The Impact of Marketing Capabilities on Export Performance (The Case of Iranian Entrepreneurial Exporter Companies of Agricultural Products)

     The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of marketing capabilities on export performance of Entrepreneurial Exporter companies of Agricultural Products in Iran, directly and indirectly, with the mediating role of competitive advantages. The statistical population of this research is export companies of agriculture products in Iran, which have export performance in the past 3 years. using available rrandom sampling method, 423 questionnaires were collected. Respondents to questionnaires in companies, were executives. To test the research hypotheses and data analysis, SEM structural equation modeling and SPSS and Smart PLS software were used. The results of statistical data and structural equation modeling showed that marketing capabilities do not have a direct impact on the export performance of the company and its impact is due to the creation of competitive advantages. Marketing capabilities have a positive and significant effect on competitive advantages, and competitive advantages have a positive and significant effect on export performance. Also, a general review of the results shows that the variable of marketing capabilities, directly and indirectly through the creation of competitive advantages, explains 45% of the variations in the export performance, which indicates the importance of marketing capabilities Market sensing, Customer engaging, and Partner linking) in Achieving superior export performance. Based on the results of this research, companies should be aware of the importance of marketing research and try to keep in touch with customers and partners alike and note that connecting with customers in international markets and recording their demands and suggestions can be effective in improving the company's export performance.