Search results

1 – 10 of 19
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Rodrigo Guesalaga, Jose L. Ruiz-Alba and Pablo J. López-Tenorio

The purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers of business-to-business (B2B) sales success and the role of digitalization, in a selling and sales management landscape…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the drivers of business-to-business (B2B) sales success and the role of digitalization, in a selling and sales management landscape being disrupted by COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology follows a discovery-oriented grounded theory approach, which consists of a two-stage qualitative study with sales professionals in Chile, and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

Findings

This research shows that interfunctional coordination, agility in the selling process and business customer engagement are critical determinants of B2B sales success, whereas digitalization moderates these relationships.

Originality/value

This research responds to a call for more research on the impact of digitalization on business relationships in different contexts and perspectives. The authors study the Chilean context, through a two-stage qualitative study, and a fsQCA analysis, which constitutes a novel combination in this stream of research.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2022

Hyojin Kim and Daesik Hur

This study focuses on how a small and medium-sized enterprise's (SME's) main strategic orientation can affect SMEs' approach to innovation. The authors aim to answer the following…

Abstract

Purpose

This study focuses on how a small and medium-sized enterprise's (SME's) main strategic orientation can affect SMEs' approach to innovation. The authors aim to answer the following simple yet important questions: how do SMEs with market orientation (MO) and those with entrepreneurial orientation (EO) differ in terms of innovation performance? Do MO and EO have conflicting effects on the process of innovation at SMEs? If so, how does this conflict affect the innovation performance of SMEs?

Design/methodology/approach

This study explores the effects of MO and EO on different types of technological innovation among SMEs using data collected from 124 INNOBIZ-certified manufacturing SMEs in South Korea. Logistic regression analysis and moderated regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical results demonstrate that MO and EO engender different kinds of technological innovations. MO stimulates “new-to-the-firm” product innovation, while EO drives “new-to-the-industry” innovation in processes and products. Furthermore, SMEs' overall innovation performance will suffer from the conflicting interplay between MO and EO.

Originality/value

The findings of this study encourage SMEs to concentrate SMEs' resources and learning efforts on one specific innovation orientation and only then to develop SMEs' ambidextrous managerial capabilities. This study offers academic contributions in that the study overcomes the limitations of past studies on the strategic orientation of SMEs by empirically confirming the dilemmas faced by SMEs and expands the theoretical understanding of the relationship between MO and EO.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Allam Abu Farha, Said Elbanna, Osama Sam Al-kwifi and Satoko Uenishi

This study seeks to investigate how managerial assumptions shape international market orientation (IMO) and how IMO, in turn, affects the performance of small and medium-sized…

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to investigate how managerial assumptions shape international market orientation (IMO) and how IMO, in turn, affects the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), drawing from cognitive theory and the resource-based view (RBV) to provide the theoretical framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The study focuses on the relatively unexplored domain of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan. A survey was developed and tested using data from 303 Japanese SMEs. The study model was subsequently analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique.

Findings

The study reveals a nuanced relationship between managerial frames of reference (FoRs) and IMOs. The results confirmed notable congruence between interfunctional market orientation and managers who exhibit a political FoR. They also revealed a positive correlation between professional FoR managers and customer market orientation. Additionally, the findings showed that entrepreneurial FoR managers displayed a significant association with competitive market orientation and Bureaucratic FoR matched with the three types of IMO. Finally, the results indicate that all three forms of IMO have a substantial impact on performance, albeit to varying degrees.

Research limitations/implications

The applicability of our results to multinational corporations (MNCs) has not been evaluated. Since the primary focus was to identify the types of associations among FoR and IMO, the causal pathways and explanatory factors that underpinned these observed relationships were not examined in this study. Additionally, due to the geographical concentration of our sample in Japan, we were unable to conduct tests on the suggested model in other countries to validate and potentially generalize the research findings.

