Factors underlying cultural and psychic distance in cross-national activities of export managers: Qualitative insights from a CEE country

In light of the currently limited understanding of the role of cultural issues that may hamper firm success in cross-border activities, particularly in the context of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, the purpose of this paper is to examine how export managers experience and perceive cross-national differences, frequently referred to as ‘psychic’ or ‘cultural distance’ in the literature. We offer empirical insights from a small and open CEE country, in which exports are recognized as a driving force for economic growth. We conducted a series of systematic in-depth interviews on the sample of Slovenian exporting companies of different sizes, industries, and experiences in cross-border activities. Based on a grounded theory approach, we identified three sets of factors underlying psychic distance and their six related components from the exporters’ perspective: cultural differences and the language (i.e., patterns of thinking, behaviours, language), perceived differences in relational business practices (i.e., relationships with business people, business practices), and differences in the macro environment.