Title: International orientation, marketing mix, and the performance of international German 'mittelstand' companies

Authors: Patricia Kraft; Michael Dowling; Roland Helm

Addresses: University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany. ' University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany. ' University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany

Abstract: This article presents an empirical study of the impact of international orientation and marketing mix on the performance of the German 'mittelstand' that operate internationally. The article discusses and compares three different concepts of international orientation. As international orientation has an important influence on contacts with customers, the study examines the relationship between international orientation and marketing, and its effects on performance. The study tests this relationship for 259 internationally operating small and medium-sized businesses based in Germany. The results show that the companies in the study are predominantly geocentrically-oriented, and that a company's coordination of its international orientation and marketing mix has a substantial impact on company performance.

Keywords: Germany; mittelstand firms; international orientation; marketing mix; performance; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; firm performance; company performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2012.046207

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2012 Vol.8 No.3, pp.293 - 315

Published online: 14 Aug 2014 *

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