Export Policy Initiatives: Conceptualization of Valid Measurement Scales and Constructs for Empirical Assessment

Abstract

Firms view export policies as an external change agent that stimulates international business activities. In the past decades, developing countries have witnessed significant changes in their export policies to reduce financial and infrastructural barriers to international trade. India, with an objective to double its market share at the global level by 2020, has initiated a mix of policy measures in its Foreign Trade Policy since 2009. However, to measure the effectiveness of these policy initiatives on export business, no valid measurement scales or constructs have been developed for empirical assessment. Moreover, there is very little agreement in the literature about a conceptual definition of government export assistance as well as its operational definition. Hence, the objective of this study is to identify relevant policy initiatives and develop sub-dimensional constructs with valid measurement scales. This conceptualization is explored empirically with data from 400 exporters. The data identified four sub-dimensional measurement models that can be considered for future operations. The findings also provide useful practical guidelines and recommendations to exporters, policymakers and researchers.