THE EXPERF SCALE - A CROSS-NATIONAL GENERALIZED EXPORT PERFORMANCE-MEASURE

A large number of studies have attempted to identify factors that are correlated with ex-porting success. However, much controversy exists a bout the key determinants of export performance and their relative imp ortance. A major reason for this lack of consensus is the absence of a unified measure for capturing export performance. In this study, an a ttempt is made to develop a generalized export performance measure, th e EXPERF scale, that can be applied to multiple countries. Results fro m a survey of top executives of U.S. and Japanese exporters support a three-dimensional scale for measuring export performance. The three di mensions of the export performance (EXPERF) scale are financial export performance, strategic export performance, and satisfaction with expo rt venture. Implications of the study for further research and manager ial practice are also discussed.