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Most prior research on barriers to exporting has been descriptive. The perceived importance to firms of numerous barriers has been documented in various countries and regions. Perceptions of barriers are important because they influence managerial behavior in international markets. Surprisingly, researchers have mostly ignored the firm and decision making characteristics that give rise to barriers. Why do some firms perceive barriers to be more important than other firms? Or, why do some firms perceive a given barrier as more important than it is for another company? The research reported here examines the role of cultural distance and managerial decision-making style as explanatory variables. The data indicate that both play a role in predicting the perceived importance of export barriers to exporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]