Innovation, Internationalization, Value Chain Position, and Export Orientation in the Petroleum Subsea Industry

We study possible drivers for export orientation in the petroleum maritime subsea industry in the Hordaland region of Western Norway. Consistent with previous research, survey data reveal that product innovation and a majority of international ownership increase the export rate. The use of instrumental variables indicates that both product innovation and international ownership are causes – and not effects – of an export orientation. our data furthermore show that subcontractors have a lower rate of direct export than system providers. However, international ownership in particular boosts subcontractors’ export rate, probably by decreasing their market dependency on regional system providers. We address the findings’ implications for channel management.