Current economic trends have provided incentives for firms to explore the global competitive landscape, and export-ventures are one of the strategies for developing successful international marketing networks, especially when a firm’s resources are limited. Although research suggests that export-ventures are valuable tools for improving performance in the global marketplace, the establishment of such ventures does not automatically guarantee positive results. Export-venture long-term success depends on the development of close partnerships. Despite this importance, few studies have tried to explain export partnership success. This study represents an attempt to understand the key factors that influence export-venture success. The central thesis of this study is that both exporters and export intermediaries play important roles in developing positional advantages for export-ventures. Using resource-advantage theory of competition as an underlying framework, a model is developed that draws on the relationship marketing theory, alliance theory, and international marketing theory to explain export-venture performance. Five basic categories of resources are posited to influence export-venture positional advantage: exporter-specific resources (e.g., manufacturing capability, brand awareness), export intermediary-specific resources (e.g., export market knowledge, export market experience, relationship building capabilities), partnership-related resources (e.g., partnering experience, the number of partnership-dedicated personnel), relationship-enhancing factors (e.g., interfirm communication quality, role clarity), and relationship-destroying factors (e.g., opportunism, conflict). Finally, an export-venture’s positional advantage is posited as influencing its superior financial performance. Export-ventures, who are more effective, realize increased levels of customer satisfaction and enhanced customer loyalty. These positive outcomes enable export-ventures to charge premium prices, increase market share, and, in turn, improve their financial performances. Therefore, it is posited that: P1: Export-venture positional advantage is positively related to export-venture financial performance. Research suggests that a manufacturing capability improves a firm’s marketplace position. For example, one aspect of a manufacturing capability is efficiency, an important characteristic of marketplace position. Therefore, it is posited that: P2: Manufacturing capability is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. Brand awareness is linked to factors that enable export-ventures to reduce costs and deliver more value to consumers. The rise of global competition has only increased the importance of brand awareness. Therefore, it is posited that: P3: Brand awareness is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. By sharing export market knowledge, about customers and competitors, an intermediary provides an export firm with insights regarding value-adding activities the firm should undertake to match market conditions. Therefore, it is posited that: P4: Export market knowledge is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. Intermediaries with substantial experience in export processes can use the accumulated knowledge from past decisions, actions, and errors to inform decision-makers of opportunities and threats. For example, intermediaries’ experience in a foreign market enables an export-venture to locate foreign customers efficiently. Therefore, it is posited that: P5: Export market experience is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. An export intermediary’s relationship building capability enables the export-venture to also deliver more value. Moreover, an export intermediary’s capability of building strong supplier relationships ensures the consistent delivery of the proper level of customer service. Therefore, it is posited that: P6: Relationship building capability is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. Partnering experience can help an export firm, as well as an export intermediary, develop adequate management routines and avoid mistakes during partnership development and maintenance stages. Consequently, firms with greater partnering experience make decisions that enable their ventures to be more efficient and more effective. Therefore, it is posited that: P7: Partnering experience is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. The employees, who are responsible for interfirm relationships with export partners, are essential alliance managers. Alliance managers provide export firms with benefits, such as securing suitable intermediaries, minimizing the chance of conflict with partners, and working with intermediaries to successfully combine their complementary resources. Therefore, it is posited that: P8: Number of partnership-dedicated personnel is positively related to export venture positional advantage. Because timeliness of information exchange enables partners to quickly understand changing situations in marketplaces, higher levels of communication quality enhance market intelligence and allow export-ventures to respond more quickly to competitive threats and marketplace changes than competitors. Therefore, it is posited that: P9: Interfirm communication quality is positively related to export-venture positional advantage. Role clarity leads to higher levels of trust and commitment among partnerships and facilitates resource integration between partners. Thus, it facilitates the creation of value. Therefore it is posited that: P10: Role clarity is positively related to export-venture positional advantage Opportunism can seriously harm the long-term potential of partnerships. Research suggests that opportunism is negatively impacts export-ventures’ marketplace positions. Opportunism impedes an export-venture’s abilities to deliver additional value and raises its costs. Therefore, it is posited that: P11: Opportunism is negatively related to export-venture positional advantage. Higher levels of dysfunctional conflict retard a export-venture’s ability to deliver value. In addition, it increases costs. That is, it hinders the efficient combining of resources, which can lead to increased expenditures. Therefore, it is posited that: P12: Dysfunctional conflict is negatively related to export-venture positional advantage. This study has scholarly implications. First, based on resource-advantage theory of competition, this study theoretically integrates the resource-based theory of the firm, the competence-based theory of the firm, dynamic capabilities theory, and relationship factors theory. By incorporating these theories, this study helps fill the need for development of export marketing theory. In particular, this study supports the premise that resource-advantage theory of competition provides a solid ground for export-venture success. Second, this study supports the competence-based theory of alliance success in the context of export partnerships. That is, the study suggests that two dimensions of alliance competence (e.g., partnering experience, the number of partnership-dedicated personnel) enable firms to combine resources. Third, this study contributes to the relationship marketing literature. Specifically, the study illustrates that both relationship-enhancing and relationship-destroying factors affect export-ventures’ positional advantage. The understanding of this issue is invaluable because there has been little research that simultaneously considers the two types of interfirm relationship factors. This study also has important implications for marketing managers. First, the study points out the importance of export intermediaries’ knowledge and experience. If partners possess complementary knowledge and experience, the partnership is able to leverage performance differences, create synergies, and, thereby, gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Second, the study posits that relationship building capability has a positive effect on an export-venture marketplace position and that firms should identify an export intermediary as part of the firm’s relationship marketing strategy.

