-ventures are valuable strategies for start-up firms that suffer from limited resources such as knowledge of internationalization that can be acquired mostly from experiential learning. Few studies, however, have explained export ventures’ sustainable success. The authors aim to identify key drivers of export-venture success. Based heavily on the resource-advantage of competition, the authors theorize key relationships between export-ventures’ resources and competitive advantage. These relationships were tested using data from a survey of start-up firms in Korea. The data were analyzed using partial least square analysis. The structural model shows that export competence was positively related to export-venture competitive advantages. In contrast, the relationship between partner brands’ awareness and export-venture competitive advantages was insignificant. Manufacturing capability positively influences export-venture competitive advantage. Likewise, partnering experience positively influences export-venture competitive advantage. Nonetheless, the relationship-destroying factors negatively affect export-venture competitive advantage. The current study may contribute to knowledge extension of two research streams-international business and strategic management-by emphasizing the importance of export-partnerships in the context of start-up firms’ internationalization. This article is concluded with a discussion of further implications for theory and management and some directions of future research in addition to the limitations of the present research.