REDESIGNING MARKETING RESOURCES FOR PRODUCT INNOVATIONS -– THE EVIDENCE FROM POLISH COMPANIES

Maciej Mitrega 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2016 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2016 No.7

Marketing literature have widely discussed the interplay between marketing capabilities (i.e. company resources and competences in marketing-mix area), market orientation, company innovativeness and company performance (e.g. Knight & Cavusgil, 2004; Luca & Atuahene-Gima, 2007; Moorman & Slotegraaf, 1999; Morgan, Vorhies, & Mason, 2009). However, these studies presented static view of marketing capabilities and resources which becomes less and less relevant in today uncertain market environments (Day, 2011). In this study we follow dynamic capability view (DCV) in management research (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997) and we distinguish dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC) from other dynamic capabilities, company resources and competencies (Barrales - Molina, Mart?nez - L?pez, & G?zquez - Abad, 2014; Morgan, 2012). Specifically, we conceptualize Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration (DMR) as a DMC grounded explicitly in dynamic capability view and we provide empirical test for a research model, where DMR is hypothesized as factor complementing Market Orientation and influencing on company product innovation success. Corresponding with contingency theory (Donaldson, 2001; Drazin & Van de Ven, 1985), in this study we hypothesize and test the idea that DMR is a company capability that is in a good “fit” with certain organizational and environmental factors. Morgan (2012) and Barrales - Molina, et al. (2014) have proposed dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC) aligned with concepts of “market knowledge” and “marketing resources” and they distinguish DMC from other company capabilities (e.g. manufacturing capabilities, SCM capabilities). Recent marketing literature illustrated empirically that there are actually various DMCs that the focal company may utilize to achieve competitive advantage. For example, Narver, Slater & MacLachlan (2004) focus on Proactive Market Orientation that enable dynamic sensing and satisfying unconscious consumer needs through new product development. Weerawardena, et al. (2015) tested the impact of global dynamic marketing capability and market focused learning on innovation performance and company early internationalization. In this study we focus on specific dynamic marketing capability that complements prior works in this area, namely Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration (DMR). In line with DCV we conceptualize DMR as company routines oriented at transforming market knowledge into modified and new configurations of marketing resources that are better aligned with market changes. Corresponding with prior studies on static marketing resources and capabilities (Knight & Cavusgil, 2004; Moorman & Slotegraaf, 1999; Morgan, Vorhies, & Mason, 2009), we argue that DMR utilizes such static resources dynamically by systematic enriching and combining them, and,as the consequence, the company equipped with advanced DMR can improve their alignment with the market environment. We do not assume that DMR equals strategy orientating company only at new marketing resources (e.g. utilizing new market knowledge, implementing new advertising instruments, brand repositioning, entering new market segments), but rather at improved configurations of marketing resources (e.g. combing existing resources and marketing experience with new marketing tools in effective way). Our conceptualization of DMR mirrors some real marketing practices that are observable in case of companies operating successfully in regional markets and companies operating on global scale today. The spectacular illustration of DMR is Disney corporation strategy with regard to their new product “Star Wars: the Force Awakens” that was released in December 2015. Disney have implemented very dynamic, innovative and massive approach to promotion of their new product, complementing their traditional advertising tools (e.g. TV advertisement, toys) by modern instruments, such as fan events, new computer games, cartoons and PR in social media (Bart, 2015; Schwartz, 2015). The positive influence of Market Orientation (MO) on company product innovations and company performance was widely discussed in prior studies (Atuahene-Gima, 1996; Han, Kim, & Srivastava, 1998; Hurley & Hult, 1998; Kumar, Jones, Venkatesan, & Leone, 2011). Following Narver, et al. (2004), in this study we treat MO as business’s attempt to understand and to satisfy customers’ needs. Such understanding is useful at every stage of new product development. Additionally, MO does not help the company only through positive impact on product innovativeness, but also through leveraging effectiveness of all marketing resources and instruments, because they are aligned with knowledge about customer needs. Thus, we hypothesize: H1.1: The higher Market Orientation of the company, the stronger success of its product innovations. H1.2: The higher Market Orientation of the company, the better company performance. Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration (DMR) complements company MO in attempts to improve product innovation success, because understanding and satisfying customer needs present rather static approach to marketing-market alignment. MO is not enough in today volatile markets, when company needs to constantly reconfigure marketing resources to develop and, especially commercialize, new products (Day, 2011; Barrales - Molina, et al. 2014). DMR does not only influence positively on product innovations, but it also directly influences on company performance. Systematically adjusting marketing resources to changes in market environment leverages sales of all company products, not only newly introduced ones. Therefore, we hypothesize: H2.1: The higher Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration in the company, the stronger success of its product innovations. H2.2: The higher Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration in the company, the better company performance. This research is focused on product (offering) innovations as the key innovation outcome of a firm’s marketing routines. Product innovation has been established in the management and strategy literature as an important driver of firm performance (e.g. Han et al., 1998). Thus, our hypothesis is:H3: The stronger Product Innovation Success, the better company performance. Companies do not operate in a vacuum, so this study follows contingency theory that postulates finding the “fit” between environmental contingencies and internal configurations within the company (Donaldson, 2001; Van de Ven & Drazin, 1984). So far, only a few studies applying dynamic capabilities perspective have discussed the role of contingencies which creates a research gap for our understanding of DCV (Barreto, 2010). Such research gap is even more visible with regard to our knowledge of dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC), because prior empirical studies in this area have largely ignored contingencies, except environmental uncertainty and firm age (Flatten, et al., 2015). Consequently, in this study we analyse the role of two contingency factors, namely: company size (internal configuration) and industry norms related to product customization (external configuration). Prior studies have presented blurred picture of the role of company size, because dynamic capabilities were also found effective in case of small enterprises (Døving & Gooderham, 2008; Salvato, 2003). Nevertheless, in this study we