Practical implications

By developing an implicit understanding of the market orientation fit within the organization’s FoR, managers can enhance their understanding of competitors' activities and enable them to respond with greater efficiency.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the rare papers that inspect the relationship between International market orientations and managerial assumptions as well as their effect on performance.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2023

Yue Zhang, Shanshan Wang, Tayyaba Akram and Yuxiang Hong

The purpose of this paper is to explore how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China leverage their strengths to engage stakeholders in knowledge co-creation processes…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China leverage their strengths to engage stakeholders in knowledge co-creation processes and get mutual benefit via knowledge-based view (KBV).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on KBV, the authors conduct a multiple-case study of five SMEs in China to embrace the knowledge co-creation practice using semi-structured interview, organizational documents and onsite observation.

Findings

This study highlights how SMEs leverage their strengths to engage stakeholder to co-create knowledge and practice for the better capturing and utilization of external and internal knowledge. The authors identify three processes of knowledge co-creation for SMEs based on knowledge sharing, knowledge integration and knowledge application in the B2B context. This study finds that SMEs engage their stakeholders in knowledge sharing by building and maintaining trust. The knowledge integration process was driven by the owner’s openness. Mutual learning facilitates the knowledge application process of SMEs.

Research limitations/implications

This study relies on a limited number of case studies and considers only firms’ perspective to analyze the SMEs co-create knowledge with their stakeholders. Further studies could examine the challenge of knowledge co-creation in multiple stakeholders’ relationships in B2B contexts, i.e. in relation to product and service innovation with complexity and uncertainly.

Practical implications

Managers need to make choices when designing knowledge co-creation process in collaborative product development activities. The use of online and offline approaches can help balance requirements in terms of joint problem-solving across firms, the efficiency of knowledge co-creation and effective of knowledge leakage.

Originality/value

The conceptualization of knowledge co-creation as knowledge sharing and knowledge integration and knowledge application extends existing perspective on knowledge co-creation as either a transfer of knowledge or as revealing the novel situation of pertinent knowledge with entirely assimilate it. The findings point to the complexity of knowledge co-creation as a process influenced by stakeholder engagement, perspectives on knowledge, trust of multiple stakeholders, openness of firm boundaries and mutual learning of SMEs with their stakeholders.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2023

Grant Alexander Wilson, Gabriel Millard and Cameron Hills

The paper offers clarity to the market orientation (MO) and performance relationship in real estate by examining the limited relevant literature, presenting international results…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper offers clarity to the market orientation (MO) and performance relationship in real estate by examining the limited relevant literature, presenting international results and discussing the implications for market orientation researchers and real estate practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a survey of 1,251 individual renters in the USA, the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, this study examines the relationship between residential property managers’ MO and performance. It extends MO research in real estate by focusing on property management as opposed to property development.

Findings

The results show that MO and performance are correlated in all three countries. Commitments to understanding and serving customers and differentiating from competitors are shown to enhance performance measures including residential tenants’ loyalty toward the property manager, trust in the property manager, pride in rental accommodation and commitment to paying rent on time.

Originality/value

This study is one of the largest MO studies in real estate in terms of sample size and offers a unique international perspective. The research is novel as MO is evaluated by tenants as opposed to self-assessed by firms. The paper offers a new measure of property manager performance and provides strategic directives for real estate professionals seeking to enhance competitiveness.

Details

Property Management, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Business-to-business (B2B) firms aiming to increase sales success in a challenging environment should focus on enhancing coordination between different functions, increasing agility during the selling process and boosting engagement levels with customers. It is also important to be mindful of how digitalization can moderate the impact of these factors on B2B sales success.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2023

Korhan Arun and Saniye Yildirim Ozmutlu

Customer orientation (CO) means meeting customers’ needs better than competitors. Competitor orientation means using and acting upon the knowledge of competitors. Thus, the main…

Abstract

Purpose

Customer orientation (CO) means meeting customers’ needs better than competitors. Competitor orientation means using and acting upon the knowledge of competitors. Thus, the main aim of this study is to analyze the effects of environmental competitiveness on export performance by examining the moderating roles of these variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data from 5,000 firms from a survey run in 2021 in Turkey facilitated by the Chamber of Commerce, the authors tested their hypotheses using partial least squares structural equation modeling and correlation analysis.

