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The Role of Exporters’ Emotional Intelligence in Building Foreign Customer Relationships

Leonidas C. Leonidou, Bilge Aykol , Thomas A. Fotiadis, Athina Zeriti, and Paul Christodoulides

Abstract Despite the critical importance of emotional intelligence in effectively interacting with other people, its role has been overlooked in scholarly research on cross-border interorganizational relationships. Drawing on emotion regulation theory, the authors propose a model that conceptualizes links among exporters’ emotional intelligence, key behavioral dimensions characterizing the atmosphere of the relationship with import buyers, and the resulting relational performance. They test the model with data collected from 262 Greek exporters using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that higher levels of exporter emotional intelligence enhance communication and social bonding with the importer while diminishing distance and conflict in their working relationship. Relational performance is positively influenced by communication and social bonding but negatively affected by distance and conflict. The results also reveal the moderating effect of both opportunism and interpartner incom- patibility on the association between the exporter’s emotional intelligence and the behavioral atmosphere of the relationship with import buyers.

Keywords business relationships, emotional intelligence, exporting, relational performance

Emotions are critical psychological forces that can affect the

behavior of the parties in a buyer–seller relationship and ulti-

mately determine the relationship’s success or failure (Brown,

Cron, and Slocum 1997; Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2016). Emo-

tions shape behavioral interactions in a relationship by provid-

ing information about the social environment and incentivizing

acceptable social behavior (Shiota et al. 2004). Although emo-

tions are complex, dynamic, and multifarious in nature, the

degree to which knowledge from emotions is acquired, pro-

cessed, and utilized largely depends on the level of emotional

intelligence possessed by the interacting parties in a relation-

ship (Kidwell et al. 2011). Emotional intelligence is defined as

“a subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to mon-

itor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discrimi-

nate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s

thinking and actions” (Salovey and Mayer 1990, p. 189). It

combines the domains of emotions and intelligence, enabling

people to understand, explore, and adapt to the social environ-

ment of a relationship (Salovey and Grewal 2005).

Notwithstanding the pivotal role of emotional intelligence in

effectively managing relationships, only a few empirical mar-

keting studies have examined this construct in an interorgani-

zational context (for a summary of studies, see Appendix A).

Surprisingly, none of these studies have tried to connect the

role of emotional intelligence with specific aspects of the beha-

vioral atmosphere governing the working relationship between

sellers and buyers, which is essentially the “heart” of the rela-

tionship (Ford et al. 2011). Moreover, although evidence indi-

cates that the way people manage their emotions in interfirm

business relationships influences performance outcomes, this

has rarely been tackled from an emotional intelligence perspec-

tive (Schumacher, Wheeler, and Carr 2009). Furthermore, even

though buyer–seller relationships in an international context

are heavily influenced by cultural, economic, and allied differ-

ences, which have a strong impact on emotions, no study has

Leonidas C. Leonidou is Professor of Marketing, School of Economics and

Management, University of Cyprus, Cyprus (email: [email protected]). Bilge

Aykol is Associate Professor of Marketing, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey

(email: [email protected], [email protected]). Thomas A. Fotiadis is

Associate Professor of Marketing, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

(email: [email protected]). Athina Zeriti is Associate Professor of

Marketing, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, UK (email: a.

[email protected]). Paul Christodoulides is Assistant Professor of Applied

Mathematics, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus (email: paul.

[email protected]).

Journal of International Marketing 2019, Vol. 27(4) 58-80

ª American Marketing Association 2019 Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1069031X19876642

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yet investigated the role of emotional intelligence in cross-

border relationships (Orr and Scott 2008).

Emotional intelligence is particularly important and useful

for exporters when dealing with import buyers, because, when

transcending national boundaries, firms are usually confronted

with numerous internal (e.g., functional) and external (e.g.,

environmental) barriers that require special “soft” skills (at the

individual and/or group level) (Leonidou 2004; Magnusson

et al. 2013; Morgan, Feng, and Whitler 2018). In addition, the

often substantial physical, social, and psychological distance

between exporters and importers gives rise to uncertainties

about each other’s intentions and actions, which can provoke

misunderstandings, bitter feelings, and negative emotions (Li

and Ng 2002). Furthermore, the volatile and complex nature of

the global business environment provides a fertile ground for

buyers (especially those located in culturally dissimilar coun-

tries) to act opportunistically and irresponsibly, thus making it

imperative to understand, manage, and direct emotions in a

way that will avoid negative consequences for the working

relationship (Barnes et al. 2010).

Given these gaps in the literature, this article aims to shed

light on the role of emotional intelligence in influencing key

behavioral aspects of the atmosphere governing exporter–

importer relationships and the resulting performance outcomes.

We have three primary objectives: (1) to examine the effect of

an exporter’s emotional intelligence on both positive and neg-

ative behavioral dimensions of the working relationship with

the importer; (2) to explore the impact of these behavioral

parameters on relational performance; and (3) to investigate

the moderating effect of opportunism and interpartner incom-

patibility, two common problems in international buyer–seller

interactions, on the link between emotional intelligence and

relationship behavioral dimensions.

Our study is theoretically anchored on the Gross’s (1999)

model of emotion regulation, which has been widely used in

both psychology and business research to investigate connec-

tions between emotional intelligence and relational variables.

This model centers on the idea that emotion regulation requires

perceiving, understanding, and using emotions to enable the

individual to modulate emotional tendencies and manifested

emotional responses (Gross 1999; Rottenberg and Gross

2003; Wong and Law 2002). Moreover, it incorporates all con-

scious and nonconscious strategies that people employ to

increase, maintain, or decrease experiential, behavioral, and

physiological components of emotional reactions (Gross

2001). Furthermore, the model implies different outcomes for

different strategies of emotion regulation, such as social (e.g.,

interpersonal liking), cognitive (e.g., job performance), and

affective (e.g., positive mood) (Gross 2002; Hur et al. 2015;

Lee and Ok 2012).

Understanding the role of emotional intelligence in expor-

ter–importer relationships is crucial for three primary reasons.

First, emotional intelligence has been reported to be a good

predictor of cross-cultural adjustment and performance of

managers in foreign markets (Koveshnikov, Wechtler, and

Dejoux 2014; Wechtler, Koveshnikov, and Dejoux 2015).

Along these same lines, the proper handling of the expor-

ter–importer relationship using emotional intelligence should

create an atmosphere that is conducive to improving relational

performance outcomes. This reasoning can be ascribed to the

instrumentality of emotional intelligence in increasing one’s

ability to effectively adapt to various sociocultural settings

(Jyoti and Kour 2017; Lin, Chen, and Song 2012). Although

emotions have the same basic causes, sociocultural differ-

ences (which are particularly evident in international business

relationships) affect their specific roots and the way these are

expressed (Caruso 2015). Thus, by capitalizing on emotional

intelligence, exporters can better understand, monitor, and

control the emotions expressed in the working relationship

with importers in a more constructive way (Mayer, Caruso,

and Salovey 2016).

Second, previous research has stressed the importance of

managerial qualities (e.g., personality, values, abilities) as

having an influential role on sustaining and developing har-

monious relationships with foreign customers (Sichtmann and

Von Selasinsky 2011; Sousa, Ruzo, and Lozada 2010), and

similar positive effects are expected with regard to the emo-

tional intelligence level of people directly responsible for

export operations. Indeed, other streams of marketing

research indicate that emotional intelligence can be used

effectively to improve relationships due to the inherent adap-

tive interaction capability of emotionally intelligent people

(e.g., Delpechitre and Beeler 2018). For example, research

has shown that salespeople with high levels of emotional

intelligence tend to exhibit adaptive selling and customer

orientation (Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2016; Rozell, Pettijohn,

and Parker 2004), and service providers who exhibit emo-

tional intelligence can help improve satisfaction, loyalty, and

trust among service receivers (Fernandes, Morgado, and

Rodrigues 2018; Tsaur and Ku 2019).

Third, there are indications that emotional intelligence

raises team performance by building shared mental frameworks

among team members (Xiang, Yang, and Zhang 2016), devel-

oping team identity (Lin 2015), and forming emotionally com-

petent group norms (Stubbs, Koman, and Wolff 2008).

Emotional intelligence allows people to listen to alternative

views, build team spirit, and improve problem-solving abilities

(Druskat and Wolff 2001). Exporters and their import buyers

could also be considered a team, as they are dependent on each

other to achieve their goals, transfer resources, and conduct

mutually beneficial activities (Ford et al. 2011). As such, when

properly used, emotional intelligence helps monitor emotions

in such a way as to give direction to the behavioral dynamics of

the working relationship with the aim to improve its effective-

ness and efficiency (Vandekerckhove et al. 2008). In particular,

the emphasis of our study is on behavioral aspects that have

been repeatedly cited in the pertinent literature as critical in

cross-border interorganizational relationships—namely, com-

munication, social bonding, relational distance, and conflict

(Barnes et al. 2010; Skarmeas, Saridakis, and Leonidou

2018; Yen and Barnes 2011).

Leonidou et al. 59

Understanding Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to a group of competencies for

identifying, processing, and managing people’s emotions

(Zeidner, Roberts, and Matthews 2008). While intelligence

quotient and emotional intelligence have a small (but positive)

correlation, they are independent concepts (Rosete and Ciarro-

chi 2005). For example, somebody may have a high general

intelligence but also face problems identifying and managing

his or her emotions. Notably, unlike general intelligence, emo-

tional intelligence is subject to change (either positive or neg-

ative) and can be learned (Rozell, Pettijohn, and Parker 2006).

