The Moderating Effect of Institutional Environment on Oilseed Export Competitiveness in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Oilseeds contribute a significant amount to Sub-Saharan African countries' agricultural products, produced for oil and protein, next to cereals and pulses. The region has a comparative advantage of producing and exporting different types of oilseeds, to serve the increasing demand worldwide. However, these countries experience very low performance in the international market. As a result, it becomes an important area of concern and intervention for the policymakers in these respective countries. There have been various researches done to explore the basic causes of export inefficiencies. Some of the study findings have been complementing, while others are contrasting and many of the researches do not acknowledge the internal and external factors that determine the region's agricultural commodities export competitiveness. Considering relevant panel data in the years 1995 to 2017 and applying the fixed-effect model, the study examines the moderating effect of the institutional environment on the link between factor and demand conditions and the export competitiveness of oilseeds. The result prevails as productivity and export quantity have a significant effect on export competitiveness and the institutional environment significantly moderates their relationship. The study contributes to both theory (competitive advantage, institutional-based view theory) and practice (oilseed industry leaders and policymakers).