How external network and innovation affect the link between export orientations and export performance?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically how the two kinds of strategic orientations including export market orientation (EMO) and technology orientation (TO) predict innovation performance (IP) and export performance (EP), by investigating the mediation effect of IP and the moderation effect of external network (EN). Design/methodology/approach The statistical population of this research is the food and agricultural products exporting firms which participated in the 26th International Agrofood Exhibition in Tehran, Iran. The sample of 296 managers filled out questionnaires using systematic random sampling methods. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings Results demonstrate that the increase of EMO and IP is related to a rise in EP. Furthermore, the research finds that IP is a partial mediator in the link between EMO and EP. Finally, the moderation impact of the external networks in an association between TO and IP is supported by the data. Originality/value This study is one of the limited number of studies to consider the mediation impact of innovation performance in the relationship between EMO and EP, and it is actually the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to investigate the moderating impact of EN in the relationship between TO and IP in the context of one developing country.