Individuals or groups of people with high levels of emotional

intelligence are in a better position and are more flexible to

adjust their response tendencies and, therefore, are more effec-

tive and efficient in interacting with other people and selecting

the optimal course of action (Wong and Law 2002). Although

the extant literature is far from unanimous in a conceptualiza-

tion of emotional intelligence, it is possible to distinguish three

approaches regarding its content: (1) the ability model, which

treats emotional intelligence as a mental ability; (2) the trait

model, which places emotional intelligence within the realm of

personality; and (3) the mixed model, which considers emo-

tional intelligence as a package of personal qualities compris-

ing both abilities and personality traits (Zeidner, Roberts, and

Matthews 2008).

The ability model is based on the idea that there are indi-

vidual differences among people regarding their ability to rea-

son and use emotions to effectively enhance their thoughts

(Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso 2008). According to this model,

emotional intelligence comprises four key dimensions: (1) per-

ceiving emotion—recognizing and appraising emotions in the

self and in others accurately; (2) using emotion—accessing,

generating, and using emotions to facilitate thinking and prob-

lem solving; (3) understanding emotion—analyzing complex

emotions and forming emotional knowledge, such as which

emotions are similar and what they convey; and (4) managing

emotion—regulating emotions in the self (e.g., maintaining

composure in the presence of negative emotions) and in others

(e.g., influencing emotional responses positively) to achieve a

desired outcome (Mayer and Salovey 1997; Salovey and Gre-

wal 2005).

The trait model is based on an individual’s perceptions of

his or her emotional abilities—that is, the extent to which the

individual believes him- or herself to be good at understanding,

regulating, and expressing emotions to adapt to the environ-

ment and maintain general well-being (Petrides et al. 2016).

Trait emotional intelligence (or emotional self-efficacy) is

defined as “a constellation of emotion-related self-

perceptions and dispositions” (Petrides and Furnham 2003, p.

40) and includes cross-situational behavioral consistencies that

are displayed in certain traits or acts rather than one’s abilities

(Petrides and Furnham 2000). Some of the personality traits

characterizing emotional intelligence include adaptability,

assertiveness, emotion expression, emotion management, emo-

tion perception, emotion regulation, empathy, happiness,

impulsiveness, optimism, relationship skills, self-esteem, self-

motivation, social competence, and stress management (Pet-

rides and Furnham 2003).

In the mixed model, emotional intelligence consists of var-

ious noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that

influence an individual’s ability to effectively cope with envi-

ronmental demands and pressures (Bar-On 1997). However,

these capabilities, competencies, and skills are instrumental

only to the extent that individuals effectively understand and

express themselves, understand and relate to others, and cope

with everyday challenges and pressures (Bar-On 2010). In his

conceptualization of the mixed model, Bar-On (1997) argues

that emotional intelligence consists of five core dimensions:

intrapersonal (i.e., self-regard, emotional self-awareness, asser-

tiveness, independence, self-actualization), interpersonal (i.e.,

empathy, social responsibility, interpersonal relationship),

stress management (i.e., stress tolerance, impulse control),

adaptability (i.e., reality testing, flexibility, problem solving),

and general mood (i.e., optimism, happiness). In another mixed

model, Goleman (1998) conceptualizes emotional intelligence

as consisting of five emotional competences divided into per-

sonal and social dimensions. While the former includes self-

awareness, self-regulation, and motivation, the latter refers to

empathy and social skills.

Recent critical review studies emphasize that the four abil-

ities comprising the ability model provide the best representa-

tion of emotional intelligence, while trait and mixed models

refer only to emotional and social competencies (Cherniss

2010; Roberts et al. 2010). Both trait and mixed models com-

prise dimensions that are not included in the original definition

of emotional intelligence, which emphasizes a mental ability

role (Daus and Ashkanasy 2005; Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey

2016). Other studies on emotional intelligence also note that

there is little overlap between ability-based performance mea-

sures and self-report measures (Zeidner, Roberts, and Mat-

thews 2008). Specifically, ability model–based emotional

intelligence tends to correlate with general intelligence by

.30 to .40, while trait- and mixed model–based emotional intel-

ligence tends to correlate highly with personality traits (Zeid-

ner, Roberts, and Matthews 2008). Thus, for the purposes of

our study, we adopt the ability model because it provides a

more accurate conceptualization of emotional intelligence.

Theoretical Background

Our study is theoretically anchored in Gross’s (1999) model of

emotion regulation, also called emotion regulation theory. This

refers to the process by which an individual regulates which

emotions to have, when to have them, and how to experience

and express them (Gross 2002). Emotions emerge, either auto-

matically or after interpreting a message, when something

important to the individual is at stake. These circumstances

evoke a set of coordinated behavioral, experiential, or physio-

logical dispositions that may affect the way individuals react to

perceived situational opportunities and challenges that emerge

from the external social environment (Delpechitre and Beeler

60 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

2018). In the case of a mismatch between emotions and a

specific situation, a person will try to regulate his or her emo-

tional responses to achieve specific goals (Gross 2002).

According to Gross (1999), emotion regulation takes the

form of decreasing emotions that induce nonuseful behavior,

originate from an overly simple assessment of a situation, or

have a tendency to contradict other vital goals of the individual.

Conversely, emotion regulation can also be used to increase

emotions when there is a need to provide a positive emotional

response (e.g., happiness for good news) and/or when it is

important to replace one emotion with another (e.g., anxiety

with enthusiasm). To decrease negative emotions or increase

positive emotions, individuals undergo specific emotion regu-

lation processes involving metacognitive and other response

mechanisms in which emotionally intelligent processes are

translated into action (Matthews, Zeidner, and Roberts 2003).

In other words, emotion regulation allows people to manage

their emotional responses to better align with the external

social environment (Delpechitre and Beeler 2018).

Emotions can be regulated at five points during the emotion

generation process: (1) selection of the situation—that is,

approaching or avoiding certain people or things, given their

possible emotional impact; (2) modification of the situation—

that is, tailoring the selected situation to alter its emotional

effect; (3) deployment of attention—that is, choosing on which

specific aspects of the situation to concentrate; (4) change of

cognitions—that is, selecting which possible meaning to assign

to that particular aspect of the situation to decrease or enhance

the emotional response; and (5) modulation of experiential,

behavioral, or physiological responses—that is, endeavors

pursued to influence the evoked emotion response tendencies

(Gross 2002).

Notably, there are hints in the pertinent literature that reg-

ulating emotions through the proper use of emotional intelli-

gence plays an important role in allowing a relationship to

function well, because it can improve its atmosphere by enhan-

cing, for example, communication, adaptation, and understand-

ing (Delpechitre, Beeler-Connelly, and Chaker 2018;

Kadic-Maglajlic et al. 2016; Matute, Palau-Saumell, and Viglia

2018) while minimizing the negative role of other behavioral

factors in the working relationship, such as conflict, destructive

acts, and grudges (Ahn, Sung, and Drumwright 2016; Bever-

land, Chung, and Kates 2009; Chowdhury 2014). The extant

literature also indicates that when emotionally intelligent peo-

ple are involved in relationships with others, these relationships

are usually characterized by harmony, satisfaction, and other

positive outcomes (Fitness 2006; Lopes et al. 2004; Schutte

et al. 2001).

Conceptual Model and Hypotheses

Figure 1 shows the conceptual model of our study, which is

composed of three sets of constructs: emotional intelligence (a

higher-order construct comprising self–emotion appraisal,

other people’s emotion appraisal, utilization of emotion, and

regulation of emotion), relationship atmosphere (consisting of

communication, social bonding, relational distance, and con-

flict), and relational performance (for operational definitions of

each construct in the model, see Appendix B). According to our

model, if an exporter has high levels of emotional intelligence,

Emotional intelligence

(EMI)

Self-emotion appraisal

Others’ emotion appraisal

Utilization of emotions

Regulation of emotions Conflict

(CNF)

Distance (DIS)

Social bonding (SBO)

Communication (COM)

Relational performance

(RPF)

Opportunism (OPP)

H1a

H1b

H1c

H1d

H2

H3

H4

H5

H6a H7a

Interpartner incompatibility

(INC)

H7b

H7c

H7d

H6b

H6c

H6d Relationship age Relationship

status

Relationship atmosphere

Figure 1. Conceptual model.

Leonidou et al. 61

this will enhance communication levels and social bonding

with the importer and reduce relational distance and conflict.

The resulting favorable atmosphere will subsequently have a

positive effect on the performance of the relationship. 1

The

model also includes two moderators—opportunism and inter-

partner incompatibility—which are hypothesized to moderate

the association between emotional intelligence with each of the

four behavioral dimensions.

Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Atmosphere

Emotional intelligence facilitates communication in the expor-

ter–importer relationship. This is because exporters high in

emotional intelligence not only accurately decode emotional

messages of the importer but also better understand verbal and

nonverbal messages in their communication with the importer

(Jacob et al. 2013; Lanciano and Curci 2015; Morand 2001).

