Barriers to export: the power of organisational factors Natalia Vila Lo ´pez Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the export strategy of international business by explicitly comparing exporting firms with the non-exporting ones, given that they supposedly differ due to the presence of organizational export barriers. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a database with more than 55,000 registered enterprises from all commercial sectors to demonstrate that two strategic groups really exist: exporters and non-exporters. Findings – The findings support the existence of both groups, which differ significantly regarding three kinds of organizational factors that act as mobility barriers constraining migration of non-exporting enterprises to the exporting group: size (total sales and number of employees), antiquity and export involvement. Practical implications – The author’s results explain why non-exporters are less likely to evolve into regular exporting firms. This is an issue of paramount importance in international marketing, since the way these barriers are perceived by non-exporters often determines their future engagement and performance in international business activities. Originality/value – Firstly, the paper adds a new viewpoint in as far as both options – to export or not to export – are considered as alternative strategies, and, consequently, as alternative strategic groups. Secondly, this study adds further slant by calling upon the resources of a large database of enterprises that belongs to a particular country: Spain. Keywords Mobility barriers, Export strategy, Cross sector, Strategic groups, Internationalisation, Exports, International business Paper type Research paper Introduction Theoretical and empirical international studies inform the importance of exporting enterprises. Leonidou (1995) claims that “The most common mode of business involvement in the international marketplace is exporting, because it involves minimum business risks, requires low commitment of resources and offers high flexibility movements”. Similarly, Katsikeas (1994) explains how “At the firm level, exporting has become increasingly vital for the achievement of corporate prosperity and long-term commercial viability”. Most international studies about exporting enterprises focus on investigating which factors promote the international involvement of an organization (Tseng and Yu, 1991) or, on the contrary, which factors inhibit many manufacturers from initiating, developing or sustaining export operations (Leonidou, 1995). In this framework, this paper informs understanding four organizational factors (size, antiquity, export involvement and financial constrains) that can promote the international involvement of a firm comparing two main groups of enterprises: exporters and non-exporters. To do this, this article follows previous literature that also classifies firms considering both clusters (Cavusgil and Naor, 1987; Gripsrud, 1991; The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1056-9219.htm International Journal of Commerce and Management Vol. 23 No. 2, 2013 pp. 136-147 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1056-9219 DOI 10.1108/10569211311324920 IJCOMA 23,2 136