Measuring Export Performance with Accounting-Based Financial Indicators: A Proposed Integrated Conceptual Model

The aim of this study is to propose an integrated measurement model based on accounting-based financial indicators, moving beyond one-dimensional approaches based solely on sales volume in measuring export performance. The study is a conceptual model development research that combines marketing and accounting literature. In this context, export performance is examined within the framework of three financial dimensions: sales-based performance, profitability-based performance, and cash flow-based performance. A composite performance index based on Z-score standardization is proposed to make indicators with different units of measurement comparable. The calculation process of the proposed model is numerically demonstrated using a hypothetical dataset. The findings reveal that evaluating export performance solely based on sales volume can be misleading, and that considering profitability and cash flow dimensions together provides a more realistic and sustainable performance assessment. The study provides a conceptual and methodological contribution to the literature by offering an interdisciplinary measurement framework that allows for the correlation of export performance with firm value.