Due to their ability to be open to information transmitted by

either positive or negative feelings and to perceive and under-

stand others’ emotions, emotionally intelligent exporters tend

to listen to different perspectives and look for creative solu-

tions, without feeling threatened by making mistakes (Jordan

and Troth 2004; Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey 2016). In general,

they are more open to expressing their feelings when commu-

nicating with their import buyers, which improves the quality

of the feedback they receive (Wang 2015). They can also use

their emotions to concentrate on issues that warrant particular

attention in the relationship and find more rational solutions

that are mutually beneficial to themselves and their import

buyers (Lanciano and Curci 2015). Emotionally intelligent

exporters can also dedicate more time and effort to their com-

munication processes with foreign buyers, thus enhancing the

clarity, frequency, and richness of the information exchanged

(Wang 2015). Emotionally intelligent exporters are also in a

better position to regulate their emotions when communicating

with importers and, by connecting to positive emotions or dis-

connecting from negative emotions, transmit messages effec-

tively (Lanciano and Curci 2015). This will help ensure the

appropriateness of communication by encouraging both parties

to comply with specific ethical rules when exchanging infor-

mation (Troth, Jordan, and Lawrence 2012). Drawing on the

foregoing discussion, we posit the following:

H1a: The higher the level of the exporter’s emotional intel-

ligence, the higher the level of communication with the

importer.

We also expect that exporters with high emotional intelli-

gence will be able to build and strengthen their social bonds

with import buyers, because they are in a better position to

understand and manage the social environment in which they

operate (Czarna et al. 2016). This is particularly important in an

international business setting, where there is often significant

physical and psychological distance between sellers and buy-

ers. The strong communal qualities of an emotionally intelli-

gent exporter foster greater social appreciation by the other

party and strengthen friendliness, attachment, and social cohe-

sion (Czarna et al. 2016; Troth, Jordan, and Lawrence 2012). In

addition, emotional intelligence helps people better understand

and show more empathy toward others’ emotions, thus facil-

itating social interaction and support between the exporter and

the importer (Lu and Fan 2017; Salovey and Mayer 1990). An

accurate appraisal of one’s own and others’ emotions allows

the emotionally intelligent exporter to behave in a more

socially adaptive manner in international markets (Koveshni-

kov, Wechtler, and Dejoux 2014). Further strengthening the

social bond with the importer, emotionally intelligent exporters

are better able to regulate moods in a positive way, which is

essential for developing prosocial behavior (e.g., controlling

impulsive actions) (Lopes et al. 2004; Schutte et al. 2001).

Thus, we posit the following:

H1b: The higher the level of the exporter’s emotional intel-

ligence, the higher the level of the social bonding with the

importer.

Emotional intelligence is also conducive to reducing rela-

tional distance between exporters and importers, because an

emotionally intelligent exporter can better read the moods,

feelings, and needs of the importer and cope with any anxiety,

stress, and uncertainty arising from differences in business,

cultural, technological, and other factors prevailing in the

working relationship with the foreign partner (Fall et al.

2013). Emotional intelligence also helps the exporter minimize

distance in the relationship by deploying more resources to

better interpret the nuances of the foreign buyer, especially in

light of the highly complex, volatile, and risky nature of the

international business environment, which increases the possi-

bility of misunderstandings, mistakes, and biases (Chrobot-

Mason and Leslie 2012). When the exporter makes proper use

of emotions in the relationship, this will shift attention away

from stereotypical judgments and help maintain optimism with

respect to the challenges of the working relationship, thus

improving interactions with customers (Jassawalla, Truglia,

and Garvey 2004; Koveshnikov, Wechtler, and Dejoux 2014;

Yoo, Matsumoto, and LeRoux 2006). Emotional regulation by

the exporter will also reduce relational distance, because it

helps minimize negative emotions (e.g., anxiety) and boost

positive emotions (e.g., confidence) when confronted with

1. The association of the four relationship atmosphere dimensions (i.e.,

communication, social bonding, relational distance, and conflict) with

relational performance, though seemingly self-evident, is necessary to

include in the conceptual model because (1) Gross’s (2002) emotion

regulation theory stresses that the proper use of emotional intelligence

ultimately affects the success of a relationship with a partner through the

mediating role of various behavioral interactions and (2) while the impact of

these relationship dimensions has been studied extensively in relation to

satisfaction as an outcome variable, their specific effect on relational

performance (a more global indicator of the success of a working

relationship) has been rarely investigated.

62 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

highly uncertain and complex situations, as in the case of inter-

national business transactions (Yoo, Matsumoto, and LeRoux

2006). Accordingly, we offer the following hypothesis:

H1c: The higher the level of the exporter’s emotional intel-

ligence, the lower the relational distance from the importer.

We also expect an exporter’s high level of emotional intel-

ligence to reduce conflict in the working relationship with the

importer. This can be attributed to an ability to regulate and

control emotions in such a way that any disagreements are kept

at manageable levels (Mulki et al. 2015). This is particularly

important when operating in foreign markets, in which conflict

is more likely to arise due to sociocultural and other differences

between the interacting parties. Using emotional intelligence,

the exporter can (1) recognize well in advance the signs of

conflict and take measures to prevent its escalation (Śmieja

and Stolarski 2018); (2) openly share areas of disagreement

with the foreign buyer and show empathy with any concerns

(Ayoko, Callan, and Härtel 2008); and (3) diffuse hostile

actions by regulating mood, controlling anxiety, and stifling

impulse (Biggart et al. 2010). In addition, emotional intelli-

gence helps the exporter adopt an optimistic perspective

regarding the future of the working relationship with the impor-

ter, which facilitates the constructive management of disagree-

ments (Mulki et al. 2015). Even when there is an escalation of

conflict, emotionally intelligent exporters will try to resolve it

in an amicable and constructive way by adopting collaborative

conflict resolution patterns to keep the relationship alive and

ongoing (Jordan and Troth 2004; Zeidner and Kloda 2013).

Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:

H1d: The higher the level of the exporter’s emotional intel-

ligence, the lower the conflict with the importer.

Behavioral Dimensions and Relational Performance

Communication refers to the formal or informal exchange of

accurate, timely, and sufficient information between interact-

ing parties on important issues regarding their working rela-

tionship (Mohr and Spekman 1994). It is conducive to

achieving relational performance goals, because the interde-

pendence of exporters and importers requires constant partici-

pation to appropriately identify roles, responsibilities, and

expectations and to coordinate activities (Jean and Sinkovics

2010; Mohr and Spekman 1994). This is particularly vital in

international business transactions, due to their numerous com-

plexities, problems, and risks (Dou et al. 2010). Sufficient

communication between exporters and their foreign buyers is

essential in achieving performance goals because (1) it can

generate insights into each other’s strategies and operations

and improve the understanding of the countries in which they

operate (Ling-Yee 2010; Nes, Solberg, and Silkoset 2007); (2)

it encourages partner responsiveness and willingness to

become more helpful, which in turn signals that the other party

is honest and will deliver relational expectations (Johnston

et al. 2012); and (3) it improves relationship efficiency insofar

as the regular exchange of useful information helps minimize

confusion and reduce uncertainty about the joint operation due

to unexpected environmental changes (Jean and Sinkovics

2010). Accordingly, we posit the following:

H2: The higher the level of communication in the exporter–

importer relationship, the higher the level of relational

performance.

Social bonding is the degree of mutual personal friendship

and appreciation established by the interacting parties in a

working relationship, which helps the parties understand each

other’s desires, goals, and intentions (Yang, Zhang, and Jiang

2011). Having a strong social bond with another party reduces

negative intentions, enhances ethicality and decency in actions,

and facilitates effectiveness and efficiency in the relationship

between exporters and importers (Granovetter 1985; Wuyts

and Geyskens 2005). Through social bonding, business part-

ners can better predict the behavior of the other party; form

ideas about fulfilling their expectations; and dispel suspicions

about the partner’s intentions, reliability, and benevolence

(Paulssen and Roulet 2017). Social interactions between expor-

ters and importers also result in congruency of norms, values,

and expectations, as well as an understanding of any constraints

to the working relationship, which are common in international

business (Barnes et al. 2015; Sheng et al. 2006). These are

essential in fostering confidence, coordination, and flexibility

in the relationship and help reduce controlling costs (Sheng

et al. 2006). Furthermore, there is ample empirical evidence

indicating that strong social bonds increase the likelihood that

business partners will keep their promises and fulfill expecta-

tions (Havila, Johanson, and Thilenius 2004), will work hard

and in a coordinated way to meet interorganizational goals

(Barnes, Yen, and Zhou 2011), and will flexibly adapt to suc-

cessfully accommodate new market conditions (Gençtürk and

Aulakh 2007). Thus, we offer the following hypothesis:

H3: The higher the level of social bonding in the exporter–

importer relationship, the higher the level of relational

performance.

Relational distance is the degree to which the partners in a

relationship are unfamiliar with each other’s ways of thinking

and working, which stems from structural, operational, tem-

poral, and other differences between them (Ford et al. 2011).

Relational distance discourages interacting parties from help-

ing each other attain their goals, as their different business

practices, values, and systems may give rise to antithetical

courses of action (Leonidou, Barnes, and Talias 2006). In an

international business setting, relational distance is further

amplified by sociocultural, political-legal, technological, eco-

nomic, and other differences between the exporter’s and the

importer’s respective countries (Stöttinger and Schlegelmilch

1998). In the case of high distance, cues needed to infer that a

partner keeps promises and meets expectations are insufficient,

which may result in confusion regarding the specific roles and

responsibilities within the working relationship (Dong, Ju, and

Leonidou et al. 63

Fang 2016). Relational distance also hinders the smooth oper-

ation of the working relationship because it creates suspicion

over the fulfilment of promises given (Katsikeas, Skarmeas,

and Bello 2009); disrupts information exchange, which is vital

for coordinating activities (Nes, Solberg, and Silkoset 2007);

and reduces mutual interest in achieving joint goals (Leonidou,

Barnes, and Talias 2006). These negative effects of relationship

distance can lead to the poor coordination of activities in the

relationship (Andersen, Christensen, and Damgaard 2009),

hamper the proper transfer of resources between the exchange

parties (Jean, Sinkovics, and Kim 2017), and make the appre-

ciation of relational investments difficult (Leonidou et al.

