Canadian executives' perceptions of the U.S. and Canadian free-trade agreement and their potential effects on decision-making

This study analyzes executives' perceptions of free trade negotiations and the potential effects of these perceptions on strategy. Top executives in 300 major Canadian industrial firms were surveyed to test two propositions. They are: (1) Executives tend to perceive that free trade would lead to market expansion which, in turn, would increase trade, production, and investment efficiencies and (2) Decisions in business strategy formulation and implementation may be influenced by the perceptions of the trade policy.The propositions were tested with the following results. Support for proposition one is mixed. Support for proposition two, however, is for the most part predominant.