incorporate original DCV reasoning, because intuitively, in SMEs company routines may be replaced by other factors that are typical advantages of small scale enterprise. On the extreme point, in micro firms (e.g. below 10 employees), there is no need to standardize certain behaviours among employees at all, because all marketing actions, including planning, execution and control are performed usually by one person. Therefore, we hypothesize: H4.1: The Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration has stronger influence on Product Innovation Success in big and medium companies in comparison to small companies. Contingency theory suggests controlling for the effects from not only organizational features, but also environmental factors (Donaldson, 2001; Van de Ven & Drazin, 1984). We follow Lampel & Mintzberg (1996) suggestion that “…some industries favour customization and some foster standardization…” (p. 21) and we assume that all industries may be distinguished into two main categories: High customization industry vs. Low customization industry. Such distinction is based on perceived dominance of customization vs. standardization practices among competing companies and it may be treated as a proxy to the popularization of relationship marketing strategy (Gr?nroos, 1994) and service-dominant logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004) in a given industry. In industries, where high product customization function as a norm, the new product development works through collaborative efforts with customers and value co-creation (Hoyer, Chandy, Dorotic, Krafft, & Singh, 2010). Dynamic marketing capabilities oriented at marketing reconfiguration may be not effective in case of companies working in high customization industries, as close customer relationships popular in such industries demand customer trust and commitment rather than dynamic marketing, including utilizing newest marketing instruments (Mitrega & Katrichis, 2010; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, & Evans, 2006). In sum, we hypothesize: H4.2: The Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration has weaker influence on Product Innovation Success, when it is implemented in the industry that favours high product customization. We tested our hypotheses on the cross-sectional survey data based on the sample of 155 companies operating in Poland and we applied structural equation modeling(PLS-SEM) to estimate the hypothesized research model using SmartPLS 3.0 (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2013; Ringle, Wende, & Becker, 2014). As our conceptualization of DMR is grounded in the dynamic capabilities view, we searched for such scales for this construct, which would reflect actions standardized among managers and other people involved in marketing (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000; Teece, 2007). Thus, for DMR we have adapted selected scales proposed for dynamic capabilities by Pavlou & El Sawy (2011). The market orientation was measured in line with reactive market orientation (Narver, et al. 2004), product innovation success was measured according to Ritter and Gem?nden (2003) and company performance according to Reinartz et al. (2004). We applied single item measurement for our contingency factors. Specifically, company size was measured due to number of people employed in the company and industry norms with regard to product customization were measured through question: “Please specify, if your industry demands adjusting company offering to individual requirements of a given customer (e.g. detailed negotiations, product adjustments)”. After purifying measurement model through Exploratory Factor Analysis, we retained 18 items for our 4 latent constructs. The items are available by email upon request. Our measurement model received empirical support for its validity and reliability with regard to literature suggestions, i.e. AVE > 0.5; Cronbach Alpha >0.7; Alpha and Fornell-Larcker discriminant validity criterion (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2012). We conducted PLS-SEM analysis following Hair et al. (2013) suggestions. T-statistics were computed by applying a bootstrapping procedure with 5000 bootstrap samples. The detailed results of model estimation are available upon request. Path coefficients for the research model appeared to be all significant except the link between market orientation and company performance, which supports hypotheses H1.1, H2.1; H2.2 and H3, but rejects H1.2. Additionally, contingency effects were tested using Multi-Group Analysis (MGA) implemented in SmartPLS 3.0 (Ringle, et al.2014). The differences in coefficient for path DMR -> PROD. INNOV SUCCESS were found significant in sub-samples according to company size and according to customization industry norms. Specifically, in case of medium and big companies (n = 71) the influence of DMR on product innovation success was significantly stronger (b=0.59) than in case of small companies (n=84; b = 0.28). In case of companies that did not report product customization as industry norm (n=93) the influence of DMR on product innovation success was significantly stronger (b=0.46) than in case of companies that reported industry pressure on product customization (n=62; b=0.27). Thus, all hypotheses connected with contingency effects (H4.1; H4.2) received support. Our study corresponds with recent research devoted to dynamic marketing capabilities (Flatten, et al, 2015; Weerawardena, et al. 2015) and it enriches this research by looking at DMCs from a different angle. Dynamic Marketing Reconfiguration (DMR) that we focus on embraces explicitly these company routines that transform existing marketing resources into their new combinations better aligned with market changes. Thus, DMR is different to proactive market orientation (Narver, at al. 2004) as such PMO is oriented at latent customer needs, but does not assume marketing reconfiguration, e.g. in terms of utilizing new marketing tools. In contrast to Flatten et al. (2015), DMR does not focus only on dynamic pricing capabilities, but it refers to reconfiguration of all marketing resources (i.e. pricing and other marketing-mix elements as well). Our study validates and enriches study by Weerawardena, et al.(2015), where dynamic marketing capabilities were found as the leverage for innovation performance. Similarly to this recent study, our study also confirms positive influence of dynamic marketing capability on innovation performance, but study by Weerawardena et al. (2015) was limited to early internationalizing firms in US and Australia, so we provide different empirical setting for testing this influence (i.e. companies based in Poland in various stages of their internationalization). More importantly, we qualify Weerawardena et al. (2015) by combining insights from dynamic capabilities theory (Teece et al., 1997) and contingency theory (Donaldson, 2001; Van de Ven & Drazin, 1984) and we test previously neglected contingency effects, namely: company size and industry norms with regard to product customization. Our research results suggest that dynamic marketing capabilities, namely DMR, are especially important for bigger companies and for these companies that are not under pressure for strong product customization. It may mean that DMR should be not applied in case of these companies that follow relationship marketing approach (Palmatier, Scheer, Evans, & Arnold, 2008), especially these companies that operate in B2B settings. In general, our study follows recent call for better understanding of dynamic marketing capabilities through more rigorous conceptualizations and providing tests in various empirical settings (Barrales - Molina, et al, 2014).