2011). High distance also increases both direct (e.g., transac-

tion) and indirect (e.g., controlling) costs, with negative impli-

cations on financial outcomes (Durand, Turkina, and Robson

2016; Sachdev and Bello 2014). This discussion leads to the

following hypothesis:

H4: The lower the relational distance in the exporter–impor-

ter relationship, the higher the level of relational

performance.

Conflict is a blocking behavior that obstructs interacting par-

ties in a relationship from securing resources and/or performing

activities needed for their advancement (Anderson and Narus

1990). This often becomes more evident when crossing national

boundaries because of differences in business systems, cultural

settings, and work mentality between exporters and importers.

Destructive conflict involves confrontation, which can be trans-

formed into actions that deliberately aim to harm or impede the

other partner in the relationship (Ren, Oh, and Noh 2010).

Ongoing destructive disagreements between parties in a relational

exchange can give rise to goal incompatibilities, evoke feelings of

bitterness and injustice, and encourage individualistic, short-term

behavior (LaBahn and Harich 1997). Such disagreements also

cause parties to dedicate resources to unproductive causes rather

than supporting value-enhancing activities (Zaheer, McEvily, and

Perrone 1998). Exporter–importer relationships characterized by

high levels of conflict are expected to perform poorly because the

interacting parties tend (1) to invest little effort in achieving rela-

tional goals and have little motivation to work hard for the other

party; (2) to have expectations that are difficult to fulfil, with the

costs incurred in the relationship usually exceeding the benefits;

and (3) to become suspicious of the benevolence and integrity of

their partners, which may require an allocation of resources to

maintain better control (Barnes et al. 2010; Leonidou, Talias, and

Leonidou 2008). Accordingly, we offer the following hypothesis:

H5: The lower the conflict in the exporter–importer relation-

ship, the higher the level of relational performance.

The Moderating Role of Opportunism and Interpartner Incompatibility

Opportunism is defined as self-interest seeking with guile (Wil-

liamson 1979). Such behavior can be manifested by either

performing certain actions (e.g., violation of terms, forced

renegotiation, misrepresentation of information) or refraining

from performing certain actions (e.g., shirking, showing inflex-

ibility, failing to provide assistance when needed) (Wathne and

Heide 2000). Opportunism increases transaction costs because

of the need to allocate substantial resources to control the party

in the relationship that acts opportunistically (Wathne and

Heide 2000). Opportunism finds particularly fertile ground in

international buyer–seller relationships, due to the geographic

and cultural distance between the interacting parties, which

creates information asymmetries and difficulties in exposing

and verifying opportunistic acts (Katsikeas, Skarmeas, and

Bello 2009; Li and Ng 2002; Luo, 2009). A foreign partner

behaving opportunistically can create conflict (Barnes et al.

2010), fuel suspicion about trustworthiness (Katsikeas, Skar-

meas, and Bello 2009), and decrease overall relationship effec-

tiveness (Obadia, Vida, and Pla-Barber 2017). Although

emotionally intelligent exporters are able to regulate emotions

to maintain a positive atmosphere in the working relationships

with importers, opportunistic behavior is still difficult to detect.

Opportunistic behavior will have a detrimental effect on com-

munication and social bonding and will aggravate distance and

conflict (De Clercq et al. 2014). Because emotional intelli-

gence is used primarily to improve the well-being of a relation-

ship rather than combat deviant behavior that is damaging to

the relationship, its favorable effect on enhancing relational

performance will weaken under opportunistic conditions

(Kluemper, DeGroot, and Choi 2011). The threat or foresight

of opportunism can evoke negative emotions, such as stress,

fear, and anxiety, which usually coexist with defensive (e.g.,

rejecting to have contact), avoidant (e.g., finding excuses to

avoid contact), or indifferent (e.g., staying apathetic in an una-

voidable interaction) behavior (Gross 2001; Williams 2007).

Evidence also suggests that when a partner behaves opportu-

nistically, people may choose not to regulate their emotions but

rather express their real, authentic emotions and cause confron-

tation (Von Gilsa et al. 2014). Thus, we posit the following:

H6: As the level of the importer’s opportunism increases, the

exporter’s emotional intelligence has (a) a weaker positive

effect on communication, (b) a weaker positive effect on

social bonding, (c) a weaker negative effect on relational

distance, and (d) a weaker negative effect on conflict.

Interpartner incompatibility refers to the lack of congruence

between the interacting parties in a buyer–seller relationship

with regard to their organizational culture, strategies, and pol-

icies and procedures (Sarkar, Aulakh, and Cavusgil 1998).

Such incompatibility is aggravated in an international business

setting, due to the existence of additional national differences

relating to cultural orientation, business systems, regulatory

frameworks, and other environmental factors (Luo and Park

2004; Meyer and Altenborg 2008). Although an emotionally

intelligent exporter is in a better position to choose compatible

foreign partners who make it possible to maximize potential in

the working relationship (Dust et al. 2018), there are instances

in which the relationship is initiated accidentally (e.g., receipt

64 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

of unsolicited orders from a foreign customer), without the

option to choose. In this case, although an emotionally intelli-

gent exporter is in a position to foster harmony in the relation-

ship with the import buyer, incompatibility between them will

diminish this favorable impact. Indeed, interpartner incompat-

ibility may accentuate conflict in the relationship because one

party’s efforts to achieve its own goals will prevent the other

from doing so (Das and Rahman 2010). Incompatibility will

also hamper adequate information exchange (Sarkar et al.

2001), obstruct social bonding (Sarkar, Aulakh, and Cavusgil

1998), and maintain distance between parties (Cheung, Myers,

and Mentzer 2010). These situations, in turn, will give rise to

uncertainty, insecurity, and suspicion about the foreign part-

ner’s behavior and erect a barrier against the harmonization of

their intended strategies (Luo and Park 2004). As a result, the

exporter will be reluctant to dedicate resources to the working

relationship (De Clercq et al. 2014) or make adaptations

required for its smooth functioning (Freitas and Salovey

2000). Under these circumstances, the emotionally intelligent

exporter will regulate his or her emotions to reduce communi-

cation, avoid socialization, maintain distance, and deny the

amicable resolution of disagreements with the import buyer

(De Clercq et al. 2014). Formally, we offer the following

hypothesis:

H7: As the level of incompatibility with the importer

increases, the exporter’s emotional intelligence has (a) a

weaker positive effect on communication, (b) a weaker pos-

itive effect on social bonding, (c) a weaker negative effect

on relational distance, and (d) a weaker negative effect on

conflict.

Research Methodology

Sampling Procedures

We conducted the study in Greece, where we collected data

from indigenous exporters from a cross-section of industries in

the private sector. We randomly selected 1,000 exporters using

the ICAP Export Directory, which stores contact details and

other useful information for more than 10,000 exporters located

in the country. 2

In each firm selected, the person in charge of

export operations was contacted by phone both to provide

information about the study objectives and to confirm his or

her interest in participating in the survey. These initial contacts

resulted in 595 exporters expressing an interest in participating

in the survey and agreeing to receive the questionnaire.

Respondents were given the option of accessing the survey

either online or by mail. Those who refused to participate in

the study gave reasons such as company policy not to divulge

information, lack of time, or discontinuation of export

operations.

Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis in our study was the single relationship

between a Greek exporter and a particular import buyer. Expor-

ters have multiple relationships with foreign buyers located in

different countries, where relationship characteristics are likely

to vary in terms of age, stage of development, and behavioral

dynamics. We asked participants to concentrate on the third-

most-important foreign buyer they have in terms of sales vol-

ume. This was deemed necessary to achieve variability in our

data and avoid respondent selection bias by focusing only on

successful relationships with foreign customers (Anderson and

Narus 1990; Skarmeas et al. 2008).

Scale Development

We derived the measurement scales for our constructs from the

pertinent literature (see Appendix C). Specifically, emotional

intelligence was based on the work of Wong and Law (2002)

and was operationalized as a higher-order construct of four

other subconstructs, namely, self–emotion appraisal, others’

emotion appraisal, utilization of emotion, and regulation of

emotion, each of which contained four items. 3

Regarding the

relationship atmosphere variables, communication was a five-

item scale, based on Mohr, Fisher, and Nevin (1996), and social

bonding was a five-item scale derived from the work of

Mavondo and Rodrigo (2001). The relational distance scale

was based on Hallén and Sandström (1991) and included five

items, and the conflict scale, which also comprised five items,

was extracted from Kumar, Stern, and Achrol (1992). We oper-

ationalized relational performance with four items taken from

the work of LaBahn and Harich (1997). With regard to mod-

eration variables, the opportunism scale contained four items

extracted from Yilmaz and Hunt (2001), while interpartner

incompatibility was a five-item scale derived from Sarkar,

Aulakh, and Cavusgil (1998).

Questionnaire Design

The survey instrument was a precoded and self-administered

questionnaire, which was built around the items of the operatio-

nalized constructs. Each item was measured on a seven-point

Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly

agree” (7). The questionnaire also included items assessing var-

ious organizational and export-related demographics, such as

years in business/exporting, number of employees in business/

2. The sampling frame of Greek exporters provided by ICAP has been used in

other empirical export studies (e.g., Salavou and Halikias 2009). ICAP

annually publishes the Greek Export Directory for the Athens Chamber of

Commerce and Industry, the most reliable source of information for

exporting companies in Greece.

