Firm internationalisation and export incentives from a Middle Eastern perspective

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the incentives to export that Lebanese entrepreneurs face when engaging in international business. Design/methodology/approach: The study was based on an empirical investigation of the incentives to export that Lebanese firms face when engaging in international business. The sample of firms came from a wide cross section of industries and was provided by the Lebanese Ministry of Industry. A questionnaire was developed and pre-tested using a small sample of exporters with the final instrument used to personally interview all respondents. Findings: A total of 17 of the 20 export incentives tested were identified as being significantly important. Also, it was concluded that exporters and non-exporters largely agree in their views of the various incentives to exporting. Research limitations/implications: One of the research limitations was the sampling technique. Convenience sampling was used in this project. Although it has many advantages, it also has some limitations, including respondent self-selection. Practical implications: The study findings suggest that exporters and non-exporters perceive the same incentives to export to be important. However, exporters and non-exporters had different attitudes towards one export incentive being “Decline in the Value of Currency Relative to Foreign Markets”. Originality/value: From the multiple comparisons test conducted on “Decline in the Value of Currency Relative to Foreign Markets” for those who export 11 percent to 40 percent of their total sales and those who export 41 percent or more of their total sales the attitudes towards this export incentive are significantly different from each other.