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FOR LOVE OF MONEY OR COUNTRY? THE FILIPINO FIRMS AT THE MANILA FAME TRADE FAIR
The Philippines has been known as the Milan of Asia (Ang & Teo, 1995). This is partly due to the efforts of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry to highlight the Filipino exporters’ creativity in design in its trade fairs, including the Manila FAME Trade Fair. Filipino firms show their creativity and craftsmanship in various products such as furniture and furnishings, gifts and holiday decorations, garments and fashion accessories for export markets at the Manila FAME. As part of the national promotion efforts, Manila FAME has become a national pride because it advertises the Philippines as a design and lifestyle destination (Ang & Teo, 1995). Filipino exporters join the Manila FAME to promote this image as well as to promote their firms to various importers who attend this trade fair. To find out whether they join to promote the country’s image or to promote their firms, 130 Filipino exporters were interviewed using person-assisted questionnaires last October 17-20, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. The study also aimed to identify factors that encouraged Filipino firms to join the Manila FAME. Using factor analysis, results showed that the factors that encouraged Filipino firms to join the Manila FAME were as follows: Sales and Buyers (F1), Information-Gathering (F2), Locating Distribution Channels (F3), Company Image-Building (F4) and Country Promotion (F5). Except for Country Promotion (F5), the four factors validate Hansen’s model for measuring trade performance (Hansen, 2004). Discriminant analysis was performed to find out if there are differences among these factors. The results showed that Sales and Buyers (F1) had the strongest influence on achieving the exporters’ trade fair objective while Country Image-Building (F5) had the weakest link. This implies that firms prioritize Sales and Buyers (F1) rather than Country Image-Building (F5). Is it love of money or love for country? Although both factors would encourage firms to join the Manila FAME, love for money would exert the strongest influence over love for country. The results validate the profit-maximization theory that states that firms behave to maximize profits (Sautet, 2000).
