International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences September 2012, Vol. 1, No. 5 ISSN: 2226-3624 235 www.hrmars.com Tangible Resources and Export Performance of SMEs in the Nigerian Leather Industry: The Moderating Role of Firm Size Abubakar Sambo Junaidu Graduate School Of Management, University Putra Malaysia Email Gidadawa56@Yahoo.Co.Uk Assoc Prof Mohani B Abdul Faculty Of Economics And Management University Putra Malaysia Prof Dr Zainal Abidin Mohamed Universiti Sains Islam Malysia(Usim) Prof Dr Murali Sambasivan Universiti Malaysia Kelantan( Umk) Abstract Despite the large amount of research that has been carried out to investigate the factors that affect export performance, very little research has been conducted for specific industries operating in developing countries like Nigeria. This present study therefore, is an investigation of the factors that affect export performance of SMEs in the Nigerian leather industry. Based on the resource-based view, this study posits that tangible resources (financial, operational, communication and human) are all strongly related to firm export performance. The study also hypothesizes that firm size moderates the relationship between tangible resources barriers and export performance. Standard survey questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents 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. Keywords: Export performance, export barriers, tangible resources, firm size Introduction A significant proportion of businesses within any nation are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the important role they play in domestic development (Leonidou, 2004) as well as in international markets is well recognized (Okpara, 2009; Ibeh, 2004). Some of the benefits generated by SMEs include jobs and wealth creation and serving as an engine of growth for