Facilitating weaker firms’ market knowledge in asymmetric B2B relationship from structure, process, and strategy aspects – a case of travel industry
Journal of Knowledge Management
ISSN: 1367-3270
Article publication date: 30 March 2020
Issue publication date: 27 May 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore three critical factors, namely, specific assets investment (SAI), knowledge integration mechanism (KIM) and complementary capability (CC), the antecedents of market knowledge from on structure, process and strategy aspects. This study then tests their effects on the market knowledge-market performance linkage in an asymmetric commerce relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identified the asymmetric business-to-business (B2B) channel relationship of travel service industry. A total of 248 responses were received from the two waves of data collection and the data was analyzed by the structural equation modeling method.
Findings
Based on the managerial theory related to transaction cost, knowledge-based view and resource-dependent, SAI, KIM and CC all affect market knowledge, and had an indirect effect on market performance; market knowledge significantly and positively affects market performance.
Research limitations/implications
In addition to relationship marketing or social exchange theory, this study provides an integrated framework with different theoretical studies to supplement the explanation of relationship marketing theory in the non-significant relationship between trust and commitment and their outcomes.
Practical implications
This study provides answers for weaker firms how to enhance their market knowledge from their stronger partners.
Originality/value
No current studies have explored how service firms with weak bargaining power could enhance their market knowledge under an imbalanced B2B relationship. This supports the call for the possible factors as the key antecedents of market knowledge on the asymmetric B2B relationship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study is supported and funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 108-2628-H-227-001-MY2) to Kuan-Yuan Chen.
Citation
Chen, K.-Y. and Huan, T.-C. (2020), "Facilitating weaker firms’ market knowledge in asymmetric B2B relationship from structure, process, and strategy aspects – a case of travel industry", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 697-716. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2020-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited