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Social media resources and export Social media

and export
performance: the role of trust performance

and commitment
Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud 273
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
and Received 19 February 2019
Revised 10 October 2019
Department of Marketing Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, 9 December 2019
Accepted 14 December 2019
South Africa
Matilda Adams and Aidatu Abubakari
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Nicholas Oblitei Commey
Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
and
Heritage Christian College, Accra, Ghana, and
Adelaide Naa Amerley Kastner
Department of Marketing, Central University, Ghana, Accra, Ghana

Abstract
Purpose – The study sought to examine the influence of social media resources on export performance and the
role commitment and trust play in this relationship using an integrated model.
Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative survey design was employed for this study. Empirical
data for this paper were drawn from 210 exporting firms in Ghana, using purposive sampling technique. The
hypothesized links were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings – The result of this study reveals that social media resources and marketing capabilities directly
influence export performance and indirectly through commitment and trust.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to attempt to use an
integrated model (resource-based view and commitment-trust theory) to understand and explain an
international marketing phenomenon. By concentrating on Ghana, the study offers new insights regarding the
pathway for exporting firms in emerging markets.
Keywords International marketing, Social media, Marketing capabilities, Export performance, Commitment,
Trust and resource base view
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
In recent times, the surge in technological advancements and the hype surrounding the use of
social networking sites have transformed the digital landscape and how organizations interact
with their consumers globally (Hofacker and Belanche, 2016). The transformation in the media
landscape has reached an extent where the existence of exporting ventures is likely to be
threatened, unless these firms respond affirmatively to contemporary mode of building and
managing both transactional and relational ties with their customers (Tsai and Men, 2017). As a
result, many firms are now incorporating social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, among others into their marketing communications in the quest of reaching their
customers and creating interactive brand communities (Johnston et al., 2018). International Marketing Review
Studies have indicated social media usage offers businesses several benefits (Kenly and Vol. 37 No. 2, 2020
pp. 273-297
Poston, 2016; Alarcon, et al., 2015). For instance, Alarcon, et al. (2015) assert that social media © Emerald Publishing Limited
0265-1335
provides faster access to markets that are outside the immediate geographical reach of firms, DOI 10.1108/IMR-02-2019-0084
IMR thus reducing the barriers of distance and time; serves as an inexpensive means for
37,2 communicating product information to customers (Berthon et al., 2012); and can be used as a
strategic resource to gain competitive advantage (Skarmeas, et al., 2016). This indicates that
more studies are needed across diverse contexts in assessing social media as a resource and its
influence on firms’ performance in order to advance theory (Ratchford, 2015). Arguably, it
appearsthat a good number of studies on social media have been undertaken from the
perspectives of firms (Kenly and Poston, 2016; Alarcon, et al., 2015) and consumers (Berthon
274 et al., 2012; Whiting and Williams, 2013). Despite the numerous studies on social media, deficits
exist in the extant literature, beseeching the attention of scholars’ in the marketing discipline.
First, in the marketing context, resources include building relationships, brands and
knowledge which often differ from resources in other contexts (Kozlenkova et al., 2014). The
resource-based view (RBV) theorizes that resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and
non-substitutable can help achieve sustainable competitive advantage for firms (Barney,
1991). In line with this view, we theorize that social media and marketing capabilities are
resources that encompass the relationships a firm builds with its customers through its social
media platforms, and these relationships can be valuable resources that will be difficult or too
costly for others to imitate. However, despite its increasing relevance in both practice and
theory, a limited number of studies have examined social media as a resource, though extant
studies reveal that intangible resources have a greater effect on sustained competitive
advantage and performance than tangible resources (Kozlenkova et al., 2014). Hence, there is
a need for further assessment of the nexus between social media resources and export
performance, especially with its growing utilization in the business world today.
Secondly, data on social media and performance are biased toward the advanced countries
(Gao et al., 2018; Hudson et al., 2016; Alarcon et al., 2015), with relatively little evidence on the
subject from emerging economies, especially Ghana (Ahmad et al., 2018; Odoom et al., 2017).
This situation is worrying, since recent research indicates that emerging markets contribute
considerably to the marketing discipline (Sheth, 2011). To this end, empirical studies from these
contexts would present unique perspectives and also provide new theoretical developments
and implications for practice. Moreover, Sheth (2011) argues that market heterogeneity,
contextual disparities and sociopolitical environment in developed and developing economies
are totally different. As a result, Drazin and Schonhoven (1996) have questioned the
generalizability of findings from the developed economies to other economies, as findings may
be context-bound and not universally generalizable (see Li and Zhou, 2010; Boso et al., 2013).
Thus, based on the contextual disparity argument and as part of contributing to the
international marketing literature, this study uses empirical data from an emerging economy,
specifically Ghana, to contribute to the theory of development and offer managerial insights.
Ghana presents a unique case because just like any other developing or emerging market,
the economic activities of exporting firms or SMEs drive its gross domestic product (GDP)
(Nieto and Santamaria, 2010; Odoom, 2017; Abor and Quartey, 2010). However, evidence
exists to suggest that exporting firms from such settings are overwhelmed with persistent
scarcity of resources as well as infrastructural challenges (Sheth, 2011; Odoom et al., 2017).
For instance, Odoom et al. (2017) aver that most exporting ventures in developing economies
like Ghana lack the skills and the needed resources to employ external marketing support to
promote their products and services effectively to attain competitive advantage. The
situation has compelled most smaller firms engaging in exporting activities in Ghana to
adopt cheaper means of communicating their offerings and interacting with their customers
through social media, which is considered a more cost-efficient means of communicating
(Hanna et al., 2011; Ainin et al., 2015). Indeed, this move can also be attributed to the shift in
media consumption in recent times, which has resulted in the use of social media by firms as a
major platform for strategically communicating, informing and interacting with their clients
(Odoom et al., 2017). Thus, it offers an interesting route for exporting SMEs to boost their
export performance in overseas markets. Hence, a study like this is opportune in this context, Social media
to provide understanding and knowledge on how social media resources are being used by and export
exporting firms in Ghana to enhance their capabilities and performance.
In addition, some scholars have argued that the possession of unique resources alone does
performance
not sustain competitive advantage; instead, a firm needs to have the capability (e.g. relational
and informational capabilities) to deploy those resources effectively (Tan and Sousa, 2015).
Barney (1991) also argues that a firm’s ability to build trust and commitment with its
customers improves the sustainability of realized competitive advantages, which 275
subsequently leads to performance. In a similar vein, Leonidou et al. (2014) provide
evidence of the usefulness of trust and commitment in the exporter-customer relationships.
These authors suggest that trust and commitment are critical in this relationship, because they
reduce the risks and uncertainties associated with the large geographical and psychological
distance between the exporter and the overseas client. Despite the potential usefulness of trust
and commitment in providing a more insightful and comprehensive understanding of
exporting relationships, there is yet to be a study that has empirically tested these two
relational tenets on the resources, capabilities and export performance relationship (Leonidou
et al., 2008). As a result, Feng et al. (2017) have called for the mediation of the marketing
capabilities and export performance relationship so as to comprehend the mediating
mechanisms of how marketing capabilities impact exporting firm’s performance. Scholars
such as Bloemer et al. (2013) and Da Rocha et al. (2012), therefore, suggest that mediating
variables such as trust and commitment be incorporated in the export performance model.
Accordingly, this study draws on the commitment-trust theory, to develop and test these
two relational variables on the resources-capabilities-performance relationship, which is
critical for export success (Leonidou et al., 2008). This is particularly important in this study
because exporting firms in Ghana have limited resources, and consequently, it is important
that the firms, in addition to the resources and capabilities they possess, build trust and
commitment by cooperating with their foreign clients to preserve investments relationships
to help sustain competitive advantage which, in turn, leads to enhanced export performance
(Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Finally, extant literature suggests that theories that originate from the developed
countries may not be able to sufficiently explain the issues of developing countries, possibly
due to contextual and other environmental factors (Wright et al., 2005; Meyer and Peng, 2005).
For instance, Meyer and Peng (2005) argue that the types of resources and capabilities that
help to achieve competitive advantage in emerging markets are different from that of the
developed markets. Consequently, with the nuances varying across the different economic
settings, we recognize the need to establish a better understanding of context-specific issues
in marketing, since without it, scholars and practitioners alike may be misled and vulnerable
to leaky idiosyncrasies. The paper further argues that similar to most of the constructs
utilized in business management research, no single theory is sufficiently enough to explain
the complexities in a given phenomenon (Chen, et al., 2016). Thus, the authors assert that
depending on the research standpoint, multiple theories could be employed to help provide an
improved understanding of the nuances regarding the research area.
From the foregoing discussion, the current paper makes two major contributions to the
growing body of literature. First, in terms of international marketing theory building, this
paper contributes to the international marketing literature by providing a validated model by
drawing on the RBV and commitment-trust theory to depict the relationships between social
media resources, marketing capabilities, trust, commitment and export performance. This
study departs from previous studies that utilized single theories (e.g. RBV), by extending the
RBV to include commitment and trust as mediators in the export performance model, in an
attempt to understand how these theories help to explain the idiosyncrasies and contextual
variations surrounding emerging economies such as Ghana. Second, the findings of this
IMR study offer international marketers or exporting managers a better understanding of the
37,2 strategies/activities they need to adopt to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in their
export processes, as this will help them improve their firms’ export performance.
The rest of the paper is structured in the following order: first, the study provides a review
of theory underpinning the study which leads to model and hypotheses development. Next,
the research methodology is presented, followed by the findings. Finally, discussion,
conclusions as well as the implications, contributions, limitations and future research
276 directions are presented.

