Firm Size and Export Intensity: Solving an Empirical Puzzle

This paper presents a transaction costs analysis of the firm size and export intensity relationship. We submit that relation-specific investments and the costs of safeguarding these investments play a significant role in export relationships. Firm size related differences with respect to these factors are used to explain the different relationships between firm size and export intensity that have been found in previous studies. The theoretical framework is tested empirically, and support is found for different industries.© 2002 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (2002) 33, 603–613