Which export channels provide real options to SMEs?
研究了出口渠道投资如何提供实物期权，发现高不确定性下中小企业偏好更简单的实物期权出口渠道，且企业战略灵活性负向调节不确定性对渠道选择的影响。
Real option logic helps managers create value when making decisions because it focuses on managing the uncertainty concerning potential upside benefits and downside risks of an investment. Yet there is little research looking at the real option consequences of making export channel investments. We propose that export channel investments vary in their ability to provide real options and present a novel classification of real option export channels. We suggest that when faced with high uncertainty SMEs will prefer simpler real option export channels over more complex options. We also theorize that firm-level strategic flexibility (i.e. the depth and breadth of export experience) negatively moderates the relationship between uncertainty and real option export channel choice. Based on a sample of Austrian exporting SMEs, we find some support for our propositions. Hence, we contribute to the real option and export channel literatures by providing new insights into how export channel decisions are made and how firms choose between different real option alternatives.