Theoretical and hypotheses development

The theories underpinning the current research are the RBV (Barney, 1991) theory and
commitment-trust theory (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). The RBV theorizes that resources and
capabilities that are valuable, rare, imperfectly inimitable and exploitable by the firms’
organization (VRIO) are deemed crucial sources of sustained competitive advantage and
superior performance (Kozlenkova, et al., 2014; Barney, 1991). According to such theorists,
these resources represent exclusive bundles of interconnected assets (tangible and intangible),
capabilities, information and knowledge a firm controls that allow it to perceive and
implement strategies to enhance efficiency (Barney, 1991). The essential function performed
by resources in helping businesses to achieve performance benefits has been well espoused
by the proponents of the theory. The RBV theory further posits that resources are essential
for firms that seek to succeed in competitive environments (Kozenkova et al., 2013).
Consequently, Barney (1991) espouses that businesses could achieve sustainable competitive
advantage and exceptional performance only if they can effectively convert these
resources (such as social media) into capabilities (i.e. informational and relational).
Though social media technologies are difficult to patent, the relationships that firms build
and maintain with their customers could be resources that are valuable, rare and imperfectly
imitable. These resources must be organized to capture value from them. The RBV theory
supports the view that resources are the central tenets for firms that want to remain
competitive and attain superior performance.
In line with the RBV theory, Gao et al. (2018) assert that relational resources can improve
the strategic position of a business, increase its competitiveness and contribute to its
performance through the development of marketing capabilities. Following the foregoing
discourse, the use of social media as a resource to build a firm’s marketing capabilities to
enhance performance is no exception to the underlying assumptions of the RBV theory. Thus,
this current study, by way of extending the RBV theory, conceptualizes social media
resources as a valuable external relational resource, which, when properly utilized, can create
strong informational and relational capabilities for exporting firms that will be difficult for
others to imitate which will, in turn, increase their performance.
The RBV aids the understanding of the means used by firms to leverage their investments
in Internet technologies (Barney and Clark, 2007). The RBV is thus used as a theoretical lens
to best explain how social media could be integrated into existing international marketing
theory. The theory is relevant to the current study as it suggests that relationships firms build
with their clients can be regarded as intangible market resources that provide firms with
significant advantages. According to Barney (1991), resources are valuable if they minimize a
firm’s costs or maximize revenue compared to what the situation would have been if the firm
did not possess that resource. Based on this assertion, we argue that relationships that firms
build with their customers through social media technologies are valuable, because firms are
able to minimize their cost through cheaper means of communication and promotion on social
media platforms (Hanna et al., 2011). Strong relationships between firms and their overseas
clients on social media are rare resources, because not all firms are able to build such
relationships. Moreover, extant marketing literature suggests that many firms are Social media
unsuccessful at developing relational resources (King and Burgess, 2008). and export
Social media platforms offer firms accounts that are exclusive to them, and they are able to
improve quality of relationships with their overseas customers through these accounts; this
performance
quality will be difficult, if not impossible, for competitors to imitate (Palmatier et al., 2007), and
hence, it could be argued that social media resources are imperfectly imitable. Firms that do not
possess social media resources cannot acquire them through direct duplication or substitution
(Kozlenkova et al., 2014). A firm must be organized to leverage its social media resource. Strong 277
social media resources rely on organizational factors such as managerial support and internal
and external communication; thus, the organization acts as an inhibitor or enabler of the
benefits embedded in its valuable, rare and imperfectly imitable social media resources
However, some researchers in marketing aver that investing in resources (Feng et al., 2017;
Tan and Sousa, 2015) and capabilities alone does not always provide sufficient direct
performance benefits. As a result, scholars such as Feng et al. (2017) and Bloemer et al. (2013)
advocated for possible intervening variables such as commitment and trust, which are likely
to enhance the resource-capability-performance relationship.
The commitment and trust theory have been employed by scholars in numerous studies in
areas such as retailing, banking and finance, as well as tourism and hospitality (Mukherjee
and Nath, 2007; Nusair et al., 2013; Gan et al., 2007). It must, however, be mentioned that
although these variables have been used across diverse industries, all these studies confirm
commitment and trust as key mediating variables that are relevant to any successful
relational exchange involving suppliers, customers and employees (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
In a similar vein, theorists of the commitment trust theory submit that relationships between
firms and their customers would only be successful when there is commitment and trust on
both sides. In international marketing research, commitment and trust are very important
due to the fact that they help international businesses to conserve investments in
relationships through cooperation with business partners (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). The
presence of both commitment and trust in any relationship results in outcomes that lead to
productivity and efficiency (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Based on these foregoing theorising,
this study espouses that commitment and trust are mediators of the link between resources-
capabilities and export performance.