3. Our study treats emotional intelligence as a reflective construct, which is

based on the assumption that latent constructs cause the observed variables and

that measurement error results in the inability to fully explain these measures

(Hair et al. 2018). The same reflective scale of emotional intelligence has also

been used in prior research focusing on either intraorganizational (e.g.,

Bozionelos and Singh 2017) or interorganizational (e.g., Naudé et al. 2014)

relationships.

Leonidou et al. 65

exporting, and company sales/export sales. We also inserted a

set of questions (measured on a seven-point scale, where 1 ¼ “very low,” and 7 ¼ “very high”) at the end of the questionnaire to assess the extent of respondent familiarity, knowledgeability,

and confidence with regard to the information provided (Cannon

and Perreault 1999). The questionnaire was first prepared in

English and then translated into Greek, and any linguistic issues

were resolved using a back-translation procedure (Craig and

Douglas 2005). Before initiating the data collection process,

we pretested the questionnaire with five exporters in terms of

relevance, flow, and readability.

Data Collection

We used both postal and electronic methods to collect the data,

according to the preferences of the respondents. Each question-

naire was supplemented with a cover letter explaining the

objectives, importance, and confidentiality of the study. To

solicit a maximum level of participation, we sent reminder

letters and contacted exporting firms by phone and, sometimes,

personally. Of the 595 exporters who received the question-

naire, 268 responded. However, we discarded six question-

naires due to incomplete data, inconsistencies in the answers

given, and unsuitability of the key informant (scoring lower

than four on a seven-point scale on any of the questions refer-

ring to familiarity, knowledgeability, and confidence). Thus,

the final usable sample comprised 262 questionnaires, repre-

senting an effective response rate of 44.0%.

Controlling for Bias

Key informants were individuals with direct responsibility for

the firm’s international operations with the specific import

buyer, namely, export managers (41.4%), company owners (18.9%), general managers (17.9%), marketing/sales managers (15.6%), and others (6.2%). These respondents provided high- quality data, as indicated by mean scores of 6.14, 5.98, and 6.27

(out of 7) for their familiarity, knowledgeability, and confi-

dence with regard to the subject, respectively. With regard to

nonresponse bias, we compared the answers of early and late

respondents using Armstrong and Overton’s (1977) proce-

dures, which revealed no statistically significant differences

between the two groups using a t-test analysis.

Research Findings

We analyzed the data in two steps with structural equation

modeling, using the EQS program. The first step provides

information about the measurement model and explains the

data purification process. In the second step, we present the

results of the structural model with regard to the main, moder-

ating, and control effects.

Measurement Model

We tested the prespecified relationships between the constructs

and their indicators using a confirmatory factor analysis, in

which each observed variable was restricted to load on its a

priori set factor, while the underlying factors were allowed to

correlate (Anderson and Gerbing 1988). We used the elliptical

reweighted least squares procedure to estimate the measure-

ment model, revealing a satisfactory fit to the data (w2 ¼ 1,233.81, p ¼ .000, d.f. ¼ 870; normed fit index [NFI] ¼ .92; nonnormed fit index [NNFI] ¼ .94; comparative fit index [CFI] ¼ .94; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] ¼ .06) (Diamantopoulos and Siguaw 2009) (see Table 1).

With regard to data purification, convergent validity was met,

as the t-value for each indicator was always high and significant,

all standard errors of the estimated coefficients were very low,

and the average variance extracted for each latent variable was

equal to or above the threshold level of .50 (Hair et al. 2018).

Discriminant validity was also evident because the confidence

interval around the correlation estimate for each pair of con-

structs examined never included 1.00 (Anderson and Gerbing

1988), while the correlation for each pair of constructs never

exceeded the square root of the average variance extracted (For-

nell and Larcker 1981) (see Table 2). Construct reliabilities were

also satisfactory, as all constructs in the study had Cronbach’s

alphas greater than .70. Composite reliabilities also exceeded the

minimum acceptable value of .70.

To control for common method bias, we used a confirmatory

factor approach, in which all items included in the measure-

ment model were restricted to load on a single factor (Venka-

traman and Prescott 1990). The model fit indices revealed very

poor values, well below the commonly acceptable cutoff points

(i.e., w2 ¼ 3,127.40, p ¼ .000, d.f. ¼ 702; NFI ¼ .40; NNFI ¼ .43; CFI ¼ .46; RMSEA ¼ .17). We also employed the partial correlation technique, using “foreign market dynamism” as a

marker variable, a construct that is theoretically not connected

to other constructs in the model. Our analysis revealed that this

marker variable had no significant correlation with the other

constructs, while the significance of the correlation coefficients

did not change after implementing the various partial correla-

tion adjustments (Lindell and Whitney 2001). In brief, the

results from both tests did not reveal the existence of common

method bias.

To assess the potential for endogeneity bias in our study,

we employed the two-stage least squares technique. We used

foreign environmental uncertainty, tolerance, coercive power,

and noncoercive power as instrumental variables for commu-

nication, social bonding, relational distance, and conflict.

These instrumental variables were correlated with their

respective endogenous explanatory variables but not with

relational performance. We assessed the strength of instru-

mental variables with F-tests (Stock and Watson 2011) and

computed an efficient model and a consistent model. The

results of the Durbin–Wu–Hausman test revealed that com-

munication, social bonding, relational distance, and conflict

are exogenous to relational performance, with the estimates of

all instrumental variables yielding F-statistics higher than 10

(Stock and Watson 2011).

66 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

Structural Model

We used the structural model to test our hypotheses by adopt-

ing the elliptical reweighted least squares technique. Given the

various indicators (w2 ¼ 1,233.48, p ¼ .000, d.f. ¼ 871; NFI ¼ .91; NNFI ¼ .93; CFI ¼ .94; RMSEA ¼ .07), the results of the structural model reveal an acceptable model fit. Table 3 shows

the standardized path coefficients with corresponding t-values

for each hypothesis tested.

Main Effects 4

The results reveal that the exporter’s emotional intelligence has

a strong positive impact on communication with the import

Table 1. Measurement Model Results.

Constructs Scale Items Standardized Loadings t � � AVE Mean score SD Item mean Item SD

aSelf–emotion appraisal SEA1 .69 b .77 .74 .51 5.88 .75 5.54 1.03 SEA2 .76 6.36 6.02 .91 SEA3 .77 6.41 5.98 .90 SEA4 .61 5.53 6.01 1.02

Others’ emotion appraisal OEA1 .76 b .82 .76 .63 4.95 .88 4.66 1.05 OEA2 .82 7.81 5.08 1.10 OEA4 .80 7.72 5.12 .90

Utilization of emotion UOE1 .70 b .80 .75 .53 5.82 .82 5.97 1.06 UOE2 .73 6.54 5.57 1.11 UOE3 .72 6.51 5.68 1.07 UOE4 .75 6.70 6.05 .91

Regulation of emotion ROE1 .78 b

.87 .81 .65 5.29 .99 5.37 1.27 ROE2 .83 9.02 5.29 1.04 ROE3 .72 7.69 5.17 1.33 ROE4 .88 9.58 5.31 1.03

Communication COM1 .80 b

.76 .71 .65 5.00 1.23 5.01 1.17 COM4 .82 7.78 4.93 1.45 COM5 .79 8.03 5.08 1.28

Social bonding SBO1 .74 b .91 .85 .66 3.63 1.58 3.46 1.82 SBO2 .84 8.90 4.14 1.91 SBO3 .91 9.62 3.22 1.82 SBO4 .85 8.96 3.79 1.82 SBO5 .72 7.52 3.55 1.88

Relational distance DIS1 .68 b

.75 .75 .51 3.32 1.17 3.78 2.02 DIS2 .69 5.52 3.29 1.71 DIS3 .67 5.43 3.23 1.48 DIS4 .71 5.66 3.48 1.62 DIS5 .61 5.09 2.81 1.42

Conflict CNF1 .69 b .83 .80 .54 1.98 .99 2.25 1.35 CNF2 .79 7.51 2.07 1.36 CNF3 .66 6.32 2.14 1.40 CNF4 .77 7.31 1.87 1.17 CNF5 .76 7.23 1.61 1.01

Relational performance REP1 .86 b .93 .87 .77 5.37 1.10 5.14 1.22 REP2 .93 13.82 5.52 1.26 REP3 .87 12.39 5.42 1.19 REP4 .85 11.67 5.41 1.15

Opportunism OPP1 .66 b .81 .76 .55 2.40 1.17 2.68 1.49 OPP2 .86 7.36 2.10 1.27 OPP3 .68 6.14 2.41 1.58 OPP4 .74 6.63 2.40 1.51

Interpartner incompatibility INC1 .69 b .72 .71 .52 2.45 1.23 2.45 1.30 INC2 .69 6.24 2.26 1.25 INC3 .68 6.13 2.60 1.29 INC5 .62 5.52 2.54 1.38

a Emotional intelligence (EMI) is a higher-order factor (mean score ¼ 5.52, SD ¼ .61).

b Item fixed to set the scale.

Notes: Model fit statistics: w2 ¼ 1,233.81, p ¼ .000, d.f. ¼ 870; NFI ¼ .92; NNFI ¼ .94; CFI ¼ .94; RMSEA ¼ .06. AVE ¼ average variance extracted.

