Marginal exporters’ entrepreneurial marketing practices following a crisis: the importance of resource-leveraging behavior

Purpose This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing (EM) practices and firm performance among marginal exporters following the COVID-19 crisis, whereby the respective two-way and three-way moderation roles of competitive intensity and coopetition (collaboration with competitors as resource-leveraging behavior) are investigated. Design/methodology/approach The study was underpinned by resource-based theory (RBT) and the methods involved 20 field interviews together with statistical analysis of 306 wine producers in the United States. Findings A model was tested with three hypotheses alongside controls, where measures encapsulated both domestic and export EM practices among marginal exporters. First, the core quantitative findings supported the positive, performance-enhancing role of using EM practices to facilitate enhanced performance following the pandemic. Second, support was found regarding the positive role of competitive intensity as a two-way interaction. Third, a counterintuitive finding arose regarding the negative impact of coopetition when leveraging limited resources/capabilities as a three-way interaction. Subsequently, by revisiting the field interview data after the model testing stage, insights helped explain the core quantitative findings and especially the counterintuitive result. Originality/value Unique insights emerged concerning marginal exporters’ EM practices following a crisis after pivoted behavior took place involving an increase in online sales, including to foreign markets, compared to a prior focus on in-person localized domestic tourism activities. Illustrations featured the need to effectively manage competitive intensity; not least by leveraging stakeholders’ resources/capabilities via trustworthy and complementary collaborative relationships with rivals, while attempting to minimize potential dark-side behavior like opportunism. In fact, varying stakeholder support via coopetition was needed when targeting different markets, namely, domestic wine sales and associated tourism activities along with exports.