MANAGEMENT OF INTANGIBLES: APPLICATION OF THE DYNAMIC MARKETING CAPABILITIES CONCEPT TO EXPLANATION OF UPWARD EXPANSION TREND TO “HYPER LUXURY” IN SWISS WATCHMAKING INDUSTRY

Maria Bashutkina,Fran?ois Courvoisier 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction According to the Federation of the Swiss Watchmaking Industry (FHS) in 2017, Switzerland occupies approximately 3% of the global market regarding the quantity of watches. As for value, Switzerland represents 54% of global sales that is 21 billion USD. About 95% of luxury watches with price starting from 1,000 USD are stamped Swiss Made.” Thus, the Swiss watch industry has become an integral part of the luxury universe. However, it‟s not an easy task to get a place in this luxury market of reference. According to the estimation made by the Institute of Watch Marketing, there are approximately 200 active Swiss watch brands on the market today. In order to create an uncontested market space and stand out from the competition luxury watch brands are obliged to create a new way of dealing with concurrence. The majority of brands chose the positioning at the top of a watch pyramid. First of all, it is an economic issue: according to the recent Deloitte report (2017) on watchmaking industry, the most important increase is in the category of watches belonging to the “Haute Horlogerie” segment. While other categories have been steadily losing their shares in exports for years, the high-end category of watches is growing considerably. In the last two decades, luxury brand management has attracted much interest and discussions in academic and business circles. Among the business leaders and scientists, the debates were related to the challenges and paradoxes associated with luxury branding and management that emerged as a result of the evolution of the field (Okonkwo, 2007; Kapferer, 2008 Chevalier and Mazzalovo, 2008, Dubois B., Laurent G., et Czellar S, 2001). In order to create and maintain the position of a strong luxury brand, a number of key elements have been identified as crucial and divergent within the scientific literature (Sicard, 2008; Fionda and Moore, 2008, Merle, Chandon and Roux, 2008). Vigneron and Johnson (2004) proposes key luxury dimensions that managers should establish and monitor for creating a lasting luxury brand. Nevertheless, in our opinion there are no many researches explaining hyper luxury segment growth and the upward expansion of the Swiss luxury watchmaking to the hyper luxury. To our knowledge, there is no scientifically accepted definition of the hyper luxury segment. We attempt to define hyper luxury watch brands as “Haute Horlogerie” watch brands with a unique positioning based on the personal-oriented perceptions of customers, high experiential value and proprietary manufacturing know-how, offering mainly mechanical watches in a price range starting at roughly 60„000 USD and then passing to the price categories of 100‟000-500‟000-1‟000‟000 USD for a watch. In order to shed light on upward expansion to Hyper Luxury trend in Swiss luxury watchmaking we should formulate the following research question: What kind of resources to optimize and which processes to implement in order to create resource-based competitive advantage in a highly competitive market of Swiss luxury watchmaking? Methodology To gain a deeper understanding of the upward expansion to hyper luxury in Swiss watchmaking industry we proceed to qualitative research (semi-structured interviews with 20 CEO and Marketing managers) among watchmaking companies. We specifically focused on top managers involved in the product development and decision making and management processes. The key issues addressed were: definition of the key company‟s resources, information management, market sensing, innovative approaches in management, sources of value creation for customers and differentiation strategies, managerial vision and firm-specific practices and procedures. Qualitative research methods were selected for this study with the aim to generate data rich in details and embedded in context. This study will allow us to enlarge and enrich previous theoretical findings and illustrate it with practical evidences. Conceptual framework Last decades have seen an important economic shift from manufacturing to information and knowledge-driven services. This shift has been accompanied by an increase in the importance of intangible assets and capabilities. Thus the source of competitive advantage has changed from mostly manufacturing assets to market based intangible assets and capabilities (Ramaswami et al., 2009). The resource-based theory (RBT) provides an important framework in explanation and prediction of the firm‟s competitive advantage and superior performance based on market based insights (Barney and Arikan, 2001, Vorhies and Morgan, 2005). RBT considers a company as an idiosyncratic mix of resources and capabilities that are available for application by various departments in the company and are very difficult to imitate by competitors (Teece et al., 1997). Accordiang to Barney and Hesterly (2012), sustainable competitive advantage results only if resources are simultaneously valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and exploitable by the firm‟s organization (VRIO). This VRIO framework has acknowledged that resources need to be leveraged effectively by the organization, instead of simply possessed by the firm. Even if a resource is valuable, rare, and imperfectly imitable, a firm must be “organized to exploit the full competitive potential of its resources and capabilities. According to Newbert (2008), performance improvement is not directly a function of the value or rareness of a firm‟s resource-capability combinations but rather of the advantages it creates from their exploitation. Then, through insightful theoretical development researchers have expanded the