Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stages of export development (N = 74)
7
2
14
21
30
Stage 1:
Your company sells to the domestic market and has not yet exported.
Stage 2:
Your firm is beginning to look for information and explore export opportunities. The exports/ total sales ratio is near zero.
Stage 3:
Your company exports on an irregular or sporadic basis to countries that are relatively close and/or culturally similar. The
exports/ total sales ratio is from 0 – 9%.
Stage 4:
Your company exports to several foreign markets and works continually to enter new and diverse markets. The company
has an export department and/or adequate personnel to handle export activities. The exports/ total sales ratio is from 10 –
39%.
Stage 5:
Your company is highly committed to exporting. The company exports regularly to very diverse foreign markets and
depends heavily on sales from abroad. The exports/ total sales ratio is 40% or greater.
In which sector does your company operate? (N = 74)
Foods,
Auto
Leather
Electrical
Jewelry,
Construction
Beverages,
Parts
Products or
Goods and
Handicrafts,
Materials
Tobacco
Footwear
Electronics
Gifts
16
5
0
1
4
2
Machinery,
Furniture
Chemicals
Textiles,
Other
Tools,
And
Plastics
and
Clothes,
Manufactured
Manufactured
Furniture Parts
Pharmaceuticals
Accessories
Articles
Metal Goods
6
3
0
1
22
14
Appendix 2: List of internal export barriers and means (Nb of observations: 78)
Mean
Mean
Lack of managerial time
2.32
Difficulty adapting to specifications
2.19
Inadequate/untrained personnel
2.49
Difficulty adapting to quality specs
2.10
Difficult handling documents
2.33
Difficulty adapting sanitary, pkg, certif, label
1.99
Lack of export department
2.21
Difficulty offering techical or post sales service
2.35
Lack of prod capacity
2.15
Difficulty offering competitive prices
2.99
Shortage of working capital
2.90
Difficulty granting credit facilities to customers
3.05
Low worker productivity
2.26
Complexity of foreign distrib. channels
2.63
Locating potental markets
3.13
Difficulty accessing disrib. channels
2.87
Interpreting intl market data
2.48
Difficulty obtaining reliable foreign representation
3.09
Identifying foreign opportunities
2.92
Difficulty maintaining control over foreign middlemen
2.87
Diffiiculty contacting overseas customers
3.04
Difficulty supplying inventory abroad
2.59
Communications/language problems
2.09
Difficulty promotion
3.01
Difficulty understanding habits and customs
2.49
Lack of a recognized brand
2.81
Difficulty understanding bus. practices
2.41
Limited accesss to foreign technology/inputs
2.21
Difficulty developing new products for markets
2.67
Lack of in-house R & D
2.76
Likert Scale: on a 1-5 scale
16
Convention