Social media resources and export performance

Although several possible definitions of social media exist, this current study adopts that of
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), for its simplicity and comprehensiveness. Kaplan and Haenlein
(2010, p. 61) define social media as “a group of internet-based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and exchange of
user generated content.” Recent statistics indicate that more than 1.44 billion active monthly
users of Facebook spend over 700 billion minutes on the website; 500 million tweets are sent
through Twitter every day; and 70 million photos/videos are uploaded on Instagram (Sakyi-
Gyinae, 2015). This research assesses two social media sites (Facebook and Twitter). The
reason for this choice is as a result of the recent submissions by Aladwani (2015), which
suggestively rate these two as major platforms utilized by businesses and consumers. Social
media has gained prominence and popularity as a marketing communication tool over the
past decade, and extant literature indicates that it influences consumer behavior
(Constantinides and Fountain, 2008).
From the perspective of international marketing, by using social media in their
international advertising, firms can offer global reach and personalization, thus making it
possible for them to have an improved relationship with their customers (Okazaki and
Taylor, 2013). The relationships firms build with their clients on their social media platforms
IMR can be valuable resources which can earn them sustained competitive advantage through
37,2 high publicity of the firm and its offerings, increased traffic, enhanced search-engine ranking
and improved sales (Stelzner, 2011). Inferring from this, it can be observed that the RBV of
firms is fundamental in the social media and performance relationship. Zhang et al. (2013) also
argue that the utilization of Internet technologies offers businesses the ability to enhance
performance in foreign markets. Supporting this argument, Pezderka et al. (2012) reveal that
firms that utilize Internet in communicating and building relationships with their customers
278 experience improved export performance. Largely, evidence exists to suggest that social
media resources positively affect firm performance (Luo et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2013). For
instance, the findings of Zhang et al. (2013) reveal that utilization of Internet technologies
offers exporting firms the ability to enhance their performance. Relating the foregoing
discourse to the current study, we submit that the pertinent role of social media as a resource
in creating relationships with customers is a significant consideration for exporting firms, as
firms that invest substantially in their social media resources will more likely increase their
performance benefits. Thus, we hypothesize that,
H1. Social media resources will have a positive significant relationship with export
performance

Social media resources, marketing capabilities and export performance

In line with the RBV, prior studies suggest that a firm that is able to create distinctive
capabilities enjoys superior organizational performance (Menguc and Auh, 2006). Vorhies
(1998, p. 4) defines marketing capabilities as “integrative processes designed to apply the
collective knowledge, skills and resources of the firm to the market-related needs of the
business, enabling the business to add value to its goods and services, adapt to market
conditions, take advantage of market opportunities and meet competitive threats”. The
marketing capabilities firms possess are very crucial to their operations because they are
recognized as one of the basic modes for attaining competitive advantage (Day, 1994; Day and
Wensley, 1988) and superior performance. Thus, exporting firms that are proficient in
converting their resources into value adding capabilities are more likely to enjoy superior
performance.
The manner in which social media is embedded in the business processes of exporting
firms varies. However, exactly how businesses leverage their investments to generate distinct
social media-specific capabilities influences the success of a business (Zhu and Kramer, 2002).
The RBV is extensively used to elucidate how capabilities are more inherent in the firm’s
ability to leverage resources than in the resource itself (Gregory et al., 2017). Capabilities are
central to exporting firms and could be a vital source of competitive advantage (Murray et al.,
2011). Thus, social media resources could be significant resources for creating relational and
informational capabilities for firms (Freeman and Styles, 2014), as they facilitate an
organization’s ability to exchange information and to build and maintain relationships with
overseas partners (Kaleka and Morgan, 2017). Relational capabilities describe “a firm’s
capability to create, develop, and manage business relationships” (Pham et al., 2017).
Informational capabilities, on the other hand, refer to a firm’s capability to acquire valuable
export market-related information, and it includes data on clients and rivals. Extant literature
depicts two forms of capabilities that are particularly important to the performance of
exporting firms and architectural and specialized capabilities (Morgan et al., 2012).
Architectural capabilities stem from the learning process of outside markets, the analysis
of external information related to the market and the establishment of export marketing
strategies to respond to external marketing information (Vorhies and Morgan, 2005). On the
other hand, specialized capabilities mostly stem from the use of internal resources,
developing market processes and implementing efficient export marketing strategies
(Gregory et al., 2017). The current study views relational and informational capabilities as Social media
internally generated (specialized capabilities) as the information systems literature suggests and export
that the use of internal information technology resources enhances processes, minimizes cost
and leads to capabilities that boost efficiencies (Gregory et al., 2017). Relational capabilities
performance
are particularly crucial in improving performance, especially in new markets, and in
facilitating relationships between firms and their partners (Zhou et al., 2012; Pham et al., 2017).
Informational capabilities have been found to have an effect on market differentiation and
product development capability (Morgan et al., 2018). In the international marketing 279
literature, studies on the relationship between marketing capabilities and performance
abound, and findings largely show that marketing capabilities influence performance
positively (Pham et al., 2017; Mu, 2015; Lee and Zhou, 2012). In this study, we conceptualize
marketing capabilities as a firm’s ability to use the skills and accumulated knowledge it has in
taking advantage of a bundle of interconnected available firm resources and assets to carry
out exporting activities. Based on previous studies, we advance the argument that exporting
firms will increase their performance through the valuable resources and capabilities they
possess. This thus leads us to our next set of hypotheses stated as follows.
H2. Social media resources have a positive significant relationship with marketing
capabilities.
H3. Marketing capabilities have a positive significant effect on export performance.