RBT into the concept of dynamic capabilities. Specifically, dynamic capabilities are defined as the ability to build, integrate, and reconfigure internal and external intangible resources to address rapidly changing environments (Winter, 2003). Teece et al (1997) and Eisenhard and Martin states that sustained competitive advantage could be based on the firm‟s renewal and reconfiguration of its resources and capabilities through dynamic capabilities. The dynamic capabilities view changes from the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991), by its attempts to the explanation of the conditions under which firms achieve competitive advantage based on their resources and capabilities (Molina et al., 2014). Furthermore, researchers have increased conceptual understanding of the role of marketing in enabling firms to create and sustain competitive advantage and superior performance (Ramaswami et al, 2009). In accordance with potential to improve business performance, some studies (Bruni and Verona, 2009), have introduced the term „Dynamic Marketing Capabilities‟ (DMCs hereafter). In fact, DMCs are specifically focused on releasing and integrating market knowledge that helps firms evolve. Developing DMCs could constitute the real basis for sustainable competitive advantage and superior performance in most competitive sectors (Molina et al, 2014). Fang and Zou (2009) define DMC as the responsiveness and efficiency of cross-functional business processes for creating and delivering customer value in response to market changes. It is this focus on customer value that distinguishes DMCs from dynamic capabilities in general. According to Bruni and Verona (2009) DMC are those capabilities aimed specifically at developing, releasing and integrating market knowledge that helps firm evolve. Main findings and analysis Analysis of semi-structured interviews with the CEO and marketing managers of the Swiss luxury watchmaking companies lead us to a number of findings concerning the role of DMC for the hyper luxury brand expansion. The exploratory study confirms many of the elements presented in the conceptual part of this article. Most of the Swiss high-end watchmaking companies are traditionally founded focusing on specific kind of watch and technological expertise in it. Often, these companies tend to develop and grow by mastering their technological competences. As it comes from our research nowadays rare are companies that uses dynamic DMC. Even if the majority of companies confirmed the importance of DMC, it is very difficult to implement it on practice due to the complexity of the numerous stages of industrial production, various operations and partners. Meanwhile, there are some companies that managed to integrate the concept of dynamic marketing capabilities and improve their performance. A deeper questioning into their management practices revealed that they are achieving these results because of the sophisticated and effective way of implementation marketing insights coming from partners and clients. These high performing companies generate growth because of their particular focus for constant improvement of their marketing activities. “The main idea is to question all the time our way of working and to elaborate more sophisticated marketing mix than most of our competitors. For us, sophistication of our watches has the same importance as sophistication of our marketing activities”. Our research pointed out that these few firms of Swiss luxury watchmaking industry, that successfully accomplish the search and gap-assessment stages concerning dynamic marketing capabilities have an advantage over rivals. The market-based identification of valuable resources and internal management of intangibles help managers recognize the need for improvement. In a case of such particular industry as Swiss watchmaking where any considerable changes are very costly and time consuming the companies that applies DMC through small steps and project-based development assure their presence and adaptability to the globalized changes of the economy. “Swiss luxury watchmaking industry strongly related to the overall economic and social changes in the world. So we need to be constantly aware and understand global trends, for example, emerging categories of customers and their expectations towards luxury products”. Thus, dynamic marketing capabilities are considered as very important value creation drivers. We identified marketing intelligence, customer relationships and professional networks as the most important elements for additional value creation. “It is clear that information is very important in order to stay “up to date” with the market. As most of decisions and processes depends on the feeling of the current situation on the market and clients, it’s very important to gather as much information as possible. There is no one source of information, but the multitude of different sources and various information as a puzzle helps to construct the right vision”. Organizational capabilities, information sharing and collaboration between various departments are directly related to new value creation. As it came from the qualitative analysis the main conditions are the “openness” of management vision and strategic flexibility of decision makers. Moreover, high-performing companies participated in our research confirmed that it is very important to adopt an entrepreneurial attitude and to implement “participative” way of collaboration. “On the initial stages of product development, all departments are invited to give their feedback on the product. We organize regularly a brainstorming in order to obtain various perspectives. Cross-functional teamwork brings more value”. Those companies who could create some sort of flexibility in organization of production find themselves mostly on the niche market of hyper-luxury with a very personalized, sometimes