Journal of International Marketing

Common method variance (CMV) is an important concern in international marketing research because presumed substantive relationships may actually be due to shared method variance. Because method effects may vary systematically across cultures and countries, accounting for method effects in international marketing research is particularly critical. A systematic review of Journal of International Marketing articles published during a five-year period (2015–2019, N = 93) shows that (1) authors often report post hoc CMV tests but usually conclude that CMV is not an issue and (2) many post hoc tests are conducted using the Harman one-factor test and the marker variable technique, which have serious deficiencies for detecting and controlling CMV. Drawing on a classification and comparative evaluation of the most common statistical approaches for dealing with CMV, the authors recommend two approaches and propose a procedure for dealing with CMV in international marketing research. The procedure, which is based on multisample structural equation modeling, is illustrated with data from a cross-national pan-European survey (N = 11,970, 14 countries), which shows that even though method variance is present in the data, method effects do not seriously bias the substantive conclusions in this particular study.

Cultural distance is an important element in the study of international marketing phenomena. However, scholars have voiced significant concerns with its use. Although reviews of cultural distance have been conducted, no research has yet directly addressed how the choices that scholars make in relation to the conceptualization and operationalization of cultural distance influence our understanding of its role in international marketing phenomena. In this work, the authors review concerns pertaining to cultural distance and use them as a foundation to systematically analyze 83 articles referencing cultural distance in the international marketing literature to understand the choices that have been made. They find significant heterogeneity in conceptualization and operationalization of cultural distance. Then, they examine the empirical consequences of this choice heterogeneity within a single data set of 148 suppliers to a European original equipment manufacturer. The findings demonstrate that differences in conceptualizations and operationalizations significantly influence the observed effects of cultural distance and, thus, the understanding of its role in international marketing phenomena. Last, the authors put forth a series of recommendations aimed to enhance the discipline’s ability to build a strong foundation of knowledge of cultural distance’s role in international marketing phenomena.

Differences and similarities between countries, regions, and cultures lie at the core of international business, and they are often measured in the form of a distance index originally proposed by Kogut and Singh. Because research results using this index are ambivalent, critical observers have challenged the concept and proposed partial remedies in the form of a standardized Euclidean or Mahalanobis distance measure. This article suggests a different avenue, construes culture as a weight vector based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and specifies a geometrical difference measurement using the angle of heterogeneity between two such vectors. Its performance is assessed using a mathematical simulation and an empirical example from the field of export marketing, which considers the effect of culture on bilateral export flows.

Despite considerable research on export performance, relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to incorporating managers’ perspectives into operationalizing this concept. This study proposes a new approach for measuring small and medium-sized enterprises’ export performance in the presence of multiple, potentially conflicting, goals while accounting for different approaches to assessing export performance. Adopting a contingency approach, the authors develop two customized measures of perceived export performance: the individualized perceived export performance framework and the simplified model. They demonstrate the application of both measures with a sample of 78 exporting small and medium enterprises in New Zealand and compare the outcomes. The proposed frameworks are intended to measure export performance considering managers’ specific priorities and by incorporating manager- and firm-specific differences in the types and importance of goals, indicators, and benchmarks. This article extends the understanding of export performance by proposing a more nuanced and holistic measurement approach that is tailored to individual firms and reflects firm-specific idiosyncrasies.