4. We also carried out a post hoc analysis connecting each of the four

dimensions of emotional intelligence (i.e., self–emotion appraisal, others’

emotion appraisal, utilization of emotion, and regulation of emotion) with

each of the four behavioral constructs (i.e., communication, social bonding,

Leonidou et al. 67

buyer (b ¼ .44, t ¼ 3.23, p ¼.00), which lends support to H1a. In addition, emotional intelligence strengthens the exporter’s

social bonds with the importer (b ¼ .28, t ¼ 2.26, p ¼.02), in

support of H1b. Moreover, high exporter emotional intelligence

leads to a decrease in relational distance with the import buyer

(b ¼�.40, t ¼�2.69, p ¼ .01), thus lending credibility to H1c. In support of H1d, emotionally intelligent exporters have lower

levels of conflict in their working relationship with import

buyers (b ¼�.28, t ¼�2.69, p ¼ .03).

Table 3. Structural Model Results.

H Hypothesized Association Standard Path Coefficient t-Value p-Value

Main Effects H1a Emotional intelligence ! Communication .44 3.23 .00 H1b Emotional intelligence ! Social bonding .28 2.26 .02 H1c Emotional intelligence ! Relational distance �.40 �2.69 .01 H1d Emotional intelligence ! Conflict �.28 �2.18 .03 H2 Communication ! Relational performance .54 5.50 .00 H3 Social bonding ! Relational performance .36 4.58 .00 H4 Relational distance ! Relational performance �.14 �1.79 .07 H5 Conflict ! Relational performance �.38 �4.43 .00

Moderation Effects H6a Opportunism ! Communication �.13 �1.35 .18

Emotional intelligence � Opportunism ! Communication �.39 �3.86 .00 H6b Opportunism ! Social Bonding �.35 �2.74 .01

Emotional intelligence � Opportunism ! Social bonding �.54 �4.20 .00 H6c Opportunism ! Relational distance .18 1.51 .13

Emotional intelligence � Opportunism ! Relational distance .52 3.66 .00 H6d Opportunism ! Conflict .10 1.43 .15

Emotional intelligence � Opportunism ! Conflict .28 2.76 .01 H7a Interpartner incompatibility ! Communication �.10 �1.11 .15

Emotional intelligence � Interpartner incompatibility ! Communication �.40 �3.88 .00 H7b Interpartner incompatibility ! Social bonding �.04 �.56 .58

Emotional intelligence � Interpartner incompatibility ! Social bonding �.29 �2.76 .01 H7c Incompatibility ! Relational distance .11 .98 .27

Emotional intelligence � Interpartner incompatibility! Relational distance .21 1.91 .06 H7d Interpartner incompatibility ! Conflict .35 3.48 .00

Emotional intelligence � Interpartner incompatibility ! Conflict .47 4.55 .00 Control Effects Relationship age ! Relational performance .11 1.73 .08 Relationship status ! Relational performance .04 .49 .63

Notes: Fit statistics of Model: w2 ¼ 1,233.48, p ¼ .000, d.f. ¼ 871; NFI ¼ .91; NNFI ¼ .93; CFI ¼ .94; RMSEA ¼ .07.

Table 2. Correlation Matrix.

Constructs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1. Self–emotion appraisal .71 2. Others’ emotion appraisal .42** .79 3. Utilization of emotion .46** .41** .73 4. Regulation of emotion .28** .25** .30** .81 5. Communication .18* .24** .14 .04 .81 6. Social bonding .13 .19* �.01 �.02 .34** .81 7. Relational distance �.30** �.18* �.06 �.07 �.30** �.47** .68 8. Conflict �.24** �.05 �.08 �.07 �.23* �.10 .28** .73 9. Relational performance .23* .28** .25** .15 .57** .47** �.34** �.43** .88 10. Opportunism �.07 �.01 .02 .04 �.33** �.07 .29** .58** �.36** .74 11. Interpartner incompatibility �.40** �.22* �.30** �.20* �.52** �.30** .45** .52** �.57** .45** .67

*p < .05. **p < .01. Notes: Values below the diagonal refer to correlation estimates among constructs, and values on the diagonal refer to the square roots of the average variance extracted.

relational distance, and conflict). The results indicate variations in the four

emotional intelligence dimensions in terms of their impact on these constructs.

68 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

In accordance with H2, our findings confirm that communi-

cation is indeed a strong predictor of the exporter–importer

relationship performance (b ¼ .54, t ¼ 5.50, p ¼ .00). The results also verify H3 because strong social bonding between

exporters and importers contributed positively to relationship

performance (b ¼ .36, t ¼ 4.58, p ¼ .00). As we predicted in H4, our findings confirm the negative effects of relational dis-

tance on exporter–importer relational performance (b ¼�.14, t ¼�1.79, p ¼ .07). Finally, our results support H5, because we found that the prevalence of conflict in the relationship

between exporters and importers has damaging effects on per-

formance (b ¼�.38, t ¼�4.43, p ¼ .00).

Moderation Effects 5

We tested the moderation hypotheses using the interaction

approach, in which we analyzed the effect of the cross-

product between each moderating variable and the hypothe-

sized path (Ping 1995). With respect to opportunism, the results

confirm a weaker positive effect of emotional intelligence on

communication (b ¼ �.39, t ¼ �3.86, p ¼ .00) and social bonding (b ¼ �.54, t ¼ �4.20, p ¼ .00), as well as a weaker negative effect of emotional intelligence on relational distance

(b ¼ .52, t ¼ 3.66, p ¼ .00) and conflict (b ¼ .28, t ¼ 2.76, p ¼ .01). These results lend support to H6a, H6b, H6c, and H6d,

respectively. Likewise, the results also confirm H7a, H7b, H7c,

and H7d, because when the level of interpartner incompatibility

increases, the positive impact of emotional intelligence on

communication (b ¼ �.40, t ¼ �3.88, p ¼ .00) and social bonding (b ¼ �.29, t ¼ �2.76, p ¼ .01) becomes weaker, while the negative effect of emotional intelligence on distance

(b ¼ .21, t ¼ 1.91, p ¼ .06) and conflict (b ¼ .47, t ¼ 4.55, p ¼ .00) also becomes weaker.

Control Effects

We also examine the impact of relationship age and relation-

ship status as control variables on relational performance.

Relationship age positively affects the performance of the

exporter–importer relationship (b ¼ .11, t ¼ 1.73, p ¼ .08), meaning that the longer the duration of the relationship, the

greater the likelihood it will perform well. However, relation-

ship status—that is, whether the relationship was growing or

declining—did not have a statistically significant effect on

relational performance (b ¼ .04, t ¼ .49, p ¼ .63).

Study Implications

This study shows the pivotal role of the exporter’s emotional

intelligence in establishing a positive atmosphere in the work-

ing relationship with import buyers, which ultimately leads to

superior relational performance that is beneficial for both par-

ties. Specifically, we show that emotionally intelligent expor-

ters tend to improve communication and social bonding in the

relationship, while reducing distance and conflict. However,

this favorable association between emotional intelligence and

behavioral dimensions of the relationship tends to become

weaker when the import buyer acts opportunistically and lacks

compatibility with the exporter. Our study also confirms the

instrumental role of effective communication, strong social

bonds, low relational distance, and reduced conflict in enhan-

cing relational performance.

Theoretical Implications

In this study, we conceptualized and empirically tested a model

in which the emotional intelligence of the exporter boosts rela-

tional performance by improving interorganizational beha-

vioral interactions with the importer. We do so by

transferring theories, concepts, and ideas developed in psychol-

ogy and management to an international business relationship

context. Specifically, we extend the repeatedly confirmed pro-

relational effect of emotional intelligence developed in psy-

chology research to exporter–importer relationships, yielding

consistent results. The relevance of such knowledge transfers

from other disciplines to international marketing implies that

emotional intelligence can also be linked to other behavioral

dimensions characterizing interorganizational relationships,

such as exercised power (Schutte and Loi 2014), ethical con-

duct (Fu 2014), and social responsibility (Leonidou et al.

2015).

Our study connects emotions with behaviors in the working

relationship between exporters and importers, indicating that

these should be studied inseparably from each other. The use of

emotional intelligence as a means to identify, evaluate, and

control emotions between sellers and buyers implies that it can

serve as a useful theoretical construct to better understand

international marketing phenomena. Indeed, various behavioral

dimensions (e.g., communication, social bonds, relational dis-

tance, conflict) characterizing business relationships do not

exist in a vacuum but are affected by overt and/or covert psy-

chological forces inherent in the interacting parties. Thus,

exporter’s emotional intelligence is instrumental in shaping the

nature of behavioral interactions with import buyers, ultimately

determining whether outcomes are successful.

Our study also underscores the pivotal role played by con-

structs at the individual manager level (i.e., emotional intelli-

gence) in influencing constructs at the organizational level (i.e.,

communication). This implies that other types of intelligence,

such as the intelligence quotient, cultural intelligence, or crea-

tive intelligence, may also have an important role to play in

cross-border business research, affecting different facets of

5. In designing our conceptual model, we followed the pattern of studies in the

psychology field, in which emotional intelligence is theoretically considered

the driving force in manipulating one’s own and other people’s emotions.

However, we also used the four dimensions of emotional intelligence (i.e.,

self–emotion appraisal, others’ emotion appraisal, utilization of emotion, and

regulation of emotion) as moderators between each of the four behavioral

constructs and relational performance, indicating, with a few exceptions,

strong effects.