even “co-created” watches. In this approach, it is a client, his visions and his preferences that are incorporated into the watch through its design, configuration, functions and complications. This phenomenon also confirms the recent trends on the luxury market of ultimate personalization and unique experience creation that accompanying the product. “People who could acquire almost everything that they want are looking for new experiences. Millennials are willing to pay higher price for personalized high-end and luxury items. The watch became not only the symbol of the status of its owner, but the reflection and continuation of the personality of a client. In this case a unique watch for somebody unique is a great concept”. Managerial recommendations Our research revealed that the concept of the dynamic marketing capabilities as a part of intangible resources of the company could be very beneficial for swiss luxury watchmaking companies in the process of expansion to hyper luxury segment. Managerial contribution of this article lies in new approach illustration that could be used as a support for strategic decision-making in Swiss watch-making companies. The concept of dynamic marketing capabilities is a very complex phenomenon. As a first step for improvement it would be important to get more informed and deeply understand it. In order to create more value and better performance, it is important to deep “intuitive” way of decision making and to implement more explicitly insights coming from practice. Traditionally very segmented industry of Swiss luxury watches is on the road to changes due to radical social and economic changes around the world. Nowadays, company growth and performance requires connecting many elements across various sources of data. There are more opportunities and synergies in initial collaboration on the basic steps of the expansion to hyper luxury segment of watches then filling in the gaps that were not considered in the beginning. Feedbacks from customers and partners could be the most valuable data sources for sustainable changes and following up current trends on the market. Extensive data gathering and analysis, flexibility and learning has a direct impact to the performance. The more internal and external sources engaged into the flexible management and decision making process, the better performance and customer value it could bring. Nowadays, customer is placed in the center of the most of successful businesses. The level of understanding of the customer preferences and values turning to solid insights that could help for better and more efficient performance and decision making processes. Co-created value with customer‟s insights will help to achieve more recognition, exclusivity and appreciation from customers. Direct interactions with wealthy individuals are the main differentiators and value creation mechanisms of a hyper luxury segment of watches. There are numerous opportunities to engage customers in a dialogue instead of traditional for Swiss luxury watchmaking industry one-directional communication. Largely applied in other industries (luxury cars, yachts etc.) this approach is considered to be a niche in the luxury watchmaking. Thus, in our opinion even in the highly traditional industry as Swiss luxury watchmaking it is of great importance to understand and try to implement this dynamic approach and to adopt “Bottom up” management practices. From managerial point of view it is important to encourage curiosity, open-mindedness and cross-departmental communication of the employees. Our key managerial recommendation would be to state that in order to gain competitive advantage, information from the markets, partners and clients should be translated into actionable plans that, once applied, tend to yield concrete results. This transition from data to reconfiguration of processes represents the path that creates more value and competitive advantage in a highly competitive industry. More specifically, firms aimed to compete on the basis of the superior customer service and expansion to the “hyper luxury” sector are advised to invest into building new type of relationship and more dynamic organizational process based on the insights coming from various partners. Limitations and further research avenues The resource advantage theory was predominantly constructed on the theoretical level. In our opinion, such approach could be considered as the key drawback of scientific discourse. Recognition that science and practice produce distinct forms of knowledge has been longstanding. According to Van de Ven (2007), the gap between theory and practice may be a knowledge production problem. The aim of the current research is to suggest a vice versa point of view and to highlight empirical evidence coming from practice. The theoretical contribution of this article to the academic discussion lies in explaining the expansion to the Hyper Luxury Watchmaking Segment based on intangible assets management. We contribute to the development of RBT with its insights deriving from Swiss luxury watchmaking industry. These issues helps us to come up with managerial recommendations and thus to contribute to the advancement of the RBT. The main limitation of this research is in the nature of our research. The exploratory research helped us to identify the key elements in expansion to hyper luxury watch segment by Swiss luxury watchmaking companies. However, this does not allow us to understand the depth of this phenomenon. In order to confirm this results the more profound and focused analysis is needed. It could help to understand deeper micro-foundations of DMC. In addition to that, in our opinion a detailed case study of the firm with outstanding DMC‟s would be particularly valuable. Otherwise, to test quantitatively what are the links between various elements is also a promising avenue for this research.

