The effect of differentiation competitive strategy on export performance with positional advantage

Introduction
Export is one of the most important factors in the development of the country's economy, which provides foreign exchange resources. One of the success factors in export development is the existence of suitable strategies and competitive advantages. In today's world, export development is not only limited to increasing foreign exchange income through the export of goods and services, but it plays a more important role as a growth strategy and even economic development in the world. Export prosperity in each of the above areas can contribute significantly to the sustainable growth and development of countries. Entering international markets is the process of planning and managing our exchanges across national borders to meet the goals of individuals and organizations. Domestic and foreign markets have differences, among which environmental differences in political, economic and cultural fields can be mentioned. The differences in climate, natural environment, culture, resources and technology create different production and service needs. In order to survive in international markets, companies need to have an acceptable export performance; Because a weak export performance will not only lead to the loss of market share, but in the long run it will cause the organization's resources and investments made in this field to be wasted. Competitive strategies play a vital role in successful competition in the market, because they enable companies to search for an advantageous competitive position and ensure the profitability and sustainability of business in a particular industry. Therefore, adopting competitive strategies allows these companies to increase their export performance. According to what has been said, one of the most important factors affecting the export performance of companies, which has received much attention in management and marketing research, is the competitive strategies that companies use according to the resources and facilities they have., adopt; Therefore, in this research, according to the conceptual model of the research, the following hypotheses have been developed in order to investigate the effect of differentiation competitive strategy on export performance with the mediating role of positional advantage.
Methodology
This research is practical in terms of method and nature, including descriptive-correlation research and in terms of purpose. The library method was used to collect information on the theoretical foundations and literature of the subject, and the field method with the help of a questionnaire was used to collect data. The statistical population of the research includes the experts of companies active in the field of stone industry in Lorestan province, whose size is 83 people, based on Morgan's table, 66 people were selected as the sample size, and using simple random sampling and lottery, questionnaire, among them was distributed Standard questionnaires have been used to collect information. In relation to measuring the competitive differentiation strategy variable, the questionnaire of Morgan et al. (2004) and Olaka et al. (2000) has been used. This questionnaire has 9 questions that include two marketing distinctions and product differentiation, to measure the export performance from the questionnaire of Jonathan et al. (2005) which includes 7 questions and to measure the positional advantage variable from the questionnaire of Morgan et al. It includes 7 questions and two dimensions of product and service. Structural equation modeling method and PLS software were used to check and test the model.
 Result and discussion
The results showed that differentiation strategies have a direct positive effect on export performance (regression coefficient 0.685), which leads us to conclude that stone companies by adopting a differentiation strategy based on product and service can improve their competitiveness and ability to access International markets as well as increase their export performance. Also, the results showed that the differentiation competitive strategy has a positive and significant effect on the positional advantage (regression coefficient, 0.549), the results also showed that the positional advantage has a positive and significant effect on export performance (regression coefficient, 0.742) and the positional advantage effect It has a positive mediation on competitive strategies and export performance. Therefore, companies in the stone industry that have strengthened their positional advantage as a result of differentiation strategies increase their export performance.
Conclusion
Based on the results of the research, if companies active in the field of stone industry want to achieve different and unique competitive advantages and create a strong international positional advantage, they should invest in unique resources and capabilities. According to the findings, differentiation strategies help stone companies to offer different products and services from their competitors, and they still need to invest in their positional advantages in international markets to overcome tough international competitors. Based on the results of the research, it is suggested that managers of stone industry companies should pay attention to competitive differentiation strategies on the one hand, and on the other hand, companies that have positional advantages in their fields of activity should improve their export performance in the markets(β=0/395).