An Analysis of How Specific Factors and Barriers Affect the Strategy of Companies to Enter International Markets Using the Method of Structural Equation Modeling: A Case Study of Companies Trading in Dried Fruits

The aim of this study is to explain the factors influencing the selection of strategies for entering international markets. For this purpose, according to the literature on the types of entry, the strategies were divided into two broad categories of export and non-export strategies. In the next stage, the factors influencing the choice of strategy were identified in two categories including the company's specific factors and the barriers to entry. The statistical population of the study consisted of the directors, sales directors and marketing experts of companies trading in dried fruits in the West Azarbaijan province. According to the statistics obtained from the Chamber of Commerce, 32 companies were active in this province. Due to the limited size of the population, the whole population (i.e. directors, sales managers, and marketing experts) was selected as the sample determined based on the census sampling method. After deletion of questionnaires, were received. The data were collected from 61 questionnaires and analyzed through structural equations (i.e. the partial least squares approach) and the Smart PL S2 software. The results showed that certain factors including the company size, international experience, management characteristics, tariff barriers, geographical distance, and cultural distance affect the selection of export strategies to enter international markets. Also, product type and non-tariff barriers were found to be of no effect in this regard. These two variables, however, proved to have impacts on the choice of non-export strategies.