Information acquisition activities: A study of global start-up exporting companies

In this study, the author investigates the antecedents of information searc h effort and information source use and the implications of firms' informat ion acquisition activities on export performance. The author examines four major sets of variables to understand their impact on firms' information se arch effort and the use of personal, quasi-government, and documented sourc es. These variables are information source characteristics, firm strategic orientation, environmental characteristics, and organizational characterist ics. Empirical results based on a survey of U.S. exporting firms provide mi xed support for these factors in predicting firms' information search effor t and information source use. Findings on firm performance support the noti on that firms that engage in greater information search and those that rely on personal and quasi-government information sources fend to have higher p erformance levels.