This study investigated the effect of animate managerial characteristics on the export performance of manufacturing firms. Data were collected through a survey of 60 exporting companies in Tanzania, an underdeveloped country. Data analysis involved comparing differences between low- and high-performance firms. The results were both at variance and in conformity with the existing literature. The results were at variance because none of the eight test factors reported significant association with the export performance except when the analysis was restricted to extreme groups. On the other hand, the results conformed with the extant literature because two of the three significant factors that emerged as significant during the analysis of extreme groups were consistent with the hypotheses. The third factor, although an antithesis, however, could be explained by an alternative hypothesis. The remaining five non-significant variables, though not significant, nevertheless showed trends that were in the predicted direction and hence somewhat consistent with the extant literature. The lack of significant association with performance during the analysis of the whole data may be due to the ―undeveloped‖ and ''unsettled'' industrial structure, official intervention in economic issues, and small size of the economy, all of which tend to reduce the explanatory power of conventional business theories (Lall, Khanna, & Alikhan, 1987). This suggests that animate managerial factors determining export success may be universal.

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