The adoption of international standards and export behavior of multi-product firms: A perspective based on differentiated competitive strategies

International standards, as a foundational element for technical regulations, play a pivotal role in facilitating global trade. This study constructs a novel database to assess China's adoption of international standards and demonstrates its positive impact on the export performance of multi-product firms. The paper distinguishes firms by their competitive strategies—quality-based versus cost-based—and analyzes the differential effects of international standards adoption on their export behavior. The results show that firms with quality-based competitive strategies raise prices, expand product ranges, and reduce the share of core products in exports. In contrast, firms with cost-based competitive strategies lower prices, narrow product offerings, and focus on core products. Mechanism analysis reveals that international standards adoption positively affects multi-product firms' export behavior through quality signaling and scale effects. These findings offer new insights into the impact of international standards adoption on export behavior and underscore the importance of standard harmonization for developing countries.