Leonidou et al. 69

international marketing activities, such as foreign environmen-

tal scanning, market selection and entry, and new product

development. Other important personal factors of managers

that are inherent to international marketing operations (e.g.,

personality traits) might also act as antecedents to behavioral

interactions with foreign customers and ultimately influence

performance outcomes.

The results pertaining to the moderating role of opportunism

and interpartner incompatibility on the effect of emotional

intelligence on various behavioral aspects of the exporter–

importer relationship stress the need to adopt a contingency

perspective. This is particularly true when investigating inter-

national marketing phenomena, in which the environment is

characterized by high dynamism, uncertainty, and diversity,

thus adding more complexity and uniqueness to the study of

interorganizational business relationships. As such, other vari-

ables particular to international business relationships (e.g.,

cultural dimensions) may also moderate the instrumentality

of emotional intelligence in improving behavioral interactions

between exporters and import buyers.

Managerial Implications

The positive role of emotional intelligence in strengthening

working relationships with import buyers implies that export

managers should take this dimension into consideration when

recruiting, selecting, and evaluating people for their interna-

tional operations, especially those who will have direct contact

with and responsibility for foreign customers. Therefore, it is

important to periodically monitor these employees’ emotional

intelligence capabilities using reliable tests (e.g., the Mayer–

Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) and to take cor-

rective actions when necessary. Firms should also create spe-

cialized training programs (e.g., role playing) with the aim of

helping existing export staff to enhance their emotional intel-

ligence skills (e.g., self-control). Temporarily assigning

import-related roles to export employees, so that they can better

understand the foreign partner’s perspective, might be a viable

technique to use in such training programs.

People involved in the firm’s export operations should skill-

fully use their emotional intelligence as a tool to enhance rela-

tional performance with import customers through proper

treatment of various critical behavioral dimensions of their

working relationship. Specifically, they could use emotional

intelligence to (1) enhance communication by encouraging fre-

quent and open information exchange, (2) cultivate social

bonds by enhancing friendship and social interaction with per-

sonnel in the importing organization, (3) reduce relational dis-

tance by adopting an empathic attitude toward foreign buyers

and managing negative emotions through adaptive and recon-

ciling behavior, and (4) reduce conflict by encouraging frank

discussion with import partners and resolving disagreements in

an amicable way.

However, export managers should also be aware that,

despite the favorable role of emotional intelligence in improv-

ing the working relationships with foreign customers, when the

latter act opportunistically and/or are incompatible, the effec-

tiveness of emotional intelligence diminishes. Given this harm-

ful moderating impact of opportunism and interpartner

incompatibility, emotionally intelligent exporters should be

cautious when selecting their import buyers and focus on those

who are both reliable and compatible. They also need to be able

to spot signs of opportunism (e.g., lack of assistance in difficult

times) or incompatibility (e.g., preventing goal achievement)

with their current import buyers, particularly during the early

phases of their relationship.

Just as export managers can utilize their emotional intelli-

gence in effectively dealing with their foreign buyers, import

managers can also make use of emotional intelligence to influ-

ence the behavioral dynamics of their relationship with the

exporter. When both parties in the exporter–importer relation-

ship are emotionally intelligent, one would expect enhanced

overall relational performance. Thus, export managers should

aim, whenever possible, to deal with individuals in the import

organization characterized by high emotional intelligence.

However, they should be alert to the possibility that emotional

intelligence may not always be used in an appropriate manner,

but can also be a tool to “exploit” other people’s behaviors

(Côté et al. 2011). In this case, export managers should main-

tain a careful and continuous evaluation of their import buyers’

intentions and act accordingly.

Limitations and Further Research

Our study has several limitations, which also provide the basis

for new research directions. First, we conducted the study in a

single export country, which necessitates verification of the

external validity of our findings by testing the conceptual

model in other country settings with different socioeconomic

profiles. The study could also be replicated in the area of export

services, which has experienced significant growth in recent

decades, particularly among firms located in developed coun-

tries. Our research could also be extended to other types of

foreign business relationships, such as those between interna-

tional joint venture partners.

Second, methodologically speaking, and following the pat-

tern of most research in marketing, we assessed emotional

intelligence using self-reported measures taken from individu-

als participating in the study, rather than how emotional intel-

ligence is perceived by those with whom the person is

interacting. It would be useful to seek the views of import

buyers regarding the level of an exporter’s emotional intelli-

gence on each of the four dimensions examined. The inexis-

tence of differences in the importer’s views with those of the

exporter could serve as an additional indication of the lack of

common method bias in the study.

Third, we examined the emotional intelligence of exporters

only, thus adopting a single actor perspective. However, as we

mentioned previously, import buyers also have emotional intel-

ligence, which may act synergistically or catalytically with the

exporter’s emotional intelligence. Thus, it is essential to gather

emotional intelligence data from the corresponding person in

70 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

the importer’s organization. A matched-paired dyadic approach

would provide a more comprehensive picture of the various

behavioral dimensions of the relationship and the resulting

outcome.

Fourth, the dynamic nature of exporter–importer relation-

ships requires a longitudinal research design to monitor

changes in the relationship over a long period of time. This

would allow observation of the role of emotional intelligence at

different stages (e.g., exploration, expansion, commitment, dis-

solution) of the relationship cycle. In addition, because an

exporting department (especially in larger-sized firms) is usu-

ally staffed by many people, it would be interesting to measure

“group emotional intelligence” and its effect on the relation-

ship with the foreign buyer.

Fifth, future studies should include additional behavioral

atmosphere dimensions that characterize the exporter–importer

relationship, such as trust, commitment, and cooperation. In

addition to these behavioral dimensions, it is also important

to investigate the link between emotional intelligence and

structural aspects of the relationship (e.g., governance mechan-

isms, relational norms, control systems). The link between an

exporter’s emotional intelligence and foreign customer affect

also warrants examination. A recent meta-analysis in the man-

agement field has revealed that both state-positive and state-

negative affect act as mediators between emotional intelligence

and job-related outcomes (Miao, Humphrey, and Qian 2017).

Sixth, we operationalized performance as a global latent

construct, focusing mainly on the effectiveness and efficiency

aspects of the working relationship between exporters and

import buyers. It would be enlightening if future studies would

also investigate the instrumental role of the exporter’s emo-

tional intelligence on other types of business performance

resulting from the exporter–importer relationship, such as those

pertaining to customer (e.g., end-user satisfaction), product-

market (e.g., market share), or financial (e.g., profitability)

issues (Katsikeas et al. 2016).

Finally, because emotional intelligence can potentially be

improved (or deteriorate), it would be interesting to explore

factors that can drive such change. The moderating role of

other factors, such as the individual’s cultural orientation and

personality traits, also warrants investigation. Certain demo-

graphic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, education) of the

managers directly involved with exporting/importing could

also be used as controls on emotional intelligence.

Appendix A. Indicative Empirical Marketing Studies on Emotional Intelligence.

Study Objectives Methodology Key Findings

Rozell, Pettijohn, and Parker (2004)

To investigate the relationships between customer-oriented selling and emotional intelligence

Mail survey of 103 salespeople from a company specializing in medical devices in the United States

A salesperson’s higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with higher levels of customer orientation, while customer orientation is positively correlated with salesperson performance.

Kidwell, McFarland, and Avila (2007)

To examine the ability to perceive emotion relative to its effect on adaptive selling, customer-oriented selling, and sales performance

Online survey in the United States on 135 matched salespeople–supervisor pairs working in 15 business-to- business (B2B) firms operating in various sectors

Both adaptive selling and customer- oriented selling positively influence perceived selling performance. The ability to perceive emotions enhances the positive effects of adaptive selling and customer-oriented selling on both perceived and supervisor-rated selling performance.

Schumacher, Wheeler, and Carr (2009)

To examine the relationship between a customer’s emotional intelligence and a customer’s relationship performance

Mail survey in the United States on 34 buyers and their 102 suppliers

Buyers’ emotional intelligence perceived by suppliers is positively correlated with the buyers’ relationship performance perceived by suppliers. Buyers’ emotional intelligence, based on buyers’ and suppliers’ assessment difference, is related to buyers’ relationship performance, based on buyers’ and suppliers’ assessment differences.

Singh and Venugopal (2012)

To identify salesperson variables that improve the effectiveness of their customer orientation through a mediating mechanism, resulting in an enhanced individual sales performance

Survey on 286 Indian salespeople working in a print media company

The use of natural rewards strategies has a positive impact on a salesperson’s level of customer orientation. A salesperson’s customer orientation positively influences his or her sales performance, sales skills, and emotion regulation abilities. Both

(continued)

Leonidou et al. 71

Appendix A. (continued)

Study Objectives Methodology Key Findings

sales skills and emotion regulation improve a salesperson’s sales performance.

Agnihotri et al. (2014)

To examine the factors that drive boundary-spanner creativity and how the latter affects performance and service outcomes

Online survey in the United States on 107 sales representatives and their 19 direct managers in a B2B telecommunications company

Emotional intelligence, along with knowledge and manager feedback, positively influences sales representatives’ creativity. Sales representatives’ creativity, in turn, improves their performance and ability to solve customer problems. Emotional intelligence strengthens the positive effect of knowledge on creativity.

Naudé et al. (2014)

To illuminate the entrepreneurs’ characteristics that affect small and medium-sized enterprises’ performance by investigating the mediating role of network structure and external networking behavior

Survey on 227 chief executive officers of small Iranian information technology firms

Emotional intelligence of the chief executive officer positively affects entrepreneurial style, network structure, and external networking behavior. Network structure and entrepreneurial style mediate the link between emotional intelligence and small and medium enterprise performance.