The mediating role of commitment and trust

According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), commitment and trust constitute important mediating
variables that mediate the success of any long-term relational exchange. In other words, both
commitment and trust are necessary in producing outcomes that promote productivity,
efficiency and effectiveness. Commitment can be explained as the partner’s belief that an
exchange relationship is important and the willingness of the exchange partner to expend
some form of effort to maintain it (Wang et al., 2015). Similarly, Morgan and Hunt (1994)
describe commitment “as an exchange partner having confidence in the fact that an existing
relationship with another is essential to merit great efforts at preserving, that is, an enduring
desire to maintain a relationship.” Donthu and Kim (1993) assert that commitment in
international marketing context is usually defined from the attitudinal viewpoint as a
managers’ inclination to devote resources to the exporting function.
Cavusgli and Zou (1994) explain international commitment from the behavioral
perspective, as the resources a firm actually devotes to its foreign businesses. In view of
this, the current study posits that relational and informational capabilities acquired from
investing in social media resources influence commitment of exporting firms to maintain
relationships with overseas clients. Commitment in the international scene is normally
demonstrated in several ways such as export management and identifying customers’ needs;
however, according to Beamish et al. (1993), adapting to the requirements and aspirations of
foreign customers is the most important indicator of international commitment.
Similarly, in the relationship marketing literature, trust occurs if a party has confidence in
an exchange partner’s reliability and integrity (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Bloemer et al. (2013)
defined trust as the conviction that an organization’s overseas customers will be honest, fair
and reliable. Hewett and Bearden (2001) argue that from a relational perspective, trust in the
context of buyer-seller relationship is crucial for both persuasion and encouraging future
exchanges. Gefen and Straub (2004) aver that interaction with an exchange partner is a
precondition of trust, and hence personal or impersonal human interaction contributes to
developing trust. Within the exporter-customer relationship, if an exporting firm builds a
close relationship with its foreign clients, trust and commitment are more likely to increase for
IMR both parties, thereby reducing potential risks and uncertainties associated with the exporting
37,2 venture (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). In other words, exporting firms that foster trust in foreign
clients and enhance commitment toward its exporting ventures are more likely to improve
their export performance.
As we previously mentioned, enhanced trust and commitment are critical for exporters’
success (Leonidou et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2003). Indeed, while many have argued for a direct
significant relationship between trust, commitment and performance (Ismail et al., 2017;
280 Barnes et al., 2015; Katsikeas et al., 2009), evidence exist to suggest that the relationship is not
always direct, and that trust and commitment interact with other contextual variables to
influence export performance (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Obadia et al., 2017). Owing to this,
scholars such as Zhang et al. (2003) are urging researchers to consider testing both the direct
and indirect effect of trust and commitment in the export performance model as the impact
can be both direct and indirect. Although some studies have looked at the role of trust and
commitment in the export performance model, the results remain inconclusive.
In line with Morgan and Hunt (1994), as well as Zhang et al. (2003), this study argues that
trust and commitment mediate the relationships between social media resources and export
performance; and marketing capabilities and export performance. These relational variables
are relevant in this relationship because they help encourage exporting firms to preserve
relationship investments by cooperating with foreign clients. We, therefore, posit that trust
and commitment significantly influence export performance directly and also have an
indirect effect on social media resources and export performance, as well as marketing
capabilities and export performance. Based on the forgoing discourse, we offer the following
hypotheses;
H4(a). Trust mediates the relationship between social media resources and export
performance.
H4(b). Commitment mediates the relationship between social media resources and export
performance.
H5(a). Commitment mediates the relationship between marketing capabilities and
export performance.
H5(b). Trust mediates the relationship between marketing capabilities and export
performance.
H6(a). Trust has a positive significant relationship with export performance.
H6(b). Commitment has a positive significant relationship with export performance.
The model in Figure 1 theorizes that exporting firms’ social media resources and the
marketing capabilities they possess act as antecedents to trust and commitment to enable
exporting firms realize superior export performance. We argue for positive influences of both
social media resources and marketing capabilities either directly or indirectly (via trust and
commitment) on export performance. Although, it is possible for exporting firms to achieve
their export performance directly from their resources, we anticipate that firms that are able
to harness and deploy their resources and capabilities effectively in sync with trust and
commitment are better able to achieve optimum export performance (see Figure. 2).

Methodology
Research design, sample and procedure
In testing the hypothesized relationships, we employed a quantitative approach using self-
administered questionnaires to collect data from the exporting firms. The questionnaire was
 Social media
and export
x Trust (a) performance
x Commitment (b)
H4 (a-b)
H1 H6 (a-b)

H5 (a-b) 281
H3
Social Media H2 Markeng
Resources Capabilies Export Performance

Firm size
Social media page Figure 1.
Number of years Research model

separated into Section A and Section B. Section A constituted the background information of
the exporting firms (firm size, type of social media platform they own, number of years of
being in business, industry/sector), and Section B looked at the measures on social media
resources, marketing capabilities (relational and informational capabilities), trust and
commitment and export performance. With the exception of Section A, which dealt with the
profile of the exporting firms, all other variables in Section B were examined using five-point
Likert scales which ranged from “1 5 strongly disagree” to “5 5 strongly agree.” Section B
contained statements on social media resources as well as export performance, which were
adapted from Gregory et al. (2017) and measured with four and eight items, respectively; the
relational capability variable was measured with five items and informational capabilities
five items, and both were from Pham et al. (2017) and Kaleka and Morgan (2017), respectively;
finally, trust had three items and commitment four items, and both were also adapted from
Bloemer et al. (2013). To establish face and content validity, the initial scales were pre-tested
using three international marketing faculty members of the Department of Marketing and
Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana, two managers from export firms in Ghana and eight
doctoral students from the University of Ghana to ensure the suitability of the survey
questions (Saunders et al., 2009). Based on the feedback received, several changes were
incorporated into the instrument to improve clarity.

