Executive Insights: Managerial Judgment of Export Performance

The concept of export performance is very important for managers because they have to evaluate each individual export venture in order to make decisions about future international commitments. This article discusses export performance as it is expressed through the perceptions and goals of export managers. Managers appear to be oriented toward short-term sales when they assess the performance of a particular export venture. Furthermore, they often use a benchmarking approach, comparing the results of a particular export venture with results of other export markets or the domestic market. Consequences of such practices are explored, and alternative managerial judgment criteria are discussed.