Do values influence beliefs concerning exporting strategy? The case of the Greek wine production sector

Motivation theories, personality traits, and values have been widely used in organizational behavior to predict or explain the attitudes and beliefs of entrepreneurs or managers. Existing literature acknowledges that there is a different weight to certain motives, traits, or values between self-employed people (entrepreneurs) and managers (Noseleit, 2010; Warr, 2018). This study aims to investigate the influence of certain values on the beliefs of managers concerning exports. To meet the goal of the study, an online survey was conducted among 210 managers of the Greek wine production sector. Based on Schwartz’s (1992, 1994, 2012) theory of values, the findings of the study showed that from the self-enhancement category, power value influences the two components of behavioral beliefs, and from the category openness to change, stimulation value influence also the two components of behavioral beliefs. From the conservation category, tradition influences only one component of behavioral beliefs, while from the self-transcendence category, benevolence influences only one component of behavioral beliefs. The contribution of the study to current literature lies in the fact that it has theoretical implications in entrepreneurial literature as it explores how values, as described by Schwartz (1992, 1994, 2012), influence managerial behavioral beliefs concerning exporting activity.