Identification of information requirements for export marketing mix decisions: A study on exporters of dried fig

Lack of information is one of the important problems, which firms face when they make export decisions. Lack of information causes a distance between firms and the market and induces firms to leave a significant part of marketing activities to intermediaries. Formation of the export marketing mix is one of the decisions, which is associated with exporting. Making this decision requires information. Literature on export marketing information contains a number of studies in the field. Yet, some of these studies are concerned with the export information without relating it to an export decision, while some of them deal with information required for the selection of export markets. In this sense, there is a gap in the literature on the information necessary for export marketing mix decisions. The aim of this study is to identify the information required for export marketing mix decisions. First, the factors, which have to be considered while making these decisions, were identified based on the relevant literature. Then, a field study was conducted on thirty one exporters of dried fig using the questionnaire, which was designed based on these identified factors. This field study attempted to ascertain the importance, which exporters attach to the information which they might utilize while making export marketing mix decisions. The results show that firms considered the information related to the selection of marketing intermediaries and pricing as the most important, among the marketing mix components. The information associated with the target market and final consumers is rated as less important. Moreover, internal information is regarded as more important than external information. In addition to this field study, an attempt is made to identify the entities of a marketing information system for export marketing mix decisions. However, these entities have to be tested on firms. In this study, results and recommendations for solving the arising problems are discussed. The study is expected to be helpful for practitioners and academicians in the field of exporting.