Control variables
The study incorporated three controls to guarantee that the results were not unduly affected.
The study controlled for the age of the firm, the social media platform the firms were using
and firm size. The firm size was determined by the number of employees that are likely to
influence export performance (Wolff and Pett, 2000). The study adopted the categorization by
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for least developed economies
(Abor and Quartey, 2010). The age of the business is linked to the number of years the
exporting firms have been in operation (Lages and Jap, 2002).
IMR 0.66

37,2 e1 Eperf3
0.75 0.81
e2 Eperf4 0.76 0.87
0.49 0.87
-0.25 e3 Eperf5 0.80 Experf
0.89
e4 Eperf6 0.67
0.45
282 Eperf7
e5
0.66
0.64
e6 Trst5
0.74
0.80
e7 Trst1 0.86
0.70
0.84
e8 Trst2 Trut 0.52
0.71 0.85
e9 Trst3 0.72
0.52
e10 Trst4
0.60 0.27
0.56
e11 ReCap1
0.57 0.75
e12 ReCap2 0.75
0.66 0.81 0.75
e13 ReCap3 Rcap 0.49
0.57 0.75
e14 ReCap4 0.78 0.50
0.61
e15 ReCap5
0.78
0.58
0.59
e16 InCap1 0.43
0.65 0.77
e17 InCap2 0.81
0.56 0.60
0.75
e18 InCap3 Incapa
0.80
0.64 0.67
e20 InCap5
0.43
0.75
e21 Com1 0.86
0.75 0.61
0.87
e22 Com2 comm
0.79 0.89
e23 Com3
0.57

0.59
Figure 2.
e24 SMR2 0.77
Final 0.59
measurement model 0.77 SoMR
e25 SMR3

Population and sampling procedure

The population of this current study included all firms undertaking non-traditional export
(NTE) activities in Ghana (Ghana Export Promotion Authority [GEPA], 2016). The GEPA
(2016) list revealed that there were 312 registered SMEs who were actively undertaking NTE
activities in Ghana. To ensure adequate experience and knowledge of the subject matter Social media
under study, firms were screened to target only exporting firms that have been engaging in and export
exporting activities continuously for not less than 3 years and also had active Twitter and/or
Facebook account that was helping them with their exporting activities. We purposively
performance
contacted 250 exporting firms (who were into product manufacturing) from the GEPA
database via their emails and by telephone using phone numbers recorded in their profiles/
bios to elicit participation in our study. More specifically, we first contacted the 312 exporting
firms via their email addresses provided in the GEPA database, to solicit their participation in 283
the study. About one-third (104) of the emails were returned due to invalid email addresses.
However, 208 representing two-thirds of the exporting firms received the email. Out of this
number, 150 firms agreed to partake in the study. To maximize rate of response, two
reminders were sent, and we also made phone calls using the telephone numbers provided in
the GEPA database to those that had invalid email addresses, seeking their consent to
partake in the study. This particular exercise generated an additional 100 respondents.
Consequently, meeting dates with the managers of the exporting firms were scheduled, where
the survey instruments were administered face-to-face. It is worthwhile to mention that we
promised the firms a snapshot of the findings which we believe motivated them to agree to
partake in the study. Moreover, due to the managers’ prior commitment to participate in this
research and the extensive personal follow-ups and remainders, we were able to retrieve
about 84% of the questionnaires.
To estimate non-response bias, the recommendation proffered by Armstrong and
Overton (1977) was followed. Using Pearson’s chi-square test, we compared the responses
from those we contacted via email (early respondents) and the responses of those we
contacted through phone calls (late respondents) by testing for the mean differences for
firm’s age in operation and firm size over a period of one month. The results showed no
significant differences between early and late respondents for firm’s age in operation
(p 5 0.452) and firm size (0.447). Thus, non-response bias was considered not an issue in
this current study.
Furthermore, to minimize common method bias (CMB) (Podaskoff et al., 2012), first, the
information provided by the firms was obtained from three “key persons” from each firm. The
key respondents had to occupy an integral position that made them more knowledgeable
about the exporting undertakings of their businesses and also involved in their business’s
policy-making decisions with regards to international business (Boso et al., 2013). Thus, the
key respondents chosen played a part in planning, leading and in controlling of the firm’s
resources (Sousa et al., 2010), and thus are generally capable of providing valid responses
(Abdullah, 2010). For instance, in most of the firms, the CEOs completed the part relating to
the firm’s profiles, export managers complemented the marketing capabilities measures as
well as the trust and commitment measures, whereas the finance officers completed the
export performance measures. Second, we statistically conducted two tests to show that CMB
was not an issue for this current study (Lu et al., 2010). First, we performed a Lindell and
Whitney’s (2001) test through a marker variable approach. The results showed no significant
correlation between the marker variable item and export performance (r 5 0.013, p > 0.05).
The results also showed no significant correlations between the marker variable item and
other constructs, ranging between 0.013 and 0.065, which suggests that CMB does not affect
this study. Next, Harman’s one-factor test in confirmatory factor analysis was run; the results
indicate that no single factor accounted for more than 30% of the variance; this was lower
than the 50% threshold recommended by Podsakoff and Organ (1986), indicating that CMB
was not an issue in this study.
From the 250 questionnaires returned, 210 representing 84% valid questionnaires from
the participating firms became useable for further analysis. All statistical data were analyzed
using IBM SPSS version 21 and structural equation modeling (SEM) version 22.
IMR Analyses and results
37,2 As displayed in Table 1, the statement “the adoption of social media has facilitated the
identification of prospective customers to make contacts in the export market” recorded the
highest mean of 4.76. Conversely, the lowest mean of 3.20 was recorded on the statement
“foreign clients will continuously keep a trade secret regarding our businesses. This finding
indicates that utilizing social media enables exporting firms to locate their prospective
customers in the export market whereas the lowest mean score suggests that foreign
284 customers of the firms rarely keep a trade secret regarding the firms” business.

