Behind intermediary performance in export trade: Transactions, agents, andresources

Integrating transaction cost, agency, and resource-based theories, this stu dy extends the work of Peng and Ilinitch (1998) by undertaking the first em pirical efforts to explore the determinants of export intermediary performa nce. We suggest that given the transaction cost constraints and principal-a gent conflicts, export intermediaries' performance depends on their possess ion of valuable, unique, and hard-to-imitate resources which help minimize their clients' transaction and agency costs. Survey results from 166 firms largely support our hypotheses.