The effect of psychic distance on the international performance of knowledge-based companies with the moderating role of networking and technological learning

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Iran University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Maintaining international performance of companies is very important in today's business. Considering the concept of psychic distance in cultural, administrative, geographical and economic dimensions, this research has investigated the effect of psychic distance of the country of origin and the country of destination on the international performance of companies. It also examines the role of networking and technological learning on this relationship. The statistical population is 400 knowledge-based export companies, of which 139 companies have been examined as a sample. After collecting the data using a questionnaire, the analysis was done with structural equation modeling and with the help of SmartPLS3 software. The findings of the research show that the psychic distance between countries has a significant negative effect on the international performance of companies. In fact, the more these distances are for companies in choosing the target country, the more the company's export performance decreases. Also, the results show that networking and technological learning as two moderators in this regard can weaken this negative effect. These results can be especially important in the context of sanctions where exporting to countries with less cognitive distance can be a window of opportunity to maintain and continue the international performance of companies.

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