Analysing export performance in Spanish agro-food auxiliary companies: The role of eco-innovation

The main objective of this study is to contribute to the existing debate on the link between export activ-ity and eco-innovation at a microeconomic level, using Spanish agro-food auxiliary companies as case study. For that purpose, a cluster analysis has been carried out and two groups of companies have been identified, that is low and high export performance. The languages spoken in the company, export reve-nues, export experience, international promotion expenses and positioning strategies are the variables that most contribute to distinguishing these groups. The results also show that the age of the manage-ment is a key factor in being more export-oriented, as are the control of inputs through information and communication technologies, the implementation of environmental innovations, and partnerships with universities and research centres. The main contributions of this study are: firstly, to broaden the sectoral scope of the research, which was previously focused on the industrial sector; secondly, to analyse the factors that can influence strategic decision-making; finally, the results provide information of interest to companies that wish to increase their eco-innovative processes through export orientation.