Findings

The results show that competitor orientation positively affects the relationship between a competitive environment and export performance. However, the authors do not find evidence of a significant effect on CO.

Practical implications

Service sector managers should sacrifice customers to gain export market share in favor of superiority with competitors.

Originality/value

Prior research has yet to emphasize the importance of competition intensity in export performance for service-logistics firms. However, the environmental competitiveness–performance relationship is better explained with the help of these test results and the two additional moderators suggested in this work. Moreover, the export performance indicators were gathered from an independent source.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2022

Martha Lucia Cruz Rincon, Martha Lucia Agredo Diaz and Raquel Castro Puente

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the multiple mediation role of both market orientation (MO) and marketing capabilities (MC) in the relationship between entrepreneurial…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the multiple mediation role of both market orientation (MO) and marketing capabilities (MC) in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance (OP), given that the results of previous studies are not conclusive. Consequently, this relationship can be more complex than a direct relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Using structural equation models, the proposed conceptual model is tested with data from 154 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the low-tech manufacturing sector of an emerging Latin American country. Data analysis was performed using structural equations.

Findings

The results confirm that the relationship between EO and OP is not significant. Likewise, the roles of individual and sequential mediation of MO and MC in the relationship between EO and OP are confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional nature of the study. A longitudinal study could provide additional insights regarding the relationships among these variables and their effect on performance.

Practical implications

Guidelines help businesses in emerging markets to consider the importance of developing entrepreneurs’ MC and MO to optimize the impact of EO on OP.

Social implications

Guidelines help public policymakers in emerging markets to consider the importance of developing entrepreneurs’ MC and MO to optimize the impact of EO on OP.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to understanding the complex relationship between EO and OP, which remains relatively underexplored in SMEs in developing countries (Buli, 2017), by analyzing the key role of OM and MC in a multiple mediation model not considered in previous empirical evidence.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 15 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 October 2023

Jose L. Ruiz-Alba, Anabela Soares and Miguel Angel Rodríguez-Molina

Supply chain collaboration (SCC) is an important element that contributes to enhanced performance. Nonetheless, there is still a need to understand its role in servitization…

Abstract

Purpose

Supply chain collaboration (SCC) is an important element that contributes to enhanced performance. Nonetheless, there is still a need to understand its role in servitization implementation and outcomes. This study aims to address this gap by looking at the impact of SCC on servitization and performance when considering service levels (base, intermediate and advanced).

Design/methodology/approach

Following a quantitative research design, data were collected from firms in pharmaceutical sector.

Findings

Moderation effects were tested. Results suggest that SCC is a crucial moderator when it comes to the influence of service levels on servitization consequences and performance, particularly to advanced and intermediate services.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by providing further empirical evidence of the impact of intermediate and advanced services shedding light into the moderating role of SCC.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2022

Paritosh Pramanik and Rabin K. Jana

This paper aims to discuss the suitability of topic modeling as a review method, identifies and compares the machine learning (ML) research trends in five primary business…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the suitability of topic modeling as a review method, identifies and compares the machine learning (ML) research trends in five primary business organization verticals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a review framework of published research about adopting ML techniques in a business organization context. It identifies research trends and issues using topic modeling through the Latent Dirichlet allocation technique in conjunction with other text analysis techniques in five primary business verticals – human resources (HR), marketing, operations, strategy and finance.

Findings

The results identify that the ML adoption is maximum in the marketing domain and minimum in the HR domain. The operations domain witnesses the application of ML to the maximum number of distinct research areas. The results also help to identify the potential areas of ML applications in future.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the existing literature by finding trends of ML applications in the business domain through the review of published research. Although there is a growth of research publications in ML in the business domain, literature review papers are scarce. Therefore, the endeavor of this study is to do a thorough review of the current status of ML applications in business by analyzing research articles published in the past ten years in various journals.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

1 – 10 of 19