Importing problems experienced by distributors: The importance of level-of-import development

As opposed to the plethora of export-related studies, limited empirical work has been conducted on firms' import behavior in the field of international business. The focus of this study is an investigation of problems confronting UK importing distributor firms in their trading activities with U.S. exporting manufacturers. An attempt is made specifically to explore the existence of possible underlying import problem dimensions and examine potential differences in perceptions of importing problems based upon level of import development. The study identifies several significant differences in perceived import problems between different groups of firms in terms of their level of import development. The implications of the findings for importers, exporters, and public export policy markers are highlighted, and future research directions discussed alongside the limitations of the study.