Investigating the factors affecting the export trend of manufacturing companies in the industrial towns of Gilan province

Dissertation for Master's degree (M.A)

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the export trend of companies located in industrial towns of Gilan province. This research has investigated the objective characteristics, subjective characteristics of decision makers and company characteristics in a sample of 130 manufacturing companies. For this purpose, the manufacturing companies in the industrial towns of Gilan province were selected for research. And this research seeks to answer the question: What characteristics of the company cause more tendency to export and is it possible to identify the characteristics of the decision makers for the tendency to export? And the result was that the characteristics of the company and the subjective characteristics of the decision makers have a significant relationship with the tendency to export, and the objective characteristics of the decision makers, the ability to speak foreign languages ??has a significant relationship with exports, but there is no significant relationship between the age and the level of education with the tendency to export.

Key words: tendency to export, exports, manufacturing companies, industrial towns in Gilan province

Introduction

Since the currency exchange process of Iran's economy is more Oil and petroleum products are dependent and their price determination is in the international markets which are always subject to fluctuations and sudden changes, as well as the export of minerals and petroleum in the form of raw materials and mostly raw materials, considering the characteristics of these products and the non-renewable nature of these resources, relying too much on these resources to earn foreign currency for the country's imports is a worrying issue, so we should look for the export of other products. It is considered that the products produced by these countries in the world markets have a value several times higher than the sale of oil and its derivatives, so it is seen that it is necessary to examine the factors affecting non-oil exports (Daneshnia, 2009). Oil has had a special importance in economic activities and its effect on the economy and relative growth has been undeniable. However, since it has not been given serious and appropriate attention and has not been optimally planned under codified planning, it has not achieved a favorable result in the country's economic development approach (Mohsani, 2009). The government, business organizations and other organizations are presented to help companies to overcome these limitations and play a key role in encouraging international business activities (Wheeler, 1990).[1]

In this research, we are looking to investigate the factors affecting the tendency of manufacturing companies to export in the industrial towns of Gilan province. Since currency acquisition is important for companies, it becomes important in employment, production, economic growth and other such factors. On the other hand, for export, production should be in excess of domestic consumption, and this requires more production. In less developed countries, where the lack of investment is felt or the investment process is slow, the need for the government to invest in the infrastructure sectors of the country's economy to attract other investments, including foreign direct investment, is seen, which leads to the provision of more production or production, after which more production leads to more exports (Houshmand et al., 2018). It is of special importance. Even companies that choose domestic activities are also affected by this environment and face the challenges of international competition. In this environment, export is a basic strategy for survival and growth. The goal of exporting companies from supplying goods to foreign markets is to earn profit, continuous income and increase competitiveness over time. Identifying the determinants of export performance in order to improve the country's export performance is the most important factor in creating a balance between the country's economy and the world economy (Haqiqi et al., 2007).

Morgan[2] et al..

Morgan [2] and colleagues (2004) pointed out that competitive advantage is related to the position of companies and a combination of cost, product and service in foreign markets. Cost advantage includes the resources used in production and affects the price and perceived value of customers in export markets. Product advantage refers to the quality, design and other aspects of the product compared to competitors. The advantage in the service includes elements and services that create value for the company, such as fast delivery of the product and high quality of the sold product. In addition to these aspects, competitive advantage marketing means gathering information about the customer's perception of products and services or examining the company's position in the market and comparing it with competitors. From the point of view of some researches, competitive advantage has a direct impact on export performance and improves the export performance of exporting companies. These characteristics are divided into 2 general categories of characteristics of the company and the characteristics of the decision makers, each of which is explained below.

From the point of view of Sera et al. (2012), companies that enter the field of export have characteristics that are affected by various factors. Such as company size, competitive advantages of products and technology used. Company size is one of the most important issues in the field of export. From the point of view of these researchers, the bigger the size of the company, the more its employees and the volume of its sales. On the other hand, the products offered by the companies must also have special advantages and features that can compete with similar products in the global markets. Also, the type of technology used can also affect it. As the technology used is better and newer, the manufactured products also have a special advantage that is considered a kind of competitive advantage for the company (Sera et al., 2012) [4]. These features are divided into two parts: mental and objective features. Age, level of education and ability to speak foreign languages ??are mental characteristics. From the point of view of Sara and his colleagues, the younger and more highly educated the managers are, and the more foreign languages ??they are able to speak, the more inclined they are to export. In addition to the stated mental characteristics, decision makers should have characteristics such as risk orientation, understanding the cost of products, understanding competitive advantage and commitment. Research shows that managers who tend to take higher risks are more successful in exporting, also they should acquire the knowledge of calculating the cost of products and be able to define a new advantage for their products. Committing to export means committing to allocating resources strategically and making appropriate decisions in this area. Research has shown that commitment has a positive relationship with export performance (Sera et al., 2012).

Therefore, since Gilan province has a special geographic location and a border strip with other countries, and on the other hand, with the existence of the Anzali Free Zone, the export conditions for companies have been facilitated in it, in this research we are looking to investigate the factors affecting the tendency of manufacturing companies to export in the industrial towns of Gilan province.

1-3) Importance and Necessity Research

The success of exporting organizations in international markets is not accidental. The encouragement of organizations to export and the internationalization of start-up companies depends on the status of two factors: a) the internal environment (such as the demographic characteristics of the trading company (number, age, gender, education, etc.) as well as the organizational competencies, motivations and attitudes of the senior manager) and b) the external environment (such as the type and level of competition for scarce resources in the domestic market and the policies and services to encourage exports in start-up companies (Wested, 1995) [5]; hence, attention to the dimensions Empowering organizations, nurturing their internal environment, and trying to align the organization's external environment with the export goals of companies are among the inevitable principles of policymakers in formulating export policies and export development.

In academic research, various aspects of companies that affect the export strategy have been identified. Most researches have focused on internal and external factors affecting the export process (Bilki, 1978) [6].