Governance Mechanisms Drive SME Export Performance Via Competitive Advantage

Abstract

This paper provides novel empirical evidence that scrutinises how control systems and trust, as governance mechanisms, contribute to SME export performance when they use international business networks. Drawing on the arguments about a positive relationship between them, we propose of an integrative model about their direct and indirect effect on performance through competitive advantage. This model is tested using a sample of 193 Spanish export ventures. The results single out mutual trust as a source of competitive advantage and a key driver of export performance. Besides, having output controls in place increases trust, and indirectly impacts export performance through trust mediation. These findings claim that trust is an exclusive, inimitable resource that allows SMEs to effectively orchestrate their relationship with their intermediaries and the role of output controls as an essential mechanism to build trust and support trust´s effect on performance.