Structural equation modeling analysis (SEM)

A two-staged approach was used in the analysis (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). In the first
stage, we estimated the measurement model (confirmatory factor analysis) using maximum
likelihood approach, whereas the structural model was tested in the second stage. More
specifically, CFA was performed in the initial phase to examine the reliability and validity of
the constructs and the scales used (Byrne, 2016). To do this, we assessed the reliability of the
measurement items by inspecting their respective internal consistency values using
Cronbach’s alpha (CA), composite reliability (CR) and the factor loadings of the items on their
corresponding constructs. As shown in Table 2 the CFA results reveal that CA (α), CR, AVEs
as well as factor loadings were above the recommended thresholds (Fornell and Lacker, 1981;
Bagozzi and Yi, 2012), thus providing evidence of satisfactory item convergence for all the
constructs.
In addition, Table 3 illustrates that the square roots of the AVEs for the constructs are
consistently greater than the correlations between the constructs (Fornell and Lacker, 1981),
thus giving support for discriminant validity.
Model fit was determined using χ 2/df 5 1.49, comparative fit index (CFI) 5 0.97, Tucker–
Lewis index (TLI) 5 0.96, normed fit index (NFI) 5 0.91, root mean square error of
approximation (RMSEA) 5 0.05. Based on these findings, we can conclude that the specified
measurement model reliably fits the data collected since all the fit indices fall within the cut-
off limits (Schreiber, 2008). See Table 4:

Hypotheses testing using SEM

After confirming the reliability and validity of the measurement model, we proceeded to test
the hypothesized structural relationships between the constructs using Amos 22. The output
results of the structural model show good fit, with χ 2/df 5 1.44, NFI 5 0.93, IFI 5 0.96,
TLI 5 0.96, CFI 5 0.96 and RMSEA 5 0.05. Regarding the hypothesized direct relationships,
the study found support for all the hypotheses H1 (β 5 0.427, p < 0.001), H2 (β 5 0.594,
p < 0.001), H3 (β 5 0.418, p < 0.001), H6a (β 5 0.237, p < 0.001) and H6b (β 5 0.480, p < 0.001),
as displayed in Table 5. However, with respect to the control variables, the study found no
significant relationships between the age of the firm, social media page as well as size of the
firm and export performance.

Mediation analysis test

The study sought to establish the mediating effect of trust and commitment on the
relationship between social media resources and export performance (H4a, b) as well as trust
and commitment on the relationship between marketing capabilities and export performance
(H5a, b). Following the bootstrapping method proffered by Preacher and Hayes (2004) as well
as MacKinnon et al. (2004), the mediation test was carried out using a bootstrap sample of
2000. Table 6 presents the results of this analysis.
 Variable S.E.
Social media
Scale item code Mean SD Mean and export
performance
Social media resources
This company invests substantially in a budget for social media SMR1 4.46 0.58 0.04
export development
This company invests substantially in staff who are in charge of SMR2 4.33 0.66 0.04
social media export development 285
This company invests substantially in a dedicated social media SMR3 4.35 0.62 0.04
team for export marketing development
This company invests substantially in services to support social SMR4 4.44 0.54 0.04
media export sales
Relational capabilities
Social media adoption has given us the ability to create relationships ReCap1 4.44 0.67 0.05
with new clients
Social media adoption has given us the ability to maintain ReCap2 4.20 0.74 0.05
relationships with new existing clients
Social media adoption has given us the ability to effectively ReCap3 4.01 0.78 0.05
communicate with clients
Social media adoption has given us the ability to jointly solve ReCap4 4.11 0.80 0.05
problems with clients
Social media adoption has given us the ability to achieve targets ReCap5 4.29 0.77 0.05
when negotiating
Informational capabilities
The adoption of social media has facilitated the identification of InCap1 4.42 0.73 0.05
prospective customers
The adoption of social media has facilitated the identification of InCap2 4.27 0.79 0.05
prospective customers in capturing important market information
The adoption of social media has facilitated the identification of InCap3 4.28 0.76 0.05
prospective customers acquisition of export market related
information
The adoption of social media has facilitated the identification of InCap4 4.76 0.64 0.04
prospective customers to make contacts in the export market
The adoption of social media has facilitated the identification of InCap5 4.45 0.75 0.05
prospective customers monitoring competitive products in the
export market
Commitment
This company desires to devote much time in knowing our overseas Com1 3.58 0.79 0.05
customers
This firm will devote the resources essential to grow worthy Com2 3.60 0.81 0.05
relationships with foreign customers
Activities of this company will be disturbed if we end our Com3 3.61 0.83 0.06
relationships with our overseas customers
We have insufficient choices to consider terminating our Com4 4.18 0.84 0.06
relationship with overseas clients
Trust
Foreign clients have been truthful in their dealings with us Trst1 3.48 0.98 0.07
Our foreign clients will continuously keep a trade secret regarding Trst2 3.20 0.91 0.06
our business
Foreign clients are honest about problems they caused in our Trst3 3.84 0.83 0.06
working relationship
Our firm trusts our overseas customers Trst4 3.65 0.88 0.06 Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of
(continued ) construct measures
IMR Variable S.E.
37,2 Scale item code Mean SD Mean

Our company has a very long association with the foreign Trst5 3.72 1.01 0.07
customers we transact business with
Export performance
286 The adoption of social media has enabled us to offer lower cost Eperf1 4.16 0.55 0.04
channels for transacting with customers
The adoption of social media has enabled us to maintain Eperf2 3.75 0.72 0.05
relationships with overseas customers
The adoption of social media has enabled us to exploit new sources Eperf3 3.69 0.77 0.05
of revenue
The adoption of social media has enabled us to reduce our operating Eperf4 3.69 0.81 0.05
cost
The adoption of social media has enabled us to offer new services to Eperf5 3.71 0.82 0.06
our existing customers
The adoption of social media has enabled us to develop stronger Eperf6 3.85 0.79 0.05
relationships with suppliers and customers
The adoption of social media has enabled us to access new Eperf7 4.48 0.55 0.04
international markets
The adoption of social media has enabled us to introduce new Eperf8 4.33 0.62 0.04
Table 1. products/services to the international market quickly

Construct Variable code Factor loadings T-value CR AVE CA

Social media resources SMR2 0.77*** Fixed 0.92 0.68 0.74

SMR3 0.77*** 9.41
Marketing capabilities
Relational Recap1 0.75*** Fixed 0.91 0.67 0.88
Recap2 0.76*** 11.15
Recap3 0.81*** 12.02
Recap4 0.75*** 11.11
Recap5 0.78*** 11.54
Informational InCap1 0.77*** Fixed 0.88 0.59 0.86
InCap2 0.81*** 12.09
InCap3 0.75*** 11.11
InCap5 0.80*** 12.03
Commitment Com1 0.86*** Fixed 0.86 0.61 0.91
Com2 0.87*** 16.89
Com3 0.89*** 17.62
Trust Trst1 0.86*** 14.84 0.91 0.76 0.91
Trst2 0.84*** 14.26
Trst3 0.85*** 14.48
Trst4 0.72*** 11.80
Trst5 0.80*** Fixed
Export performance Eperf3 0.81*** Fixed 0.74 0.59 0.92
Eperf4 0.87*** 14.64
Table 2. Eperf5 0.87*** 15.18
CFA results for final Eperf6 0.90*** 15.74
measurement model Eperf7 0.67*** 10.89
The mediation analysis found trust and commitment to partially mediate the relationship Social media
between social media resources and export performance, since the direct path from social and export
media resources to export performance and the indirect paths through trust and commitment
were found to be significant. Hence, providing support for H4a and H4b. Additionally, it can
performance
be observed from Table 6 that trust and commitment fully mediated the relationship between
marketing capabilities and export performance, since the direct relationship between
marketing capabilities and export performance became insignificant when the mediators
(trust and commitment) were introduced into the relationship. Thus, providing support for 287
H5a and H5b.
On the whole, the model explained substantial variance in trust (R2 5 0.13), commitment
(R 5 0.22) and export performance (R2 5 0.45). It is safe therefore to conclude that taking an
2

