Investigating the export performance of commercial companies (Case study of Ardabil Province)

The last decade differs from previous decades due to globalization and business competition. In the global dimension, markets for consumer products, industrial goods and services, or resource markets such as capital, materials, and technology are highly integrated. Simultaneously, the formation of multiple trade agreements and the disposition of open trade policies between countries has led to the annulment of protectionist tools and the suppression of trade barriers. In conclusion, in practice, almost all companies, regardless of national origin, size, or type of industry, are now encountered with the fact that not participating in global and regional markets might not be a long-term choice. The present article intends to designate the determinant factors of export performance development and define the necessary solutions to increase the province's exports while at the same time specifying the position of Ardabil province industries in the country. The participants of the study comprised 110 people. About 30.5\% of the participants are active in business, 37.5\% are active in manufacturing, and 32\% are active in the industry. Furthermore, 12\% of the participants had five or fewer years of work experience, 16\% of the participants had 6 to 10 years of work experience, 33.5\% of the participants had 11 to 15 years of work experience, and 38.5\% of the participants had more than 15 years of work experience. Overall, 57 factors were extracted from the interviews with experts. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that six factors were eliminated due to low factor loading. Besides, factor analysis performed on the remaining 51 variables identified 12 factors as the main factors explaining approximately 77\% of the variability (variance) of the variables. The research results unraveled that reviewing the legal and protection system structure of the relevant agencies involved in the export and definition of commercial companies might be a suitable solution. Furthermore, the results showed that creating the culture and the maturity of using commercial companies' services aligned with risk acceptance is neglected in the export field.