THE EFFECTS OF MARKETING CAPABILITIES FIT WITH EXPORTING MARKETING STRATEGIES ON HIGH GROWTH FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE : FOCUSING ON MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KOREA

Kyong Ryul Koo,Kyung Hoon Kim,Seong-jae Moon 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.1

This study examined how fit between marketing capabilities and exporting marketing strategies affects high growth exporting manufacturing firms’ performance. The result indicates that the marketing infrastructure of high growth exporting firms affects marketing capabilities, the selection of exporting marketing strategies, and high performance. High growth exporting firms in this research belong to machinery, steel, vehicles, electronics & electricity industries. High growth firms by the OECD-Eurostat Manual on Business Demography Statistics (2007) achieve annual average sales or employment growth over twenty percent each year, during a three-year period, and to employ ten or more workers from the first observation year. High growth firms can be considered to have more appropriate marketing capabilities fit with efficient exporting marketing strategies. Barbero et al. (2011) indicated that high growth is based on market expansion and innovation, which is highly related to marketing capabilities. Vorhies & Morgan(2003) addressed that marketing organization fit with strategies affects positively marketing performance. Thus the purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between marketing infrastructure and marketing capabilities, to identify the influence of marketing infrastructure on marketing capabilities and the choice of marketing strategies, and to analyze the effect of fit between marketing capabilities and exporting marketing strategies on superior performance. The performance of high growth exporting firms can be obtained in various ways. Marketing capabilities can explain most the selection of strategy for performance (Barbero, Casillas, and Feldman 2011). Morgan, Katsikeas, and Vorhies(2012) addresses that architectural marketing capabilities influence directly export venture financial performance and that specialized marketing capabilities affect directly export venture market performance. The important role of marketing capabilities is positively associated with a more appropriate fit between identifying customers’ needs and implementing marketing strategies to achieve high performance (Barbero, Casillas, and Feldman 2011). Katsikeas et al.(2006) indicate that fit between marketing strategies and marketing infrastructure is a core factor on the performance of exporting firms. Vorhies and Morgan (2003) indicate that marketing capabilities fit with strategy is a vital engine of marketing performance. Although marketing strategy alone is not related to marketing performance (Barbero et al,2011), marketing organization fit with marketing strategy is positively related to marketing performance (Vorhies and Morgan, 2003). Katsikeas, Leonidou, Morgan(2000) analyzed export performance measures based on various primary data and indicated that the interrelation of export performance measures are considered. Vorhies and Morgan (2003) used the concept of ideal marketing organization profile and measured the relationship between fit of marketing capabilities and marketing strategies. Especially Shoham (1998) indicated that sales-related measures can be more reasonable for exporting firms at early stage, while profit-related measures can be more for export-experienced firms. These findings posit that to achieve high performance, high growth exporting firms understand the importance of fit between marketing capabilities and marketing strategies.

