EXAMINING THE ROLE OF BUYER-SELLER RELATIONSHIPS IN EXPORT PERFORMANCE

This article develops important benchmarks for suppliers concerned wit h building sustainable competitive advantage in their export markets. The evidence most especially suggests the need to focus more attention on buyer-seller relationship-building in export marketing, as compare d to more conventional export support activities. Great Britain is a m ajor export market for many suppliers in the United States. This artic le reports on British importers' perceptions of United States exporter s, including importers' selection criteria used in choosing suppliers, and ratings of the performance is linked to their future purchase int entions. In particular high-performing importers are identified as a k ey target for sustained export growth. These importers display distinc t preferences and priorities in trading relationships with exporters. The issues discussed in the article also provide potentially useful gu idelines for examining exporter-importer relationships in other Europe an Union countries.