Firm Characteristics and Importing from Psychologically Distant Markets:The Case of Taiwanese Firms Importing from Europe

Abstract

本研究分析自歐洲進口與非自歐洲進口工業品廠商的差異。對台灣廠商而言，歐洲是一個心理距離較遠的地區，因此在進口行為上，與向一個心理距離較近的地區（如日本），或許不盡相同。本研究以台灣前五百大製造業為對象，這些廠商均有對外貿易經驗（不限於向歐洲進出口）。研究結果顯示，與非自歐洲進口廠商相較，自歐洲進口廠商有下列特色：公司較大；公司營業歷史較久；公司的主管對國際環境較為瞭解；國營事業的進口傾向較高；股東較不可能有外國投資人。以進口國家而言，台灣廠商較偏向經濟發展程度高的國家進口，尤其是西德（現在的德西），是台灣廠商最偏愛的進口國。本研究的另一發現是，公司大小是預測台灣廠商是否自歐進口的最佳變數。

This paper investigates the differences between Taiwanese firms which import industrial goods from psychologically distant markets, European countries, and those which do not. The sampled firms were among the largest in Taiwan and all had trading experience with other continents. The empirical findings suggest that importing firms tend to be larger than non-importers, have been in business longer, and have more knowledge of the international environment. Firms importing from Europe are more frequently owned by the government and are less likely than non-importing firms to have foreign ownership. Importers prefer to purchase industrial goods from developed European countries,especially Western Germany. Finally, the host predictor of whether a firm will import from Europe or not is its size.