THE EFFECTS OF MARKETING CAPABILITIES FIT WITH EXPORTING MARKETING STRATEGIES ON HIGH GROWTH FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE: FOCUSING ON MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KOREA

Kyong Ryul Koo,Kyung Hoon Kim,Seong-jae Moon 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

This study examined how fit between marketing capabilities and exporting marketing strategies affects high growth exporting manufacturing firms’ performance. The result indicates that the marketing infrastructure of high growth exporting firms affects marketing capabilities, the selection of exporting marketing strategies, and high performance. High growth exporting firms in this research belong to machinery, steel, vehicles, electronics & electricity industries. High growth firms by the OECD-Eurostat Manual on Business Demography Statistics (2007) achieve annual average sales or employment growth over twenty percent each year, during a three-year period, and to employ ten or more workers from the first observation year. High growth firms can be considered to have more appropriate marketing capabilities fit with efficient exporting marketing strategies. Barbero et al. (2011) indicated that high growth is based on market expansion and innovation, which is highly related to marketing capabilities. Vorhies & Morgan(2003) addressed that marketing organization fit with strategies affects positively marketing performance. Thus the purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between marketing infrastructure and marketing capabilities, to identify the influence of marketing infrastructure on marketing capabilities and the choice of marketing strategies, and to analyze the effect of fit between marketing capabilities and exporting marketing strategies on superior performance. The performance of high growth exporting firms can be obtained in various ways. Marketing capabilities can explain most the selection of strategy for performance (Barbero, Casillas, and Feldman 2011). Morgan, Katsikeas, and Vorhies(2012) addresses that architectural marketing capabilities influence directly export venture financial performance and that specialized marketing capabilities affect directly export venture market performance. The important role of marketing capabilities is positively associated with a more appropriate fit between identifying customers’ needs and implementing marketing strategies to achieve high performance (Barbero, Casillas, and Feldman 2011). Katsikeas et al.(2006) indicate that fit between marketing strategies and marketing infrastructure is a core factor on the performance of exporting firms. Vorhies and Morgan (2003) indicate that marketing capabilities fit with strategy is a vital engine of marketing performance. Although marketing strategy alone is not related to marketing performance (Barbero et al,2011), marketing organization fit with marketing strategy is positively related to marketing performance (Vorhies and Morgan, 2003). Katsikeas, Leonidou, Morgan(2000) analyzed export performance measures based on various primary data and indicated that the interrelation of export performance measures are considered. Vorhies and Morgan (2003) used the concept of ideal marketing organization profile and measured the relationship between fit of marketing capabilities and marketing strategies. Especially Shoham (1998) indicated that sales-related measures can be more reasonable for exporting firms at early stage, while profit-related measures can be more for export-experienced firms. These findings posit that to achieve high performance, high growth exporting firms understand the importance of fit between marketing capabilities and marketing strategies.

