Performance implications of exploration and exploitation in SMEs: the mediating role of interaction orientation
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 6 May 2020
Issue publication date: 15 December 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the complex relationships between knowledge strategies (i.e. exploration and exploitation) and the performance of manufacturing SMEs by testing the mediating role of customer relationship management capabilities, which are defined as a firm’s level of interaction orientation in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a hypothetical deductive approach and using data collected from 793 French manufacturing SMEs, the measurement model and relationships among the constructs were examined with structural equation modelling, using the partial least squares approach.
Findings
The results support the expected mediating role of interaction orientation between exploitation and performance, and stress a competitive mediating role between exploration and performance. Complementary analyses demonstrate that while both exploration and exploitation are effectively antecedents of interaction orientation, which also acts as a lever to performance, they exhibit specific effects on the different dimensions of interaction orientation.
Originality/value
The results specifically highlight that interaction orientation counterbalances the negative impact of exploration on performance. Moreover, the findings underline the key role that customer interaction processes and tools play in making exploration and exploitation singularly effective. This is a real issue, as SMEs broadly tend to adopt opportunistic tools, not necessarily as part of a clearly defined strategic focus.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the Coactis (EA4161) research center and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region for the data used in this study.
Citation
Ambroise, L., Bérard, C. and Prim-Allaz, I. (2020), "Performance implications of exploration and exploitation in SMEs: the mediating role of interaction orientation", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 12, pp. 1971-1981. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-06-2019-0279
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited