6.2. Limitations and further research
We conducted this study with exporters in a single country –
namely, Greece – which has recently experienced serious
financial upheavals. However, the exporting sector is one of
the least affected and is the one through which the country
hopes to gain economic recovery (Greek Organization of
External Trade, 2011). In addition, Greece, as a member of the
European Union, has enforced strict environmental regulations,
which also cover indigenous exporting firms. In light of these
idiosyncrasies, and to test the external validity of our findings, it
is important that replication studies are conducted in other
countries with different economic, socio-cultural, and political-
legal settings.
It is also vital to distinguish the specific markets targeted by
exporting firms in terms of their level of consumer environmentalism,
environmental legislation, and government intervention on
green issues. To identify the long-term effects of the implementation
of environmentally friendly business strategies on competitive
advantage and performance, it is also important to embark on
longitudinal research. Although this is a time-consuming and
expensive task, it would yield valuable insights into the interactions
between the constructs of the model, as some time needs to
elapse before a causal factor (e.g., competitive advantage) can
produce a specific effect (e.g., financial performance).
The potential effects of other external (e.g., regulatory
framework) and internal (e.g., market orientation) determinants
of an environmentally friendly export business strategy could
also strengthen our model. In addition, the role of the firm’s eco-
orientation (either external or internal) in mediating the links
between determinants of eco-friendly business strategy and
strategy per se should also be explored, as well as the degree to
which this strategy is standardized or adapted according to the
idiosyncrasies of each foreign market (Christmann, 2004).
Discriminating between exporters that adopt a proactive
(strategic) approach and those that take a reactive (compliance)
stand toward environmental issues would help shed light on how
an environmentally based export competitive advantage is
achieved and how this, in turn, affects various export perfor-
mance dimensions (Martin-Tapia et al., 2009; Miles & Covin,
2000).
Research should also examine the moderating effect of both
macro (e.g., psychological distance between the home and host
market) and micro (e.g., degree of the firm’s export involvement)
international business parameters on the link between environ-
mentally friendly business strategy and competitive advantage.
The contingent role of various strategic options open to the
exporting firm, such as foreign market concentration versus
spreading, in shaping an environmentally friendly business
strategy also needs attention. Finally, research might examine
the possible role of factors pertaining to industry (e.g.,
environmental exposure), firm (e.g., legal status), and/or
managerial (e.g., personality) characteristics in potentially
influencing the dependent constructs of our model and our
model relationships.