European Journal of International Management (EJIM)
Call for Papers. Special Issue on:
“Exports, Export Performance and Export Promotion"
Preliminary release date: August 2009
Guest Editors:
Gerhard Apfelthaler, FH JOANNEUM (Austria) and
Dilek Zamantili Nayir, Marmara University (Turkey)
As of today, worldwide exporting accounts for more than 10 % of global economic activity (e.g.,
International Monetary Fund, 2001; World Bank, 2001), world trade increased 16-fold between 1950
and 2000, and international trade flows relative to GDP have doubled between 1970 and 2000
(OECD, 2005). With export quotas in excess of 40 % or more, exports have become a major source of
national income for many small, open economies and a source of growth and survival for many micro,
small, medium and large enterprises, especially in Europe. Relative to the discussions about various
aspects of the global business activities of a multinational enterprise, the extant international business
literature is dedicating surprisingly little attention to exporting as a mode of market entry. Little is still
known about companies’ motivations to engage in exporting activities, ways and means of assessing
their readiness to export, how and to what extent marketing-mix decisions are made in exporting
companies, or how foreign target markets are selected, which warrants a closer look at these topics.
Of more specific interest is the academic discourse about export performance. The interest in export
performance is stemming from two sources. Governments consider exports as engines of growth and
are therefore concerned about the ways of improving their firms’ performances in export markets (Zou,
Taylor and Osland, 1998). From the point of view of public policy makers, a better understanding of
export performance is important, as exports allow for the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves,
result in increased employment levels, improved productivity, and – ultimately - enhanced prosperity
(Czinkota, 1994). From the corporate point of view, there has been agreement that export
performance is considered a tool to boost corporate growth, strengthen competitive edge, and ensure
company survival in a highly competitive marketplace (Samiee and Walters, 1990; Terpstra and
Sarathy, 2000). And yet, little do we know about the determinants and the measurement of export
performance. Whilst the definition and determinants of export performance (e. g. Sousa and Alserhan,
2002; Cavusgil and Kirpalani, 1993; Samiee and Anckar, 1998) or factors contributing to export
performance have received noticeable research attention (f.i. Aaby and Slater, 1989; Cavusgil and
Zou, 1994; Zou, Taylor and Osland, 1998; Thirkell and Dau, 1998), we are still far from a basic
agreement. As an example, most studies in the field have measured export performance using
objectively verifiable indicators such as export sales, export growth, export profitability, export market
share, or export intensity (Zou, Taylor and Osland, 1998). Others have suggested to use subjective
scales in the measurement of export performance and even include dimensions such as
organizational learning. The further discussion of both such traditional and innovative approaches
should shed more light into the matter.
Another important aspect in the research of exporting is export promotion. By providing the knowledge
and competence applied to export market development (Gencturk and Kotabe, 2001), governments
worldwide try to assist in the development of firms’ competitiveness. Seldomly there is a government
which does not provide a plethora of export assistance or export promotion services through one or
several – sometimes many – government and semi-government institutions and programs. So far, the
effectiveness of these programmes has not been researched thoroughly and is still far from being
clear. According to some researchers, export promotion programmes have impressive results
speaking for them. For instance, Coughlin and Cartwright (1987) have found that for every increase of
$1 in public export assistance expenditures there is a $432 increase in exports. In a more recent study
about export performance of firms in Chile, Alvarez (2004) has shown that permanent and successful
exporters have used public export promotion programmes more intensively than less successful
exporters. There are others who argue that rather than public export programmes it is the market
forces which determine the export performance of firms. Reliable evidence, according to the critics, is
simply not available (Nothdurft, 1992). The jury on this issue is still out, and so we would like to
encourage new and innovative contributions to this field.
Subject Coverage
Topics covered include, but are not limited to:

Exporting in general:
o The role of exports for national economies.
o Motivation to engage in exporting activities.
o Corporate readiness for exporting.
o Exporting and marketing-mix decisions.
o Foreign target market selection.
o Export development in small and medium-sized enterprises.
o The importance of exports for company growth.

Export Performance:
o Determinants of export performance.
o Objective vs. subjective measurements of export performance
o Measurement models of export performance.

Export Promotion:
o The role of national governments in export promotion.
o New approaches to export promotion.
o Measuring export promotion effectiveness.
We are looking to include both conceptual and empirical papers in this special issue. Papers with a
multi-country, comparative perspective will be preferred.
Notes for Intending Authors
Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for
publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors,
sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author
Guidelines page at http://www.inderscience.com/www/authorguide.pdf.
Important Dates
Deadline for submissions of completed papers: May 1, 2008
Double blind review of paper and feedback from review given to the author(s) by: August 15, 2008
Deadline for Final Submission of corrected papers: November 15, 2008
No Changes can be made to the papers after: February 1, 2009
Editors and Notes
You may send one copy in the form of an MS Word file attached to an e-mail (details in Author
Guidelines) to both the following:
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Apfelthaler
FH JOANNEUM
Department of International Management
Email: gerhard.apfelthaler@fh-joanneum.at
Dr. Dilek Zamantili Nayir
Marmara Universitesi
Almanca Isletme Bolumu
81610 Anadoluhisari Istanbul
Email: dznayir@marmara.edu.tr
with an email copy only to:
EJIM Editorial Team
Email: editors@ejim-global.org
and
IEL Editorial Office
E-mail: ejim@inderscience.com
Please include in your submission the title of the Special Issue, the title of the Journal
(“European Journal of International Management”) and the name of the Guest Editors!