integrative approach is favorable as it provides a better explanatory capacity for export

performance.

Discussion and conclusions

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of exporting firms’ social media
resources on their export performance, as well as the influence of commitment and trust on
the link between social media resources, marketing capabilities and export performance in an
emerging economy context. In this study, social media resources were conceptualized as
external relational resources, which when properly utilized can create strong relational and
informational capabilities for exporting firms which will, in turn, influence export
performance. The result of this study indicates a significant positive relationship between
social media resources, marketing capabilities and export performance. The results further
indicate that commitment and trust serve as key mediators of the relationship between social
media and export performance and marketing capabilities and export performance.
More particularly, the results depict a significant positive relationship between social
media resources and export performance (H1). This finding is consistent with prior research.
For instance, the findings of Alarcon et al. (2015) indicate that social media can have
tremendous effect on online marketing strategies of export-oriented firms in overseas
markets, and also allows exporting firms to have a better potential to benefit from

CR AVE 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Export performance 0.92 0.68 0.83

2. Trust 0.91 0.67 0.66 0.82
3. Relational capabilities 0.88 0.59 0.52 0.60 0.77 Table 3.
4. Informational capabilities 0.86 0.61 0.27 0.49 0.58 0.78 Discriminant/
5. Commitment 0.91 0.67 0.75 0.78 0.60 0.43 0.87 correlation matrix
6. Social media resources 0.74 0.59 0.51 0.43 0.67 0.61 0.57 0.77 with AVEs

Fit indices Acceptable threshold Initial results Final obtained

x2/df ≤3 1.67 1.49

CFI ≥0.90 0.95 0.97
TLI ≥0.90 0.95 0.96 Table 4.
NFI ≥0.90 0.89 0.91 Fit indices of
RMSEA ≤0.08 0.07 0.05 measurement model
 37,2
IMR

288

Table 5.

direct paths
Structural model
Hypotheses Structural paths B estimate T-value p-value R2 Results

H1 Social media resources→ Export performance 0.427 7.06 *** 0.18 Supported
H2 Social media resources → Marketing capabilities 0.594 11.05 *** 0.35 Supported
H3 Marketing capabilities → Export performance 0.418 6.95 *** 0.19 Supported
2
χ /df 5 1.44 NFI 5 0.93 IFI 5 0.96 TLI 5 0.96 CFI 5 0.97 RMSEA 5 0.05
Note(s): ***p ≤ 0.001 H: Hypotheses
 Direct
Social media
without Direct with Indirect and export
H Relationships mediator mediator effect Results Outcome performance
H4a Social media resources 0.427 (***) 0.239 (0.006) 0.184 (0.011) Partial Supported
→ Trust→ Export
performance
H4b Social media resources 0.427 (***) 0.132 (0.040) 0.290 (0.041) Partial Supported 289
→ Commitment→
Export performance
H5a Marketing capabilities→ 0.418 (***) 0.108 (0.109) 0.305 (0.001) Full Supported
Trust→ Export
performance
H5b Marketing capabilities→ 0.418 (***) 0.081 (0.231) 0.338 (0.002) Full Supported
Commitment→ Export mediation
performance
H6a Trust→ Export 0.237 (***) Supported
performance
H6b Commitment → Export 0.480 (***) Supported Table 6.
performance Results of mediation
Note(s): R2 5 0.45; ***p ≤ 0.001 H: hypotheses analysis

international market growth opportunities. The effect is attributed to the fact that social
media tools offer enhanced communication with customers and lessen or remove physical
distances.
The results for H2 also indicate a positive significant relationship between social media
resources and marketing capabilities (informational and relational capabilities). This finding
is similar to the results of previous studies (Trainor et al., 2014). This implies that when firms
view social media as a resource, it impacts customer relationship outcomes significantly
through firms’ capabilities. Additionally, the study revealed in H3 a positive significant
relationship between marketing capabilities and export performance. This finding confirms
the results of previous studies (Pham et al., 2017; Konwar et al., 2017). For example, Pham et al.
(2017) found that an organization’s relational capabilities strengthened the efficiency of
pricing and communication capabilities on export performance. Similarly, Kaleka (2011)
found informational capabilities to positively impact the performance of export firms.
However, this finding disconfirms De Carolis (2003), who found that marketing capabilities
do not have a significant impact on firm performance.
For H4(a–b), we found that trust and commitment partially mediated the relationship
between social media resources and export performance, as both the direct and indirect paths
were found to be significant. This result reiterates the fact that the mere possession of
resources does not necessarily guarantee superior or enhanced export performance. This
finding is consistent with Trainor et al. (2014), who argue that the mere adoption of a
technology will not necessarily translate into enhanced competitive advantage. Furthermore,
this study points to the fact that trust and commitment are key to achieving superior export
performance. In addition, the study confirms the commitment trust model of relationship
marketing, as indicated by Morgan and Hunt (1994), who assert that commitment and trust
are key mediating variables of relationship outcomes. The partial mediation effect of trust
and commitment on social media resources and export performance implies that although
social media resources alone can influence export performance, the relationship is enhanced
when there is trust and commitment.
The results for H5(a–b) indicate that commitment and trust fully mediated the marketing
capabilities and export performance relationship. This finding underscores the salience of
IMR trust and commitment in the marketing capabilities-export performance relationship, since
37,2 without trust and commitment, the marketing capabilities that the exporting firms possess
will not generate the desired export outcomes. Thus, the effective implementation of export
marketing strategies to enhance a firm’s performance necessitates the need for both trust and
commitment.
Finally, in H6(a–b), we found a direct significant relationship between trust and export
performance as well as commitment and export performance. The results of this study are
290 consistent with previous studies. For example, Navarro et al. (2010) aver that firms that are
more committed to their foreign markets are more willing to adapt elements of their
marketing strategies that enable them to perform relatively better in foreign markets.
In conclusion, extant literature indicates that investments in social media resources have
become a usual practice in exporting firms, and they are necessary for boosting export
performance; however, these studies offer minimal insights on how such resources translate
into improved export performance. In particular, the study concludes that adopting social
media directly influences export performance. The results have also shown that social media
influences an organization’s ability to develop and improve upon their relational and
informational capabilities. These capabilities can only influence export performance through
the commitment and trust of export firms and gaining commitment of clients. The study has
also indicated that trust and commitment were key mediating variables between social media
resources and export performance. The study has also highlighted how building trusting
relationships can positively influence the effect of marketing capabilities on export
performance. Our overall results support the resource-capability-performance nexus and
demonstrate how it can be extended to marketing activities which deal with applying
technologies in exporting.
These findings indicate that the use of social media as a strategic tool in boosting the
performance of firms in international markets seems to be ubiquitous among SMEs in
emerging markets such as Ghana too. Though past research suggests SMEs in emerging
markets seldom utilize Internet-based technologies in their commercial activities (Abou-
Shouk et al., 2013), these results depict social media resources are used to supplement
marketing activities of these firms. In recent times, Internet penetration and smart technology
adoption are becoming widespread globally; hence, it is necessary for exporting ventures in
emerging markets like Ghana to use unconventional means to reach their customers. Since
exporting SMEs in Ghana do not have sufficient resources to compete favorably in foreign
markets, the emergence of social media presents unique opportunities tothem to develop and
maintain relationships and enhance interactions with customers in foreign markets at
minimum cost; this enhances their performance.

