The Impact of Customer Turbulence, Marketing Capability, and Competitive Aggressiveness on Export Performance in Emerging Market Firms

This research provides a detailed understanding of how firms can leverage their internal capabilities to navigate external market dynamics and enhance export performance. The study investigates the complex relationships between customer turbulence, market capability, competitive aggressiveness, and export performance among emerging market firms. Grounded in resourcebased theory and dynamic capabilities theory, the research utilizes a cross-sectional survey of 259 South African firms across various industries. Structural equation modeling is employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that customer turbulence encourages both competitive aggressiveness and market capability. Additionally, market capability is a crucial mediator, significantly enhancing export performance. While competitive aggressiveness positively influences market capability, its relationship with export performance is more complex. Theoretical implications underscore firms' need to develop dynamic capabilities to adapt to rapidly changing customer demands. On a practical level, the study suggests that managers focus on strengthening market capabilities and adopting proactive competitive strategies to thrive in turbulent environments. Finally, this research enriches the literature on export performance by integrating dynamic capabilities theory and offering actionable insights for emerging market firms seeking to improve their international market success.