当今的经济趋势迫使企业迈向全球化，而寻找合资方企业是成功进入国外市场的主要方法之一，特别是在企业的资源被限制的时候。虽然之前的研究已经阐明出口合作是改善国际竞争实力一个有效方式，但是即使找合作商也不能保证一定会取得成功。出口合作的长期成功取决于企业与合作商的关系紧密程度。尽管这很重要，但是很少有研究关注这一点。本研究着重关注影响企业合作方成功的要素。本文的研究重点是出口商和出口中间商在合作方取得地理优势的影响因素。利用资源优势理论，我们通过整合营销理论、合作理论和国际营销理论来解释出口合资方方的绩效。五个基本的资源类型被认为影响合资方企业地理优势：出口商特有资源(生产能力、品牌意识)，出口中间商特有资源（出口市场知识、出口市场经验、关系建立能力），伙伴相关资源（合作经验），关系增强因素（公司内部交流品质、角色透明度），和关系破坏因素（机会、冲突）。最后，合资方企业的地理优势被认为对财务绩效有着直接的影响。出口合作企业可以更为有效地满足顾客并增强顾客忠诚度。这些结果都可以保证该企业增强价格优势，提高市场份额，并且改善企业财务绩效。所以，我们假设：P1:合资方企业的地理优势与财务绩效有着正向的关系。研究表明生产能力可以提高公司的市场地位。例如，生产能力的其中一个要素——效率，一个决定市场地位的重要特性。因此，我们假设:：P2:生产能力与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系品牌意识也可以帮助合资方企业降低成本并给消费者创造更大的价值。增长的全球竞争仅仅提升了品牌意识的价值。所以，我们假设：P3:品牌意识与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。通过分享出口市场知识，对于消费者和竞争者来说，有眼光的中间商往往根据市场进行价值增加活动。所以，我们假设： P4:市场知识与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。拥有大量经验的中间商可以将从过去决议，活动，过失中积累的知识，提供给决策者来预测机会与威胁。例如，中间商的经验可以帮助合资方企业在外国市场有效地定位外国消费者。所以，我们假设：P5:海外市场经验与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。中间商的关系建立能力也保证着外资企业传递价值的能力。此外，中间商具有与供应商建立良好关系的能力，确保优质的消费者服务能够始终如一的传递所以，我们假设：P6：关系构建能力与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。合作经验也可以帮助出口企业以及出口代理，在合作发展以及维护期间开发合适的管理路径并避免错误的发生。因此，富有合作经验的公司制定的决策，能够使合资企业更有效率、更具效果。所以，我们假设：P7：合作经验与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。负责企业联合的雇员也是管理环节中不可缺少的部分。他们给出口企业创造利润，同时也帮助出口代理整合资源。因此，我们假设：P8：合资方关系的构建人员与合资方企业的地理优势有着正向的关系。由于信息传递的时间性可以确保合作方快速理解环境变化，所以较高水平的沟通可以增强市场智慧，并保证外资企业比竞争对手更快速地应对威胁和市场变化。所以，我们假设：P9: 企业间的沟通质量可以正向影响外资企业的地理优势。角色的清晰度可以提升合伙企业的信任与承诺，进而整合合作双方的资源，这样更易于创造价值。所以，我们假设：P10: 角色的清晰度可以正向影响外资企业的地理优势。机会主义会严重损害企业的长期合作者。研究表明，机会主义会对外资企业的市场地位有消极的影响。机会主义阻碍外资企业传递附加价值，并且提高费用。所以，我们假设：P11：机会主义可以负向影响外资企业的地理优势。高强度的不健全竞争会影响合资企业传递价值并增加花费。这样，也阻碍能导致花费增长的有效资源的结合，所以，我们假设：P12：不健全竞争可以负向影响外资企业的地理优势。本研究从学术方面讲有以下几点应用。首先，基于资源优势理论，本研究从理论上整合了企业资源理论、竞争理论、优势理论和关系因素理论。通过合并以上的理论，此项研究开发了出口营销理论。特别是，这项研究支持的前提下，资源优势的竞争理论，对出口企业的成功提供了坚实的基础。第二，本文支持竞争理论中联合竞争（例如，合作的经验，伙伴关系的专职人员的数量）可以使企业获得更大资源优势的理论。于是，研究表明第三，特别是，本文解释了增强关系因素和破坏关系因素的双重作用。这个问题的认识是非常宝贵的，因为很少有研究，同时考虑两种类型企业间关系的因素。本文对于营销管理者而言也有着积极地应用。第一，本文强调了出口中间商知识和经验的重要性。如果合作者具有较多的知识和经验，则可以改善绩效、建立协作，从而在市场中取得竞争优势。第二，关系的建立能力同样对于竞争优势有着影响，企业应该把出口中间商纳入到自己的关系营销战略中。