Theoretical and managerial implications

Social media influences innovation and relationship building in international marketing, as it
offers a unique mode of communicating, building and maintaining relationships and a source
of information exchange in international business. This paper makes several contributions to
the growing body of literature. First, in terms of international marketing theory building, this
study departs from previous studies that utilized a single theory (e.g. resource-based view) to
understand an international marketing phenomenon, by attempting to combine two theories,
namely, RBV and commitment-trust theory, to examine social media resources influence on
export performance as well as on marketing capabilities and export performance and the role
commitment and trust have on these relationships. It is worthy to mention that although the
RBV has been empirically proven for its predictive ability to explain a significant amount of
variance, including the commitment and trust in the model provides a better explanatory
power to our model. Therefore, at the conceptual level, this study represents a response to
calls for research on theory integration (Chen et al., 2016) to help offer a better understanding Social media
of the nuances regarding international marketing research. and export
Second, this current study has empirically tested these theories using data from an
emerging economy setting in sub-Saharan Africa. In earlier sections, it was established that
performance
theories that are developed in the Western economy may not apply to a non-Western
economy, owing to market heterogeneity and other contextual factors (Wright et al., 2005;
Meyer and Peng, 2005). Indeed, evidence exists to suggest that the types of resources and
capabilities that help to achieve sustained competitive advantage in developing/emerging 291
economies are different from that of the developed economies. Thus, with the nuances
varying across the different economic settings, there was the need to test these theories in an
emerging economy context in order to establish a clear understanding of context-based
marketing issues, since without it both academics and practitioners alike may be deluded and
vulnerable to leaky idiosyncrasies. Hence, by linking social media resources and marketing
capabilities to commitment and trust, the study has assessed the extent to which an export
firm’s resources influence performance benefits directly or indirectly through commitment
and trust. This study contributes to the global international marketing literature by
providing strong theoretical perspective, that when exporting firms develop strategies for
universal markets, Western theories/models could be applicable in evaluating their
marketing nuances and ramifications. The results of this study contribute profoundly to
the global marketing literature with findings that are plausibly similar or different from those
found in other emerging or developed countries.
A third contribution of this study is the examination of the mediating effect of
commitment and trust on social media resources, marketing capabilities and export
performance. The findings in this study provide fresh insights by amplifying the positive
mediating effect of commitment and trust on the resources-capabilities and export
performance relationship. Given the positive mediating effect of the interaction, it is likely
that firms adopting social media as a resource without coupling such resource with
commitment and trust are missing an opportunity to further enhance their export
performance.
The practical implication of the ongoing discussion is that for exporting firms in a
developing country such as Ghana, seeking to achieve sustained competitive advantage and
superior performance, the apparent effect of integrating multiple variables is key as it
provides enhanced performance benefits. More specifically, exporting firms may not achieve
superior performance by investing in their social media resources alone; however, a firm that
shows commitment and builds trust in its social media resources is well positioned to exploit
the advantage of the rich information from the resources. Additionally, the results suggest
that export performance can be achieved not only through the adoption of social media
resources but also through the development of marketing capabilities that enable firms to
better serve their overseas clients. In this regard, this paper will enable exporting managers
and international marketing practitioners not only in Ghana, but across the globe, to better
understand that when they combine unique marketing capabilities such as effectively
communicating with their foreign clients in addition to commitment and trust, the effect of
social media resources on export performance will be enhanced.

Limitations and directions for future research

Despite the delineated contributions, there are limitations to this study that need to be taken
into consideration when interpreting the findings. First, the study tested the relationships
among the constructs using exporting firms from a single country, specifically Ghana.
Therefore, the result cannot be generalized to different industries, contexts and settings.
Therefore, it will be interesting for future studies to test our model in other settings in order to
IMR confirm the findings. Second, the effects examined in this current study are that of
37,2 relationships, and not causalities, as the research design employed was cross-sectional in
nature. Opportunities therefore exist for future research to conduct longitudinal studies to
establish causality over time. Third, the sample was drawn from manufacturing exporting
firms who were users of Twitter and Facebook only; this poses a threat to the external
validity of the findings and may limit the generalizability of the conclusions to other
populations. Future studies can therefore look at different exporting firms from different
292 industries to enhance generalizability. Lastly, there may be possible variations in the research
relationships investigated because we failed to control for some key variables such as export
experience and human capital. These variables were not tested because they were outside the
remit of this study. We therefore recommend that other studies examine such possible
variations to advance theory. Despite the acknowledged limitations of this study, the paper
makes significant contribution to the international marketing literature, especially in
developing/emerging economies context by providing useful insights from such contexts.

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Further reading
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Corresponding author
Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud can be contacted at: [email protected]

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