Export Performance of SMEs in the Nigerian Leather Industry and the Mediating Effect of Perception of Export Difficulty

Even though a large amount of work has been carried out to research the factors that affect export performance, there is a seeming neglect of research about specific industries operating in developing countries like Nigeria. This paper presents a research into the factors that affect export performance of SMEs in the Nigerian leather industry. Based on the resource-based view, we posit that intangible resources (Knowledge, Image and marketing resources) are all positively related to firm export performance. The study also hypothesizes that perception of export difficulty mediates the relationship between intangible resources barriers and export performance. Standard survey questionnaires were used to collect data from SMEs operating in the leather industry in North-Western Nigeria and multiple regression analysis was used for hypotheses testing. Findings from the data analysis provided support for the hypothesized relationships thus suggesting support for the theoretical model of the study.