Kadic-Maglajlic et al. (2016)

To examine the interrelationships among emotional intelligence, relational selling behavior, and salesperson performance

Online survey in Croatia on 245 B2B salespeople

Emotional intelligence is a facilitator of both adaptive selling behavior and customer-oriented selling behavior. Both types of selling behaviors mediate the positive relationship between emotional intelligence and salesperson performance.

McFarland, Rode, and Shervani (2016)

To investigate the moderating effects of emotional intelligence on the links among role stress and emotional exhaustion, customer-oriented selling, and interactional sales performance

Online survey in the United States on 143 sales representatives of a Fortune 500 company operating in transportation business

Higher levels of emotional intelligence decrease the negative effect of role stress on customer-oriented selling and on interactional sales performance. Emotional intelligence also weakens the positive influence of role ambiguity on salesperson emotional exhaustion.

Kearney et al. (2017)

To assess (1) the behavioral interdependence between frontline and back-office employees and their joint effect on customer-related organizational performance and (2) the moderating effect of the emotional intelligence of frontline salespeople and back-office employees

Survey on 105 frontline salespeople and 77 back-office employees working in a large multinational B2B electronics company in the United Kingdom

Salespeople’s customer orientation boosts organizational performance, while emotional intelligence of the salesperson strengthens this relationship. Both salespeople’s and back-office employees’ emotional intelligence drives back-office employees’ citizenship behavior. Back-office employees’ citizenship behavior drives business performance. Back-office employees’ emotional intelligence strengthens the positive effect of salespeople’s emotional intelligence on back-office employees’ citizenship behavior.

Ogilvie et al. (2017)

To build and test a model examining the relationship between salesperson effort and relational performance

Online survey in the United States on 107 matched subordinate–supervisor dyads in the sales division of a B2B media company

There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between sales effort and relational performance, though this relationship becomes a positive linear one when the salesperson has higher levels of emotional intelligence.

(continued)

72 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

Appendix A. (continued)

Study Objectives Methodology Key Findings

Briggs, Kalra, and Agnihotri (2018)

To understand the role of the salespeople’s ability to appraise emotions and its impact on job-related consequences in a transaction-oriented setting

Survey in an emerging market on 152 matched pairs of salespeople and supervisors working in a financial services organization

Emotion appraisal ability gives rise to emotional exhaustion of the salesperson but improves his or her customer service. Emotional exhaustion decreases both customer service and sales performance.

Delpechitre and Beeler (2018)

To examine how a salesperson’s emotional intelligence affects his or her emotional labor strategies and how the latter influences customer outcomes

Online survey on 224 salesperson– customer dyads in three U.S. firms operating in the information technology solutions, energy and gas, and media and telecommunications services industries

A salesperson’s emotional intelligence has a positive impact on his or her deep acting emotional labor strategies but a negative impact on surface acting emotional labor strategies. While deep acting emotional labor strategies increase a salesperson’s perceived trustworthiness and customer’s anticipation of future interactions, surface acting emotional labor strategies diminish the latter. A salesperson’s perceived trustworthiness leads to a higher level of anticipated future interactions with the customer.

Delpechitre, Beeler- Connelly, and Chaker (2018)

To gain insight into the way a salesperson’s emotional intelligence and empathetic ability affect customer value cocreation behavior and the customer’s commitment to a salesperson

Online survey on 224 salesperson– customer dyads in three U.S. firms operating in the information technology, energy, and media/ telecommunication industries

A salesperson’s ability to perceive and understand emotions positively influences customer value cocreation behavior, as well as customer commitment to the salesperson. The ability of the salesperson to regulate emotions predicts customer commitment to the salesperson. Customer value cocreation is a driver of customer commitment. Salesperson empathy strengthens the positive influence of perceiving emotions and regulating emotions on customer value cocreation and on customer commitment.

Appendix B. Operational Definitions of Constructs.

Emotional intelligence The ability to reason validly with emotions and with emotion-related information and to use emotions to enhance thought to reach desired emotional states in oneself and others (Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey 2016, p. 295).

Communication Formal or informal exchange of accurate, timely, and sufficient information between interacting parties about important issues regarding their working relationship (Mohr and Spekman 1994).

Social bonding The degree of mutual personal friendship and appreciation established by the interacting parties in a working relationship, which helps them understand each other’s desires, goals, and intentions (Yang, Zhou, and Jiang 2011).

Relational distance The extent to which the partners are unfamiliar with each other’s ways of thinking and doing business and organizational norms and values (Ford et al. 2011).

Conflict The blocking behavior that impedes the members of a buyer–seller relationship from obtaining resources and/or performing activities required for their advancement (Anderson and Narus 1990).

Relational performance

The success of one firm in helping the other achieve its goals by coordinating venture activities and adapting business practices for the other (Kumar, Stern, and Achrol 1992).

Opportunism Self-interest seeking with guile, manifested in terms of subtle and/or blatant types of behavior (Wathne and Heide 2000; Williamson 1979).

Interpartner incompatibility

The lack of congruence between the interacting parties in a buyer–seller relationship with regard to their organizational cultures, values, norms, policies, procedures, and so forth (Sarkar, Aulakh, and Cavusgil 1998).

Relationship age The length of time foreign business partners have been working together (Jap and Ganesan 2000). Relationship status The extent to which the relationship between the two parties tends to grow or decline (Barnes et al. 2015).

Leonidou et al. 73

Appendix C. Constructs and Measurement Scales.

Constructs Items Item description Source

Self emotion appraisal

SEA1 I have a good sense of why I have certain feelings most of the time. Wong and Law (2002)SEA2 I have a good understanding of my own emotions.

SEA3 I really understand what I feel. SEA4 I always know whether or not I am happy.

Others’ emotion appraisal

OEA1 I always know my friends’ emotions from their behavior. Wong and Law (2002)OEA2 I am a good observer of others’ emotions.

OEA3 I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others. OEA4 I have a good understanding of the emotions of people around me.

Utilization of emotion

UOE1 I always set goals for myself and then try my best to achieve them. Wong and Law (2002)UOE2 I always tell myself I am a competent person.

UOE3 I am a self-motivating person. UOE4 I would always encourage myself to try my best.

Regulation of emotion

ROE1 I am able to control my temper so that I can handle difficulties rationally. Wong and Law (2002)ROE2 I am quite capable of controlling my own emotions.

ROE3 I can always calm down quickly when I am very angry. ROE4 I have good control of my own emotions.

Communication COM1 The relationship with this importer suffers from inadequate communication procedures. (R) Mohr, Fisher, and Nevin (1996)COM2 There are often communication failures between our company and this importer. (R)

COM3 This importer often does not inform us early enough about critical problems concerning the relationship. (R)

COM4 This importer keeps our company informed about tactical/strategic issues concerning the relationship.

COM5 This importer clearly communicates his/her expectations about our firm’s performance. Social bonding SBO1 We often interact with people from this importing firm on a social basis outside work. Mavondo and

Rodrigo (2001)SBO2 We openly talk like friends with people from this importing firm. SBO3 We consider people from this importing firm as being almost as close to us as family. SBO4 If we were to change business partners, we would lose a good friend in this importer. SBO5 We would consider whether the feelings of people in this importer’s organization would be

hurt before we made an important decision. Relational

distance DIS1 We do not have close relationships with individuals working in this importing firm. Hallén and

Sandström (1991)

DIS2 We are not familiar with this importer’s business environment. DIS3 We are very familiar with the organizational culture, values, and attitudes of this importer.

(R) DIS4 We are not aware of many things about the structural characteristics of this importer’s

organization. DIS5 We are familiar with the working methods and processes followed by this importer. (R)

Conflict CNF1 The roles in the working relationship with this importer are not performed as required, causing many disagreements.

Kumar, Stern, and Achrol (1992)

CNF2 Often unreasonable demands arise in the relationship with this importer, causing a great deal of frustration.

CNF3 The working relationship with this importer is very stressful and worrying, resulting in a lot of tension.

CNF4 There are often disagreements between our firm and this importer on issues concerning the relationship.

CNF5 The working relationship with this importer is characterized by a high degree of conflict. Relational

performance REP1 The relationship between our firm and this importer has been very productive. LaBahn and Harich

(1997)REP2 We have found the time and effort spent on this relationship very worthwhile. REP3 The relationship between our firm and this importer has been very effective. REP4 We have a very rewarding relationship with this importer.

Opportunism OPP1 This importer alters the facts slightly. Yilmaz and Hunt (2001)OPP2 This importer promises to do things without actually doing them later.

OPP3 This importer fails to provide us with the support s/he is obliged to provide. OPP4 This importer avoids fulfilling his/her responsibilities unless s/he is watched closely.

Interpartner incompatibility

INC1 The organizational values and social norms that pertain between our company and this importer are not compatible.

Sarkar, Aulakh, and Cavusgil (1998)

INC2 Executives from our firm and those from this importer have incompatible philosophies/ approaches to business.

INC3 The goals and objectives of our firm are compatible with those of this importer. (R) INC4 The technical capabilities of our firm are incompatible with those of this importer. INC5 The organizational procedures of our firm and those of this importer are compatible. (R) INC6 Employees of both our company and this importer have similar professional or trade skills. (R)

Notes: Measurement was based on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (7). (R) ¼ reverse-scored scale.

74 Journal of International Marketing 27(4)

Associate Editor

Matthew Robson

Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-

ship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Bilge Aykol https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1730-9576

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