Does National Distance Affect Different Industries in Different Ways? A Test of the Ghemawat CAGE Model

Purpose – This study empirically investigated whether national distances (Cultural, Administrative, Geographic and Economic distance) have different effects on industries in different ways.Design/methodology – The empirical model utilized industry level export trade data to examine the differentiated effects of each national distance. By using direct measurement and covering 75 countries, this paper analyzes the effect of distances in different industries. More specifically, this study classified the industries into a more-sensitive/less-sensitive scale. Findings – The empirical results showed the complicated impacts of national distances on trade. Trade in industries that are more sensitive to cultural and administrative distances was not decreased as greatly as trade in industries that are less sensitive to cultural and administrative distances. Also, industries that are more sensitive to geographic distance showed a stronger negative impact on trade than less sensitive industries. Lastly, economic distance decreased trade for industries that are more sensitive to economic distance, while economic distance did not significantly increase trade for industries that are less sensitive to economic distance. Originality/value – As the first study to empirically find out whether national distance has different effects on industries, this study updated the measurements of national distance