Export stimuli revisited: The influence of the characteristics of managerial decision makers on international behaviour

Utilizing the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this article proposes and tests relationships among the nature of export stimuli, the personal characteristics of decision makers and the decisions they make with regard to internationalization. The conceptual model for the study includes psychological variables that might condition owner-managers' decision-making responses to such export stimuli. Using structural equation modelling, the study analyses data obtained by a survey questionnaire from 110 Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises. The analysis reveals the importance of two particular variables, the perception of risks and opportunities in exports and the decision maker's proactiveness, in determining the export stimuli and how these in turn affect the international behaviour of firms.