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The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of the marketing strategy process in the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance in SMEs.

The partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze data from Brazilian SMEs that belong to the software sector. Innovativeness was considered as a cultural aspect of the firm, which is related to being open to new ideas. The marketing strategy process was analyzed considering its two dimensions, i.e., formulation and implementation of marketing strategies. Organizational performance included variables of market, financial and innovation performance.

The results show that innovativeness positively influences organizational performance through the marketing strategy process. Specifically, the formulation of marketing strategies mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Implementation by itself does not mediate this relationship. When considering the path formulation→implementation as mediator, the influence is positive, i.e., formulation positively influences the implementation of marketing strategies and this path mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Therefore, the mediating role is stronger when considering the formulation-implementation path than when taking into account the activities of the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies separately.

This study contributes to the literature by discussing how innovativeness influences SMEs’ performance through subsequent stages of the marketing strategy process. This is one of the first studies to consider activities in the marketing strategy process as a mediator in the innovativeness-performance relationship and explore its sequence.