기업의 마케팅 능력과 전략의 관계에 대한 연구

고인곤 한국기업경영학회 2011 기업경영연구 Vol.18 No.3

Knowledge Management(KM) intending to increase performances by means of improving knowledge productivity has gained attentions recently. KT has run In-house Online web site for Ideas Suggestion since 2010, and could save much cost because over 6,000 employees had suggested over 26,000 ideas in 2010. POSCO has run Entire Enterprise Integration System and adopted employees’knowledge to task. Companies including Samsung group and Woongin group, LG CNS have run or plan for similar web site(2011. 3. 15 Maeil Economy Daily). Therefore it is necessary to analyze firms’ competitive advantages with the viewpoint of knowledge. Especially, because capability concept is the very important competitive advantage factor, the integrated study considering both concepts(i.e. knowledge and capabilities) can show more fruitful results. However,I could not find such domestic or foreign studies so far as I know. For this reason, I intended to analyze marketing capabilities and identify the differences between strategic tendencies and performances. In this study, I analyzed marketing capabilities of companies those were listed on the Korean Securities Exchange market in the side of knowledge creation. At first, I classified marketing capabilities into three sub-constructs, marketing knowledge holding / sharing / infrastructure building and implementing capabilities. and I classified sample companies with the base of Porterʼs generic strategies and investigated the effects of marketing capabilities on firm’s performances in each strategy group. Especially this study used various performance measurements, those were effectiveness, adaptability and efficiency. This attempt can make up for the drawbacks of prior studies and increase practitional usefulness. After research, I found that there were differences among firm’s performances according to strategic tendencies. Companies which drove cost leadership strategy gained good efficiency performances and companies which drove differential strategy gained good effectiveness and adaptability performances. In the case of dual strategy, companies gained superior efficiency and effectiveness, adaptability performances to ‘stuck in the middle’ companies. I also found that the relationship between marketing capabilities and performances according to strategic tendencies, especially marketing knowledge sharing capabilities have the close relation to efficiency meanwhile marketing knowledge holding capabilities have the close relation to effectiveness and adaptiveness. These results mean that those companies which want to drive cost leadership strategy should forster marketing knowledge sharing capabilities. So they can achieve superior performance (especially efficiency). In the similar context, those companies which want to drive differential strategy should forster marketing knowledge holding capabilities. So they can achieve superior performance (especially effectiveness and adaptability). However, I found the different result against expected research hypothesis especially in dual strategy group. Maybe this results seems to be stemmed from the nature of dual strategy, exact interpretation can be made on the base of following studies. And no matter what strategy type company has, the effect of marketing knowledge holding capability on the most performances was the biggest among other marketing capabilities. Therefore, companies which have poor marketing knowledge holding capabilities should post management importance on the achievement of that capabilities. Capabilities can be achieved by the way of in-house innovation or cloning, collaboration,acquisition. This study has academic and practical implications like belows. 1) Identified the relationships between marketing capabilities and performances in the different view against prior studies. 2) Systematic study on marketing knowledge creation and multidimensional marketing capabilities. 3) Identified the relationships between marketing capab... 최근 지식생산성을 향상하여 기업의 성과를 높이려는 지식경영이 화두가 되고 있다. 따라서 기업의 경쟁우위도 지식측면에 초점을 두어 분석할 필요성이 있다. 특히 능력개념은 매우 중요한 경쟁우위 요소이므로 이들 개념을 종합적으로 고려한 연구는 더욱 유용한 결과를 보여줄 수 있다. 이러한 이유로 본 연구는 지식창출(knowledge creation) 측면에서 마케팅 능력을 분석하고, 전략적 성향과 기업성과와의 관계를 규명하고자 하였다. 구체적으로는 한국의 거래소 상장기업들의 마케팅 능력을 지식보유능력, 지식공유능력, 지식인프라 구축 및 실행능력의 세 가지 능력 유형으로 개념화한 후 Porter의 본원적 전략에 기초하여 대상 기업을 분류한 다음, 각 전략 그룹 별로 마케팅 능력이 기업의 효과성, 적응성 및효율성에 미치는 영향을 살펴보았다. 이러한 시도는 결과적으로 이론적인 측면에서 기존연구들의 단점을 보완함과 동시에 실무적인 측면에서 본 연구의 유용성을 제고할 수 있을 것이다. 연구 결과 기업의 전략적 성향에 따라 마케팅 능력과 기업성과와의 관계가 차이를 보이며, 특히 마케팅지식 공유능력은 효율성과, 마케팅 지식 보유능력은 효과성이나 적응성과 밀접한 관계가 있음을 알 수 있었다. 한편, 듀얼전략의 경우는 예상하였던 연구가설과는 다른 결과가 나타났는데, 이는 듀얼전략의 복합적인성격에 기인하는 것으로 해석된다. 또한 전략유형에 관계없이 대부분의 기업성과에 있어서 마케팅 지식 보유능력의 영향력이 가장 크게 나타나, 동 능력의 획득문제에 기업들이 관심을 가져야 함을 시사하고 있다.

THE IMPACT OF MARKET ORIENTATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN ORIENTATION ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN JAPANESE RETAILINGa

Yuji Sakagawa,Sami Kajalo,Fumikazu Morimura 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction Retail competition in Japan has become more intense because of multiple reasons. The income and population composition are changing, and many international retailers have entered the Japanese market. It is important for Japanese retailers to differentiate from competitors and maintain a competitive advantage in the long run. To do so, Japanese retailers focus on increasing customer value by controlling their value chains. Therefore, market orientation and supply chain orientation have become very important for Japanese retailers who try to expand their market shares in the Japanese retail market. This study develops and empirically tests a model of the impact of market orientation and supply chain orientation on business performance in Japanese retailing. Theoretical Development Previous literature provides evidence on the positive impact of market orientation on business performance (e.g. Cano et al., 2004; Murray et al., 2011; Morgan, 2012; Ngo & O’Cass, 2012). There are also a few studies in the context of retailing (e.g. Griffith et al., 2006; Kajalo & Lindblom, 2015; Moore & Fairhurst, 2003; Yu et al., 2014). However, only a few studies are focusing on the relationship between supply chain orientation and marketing orientation and the impact of their interplay on business performance (e.g. Martin & Grbac, 2003; Min et al., 2007). Market orientation can be seen as the foundation for customer relationship management. The effectiveness of customer relationship management depends heavily on market intelligence. To attract new customers and retain old customers firms have to satisfy not only existing needs but also latent needs. In retailing, market orientation is very important because the organization of retailing is based on the multi-unit organization where sales staff in stores is in close contact with customers and can get direct information from the customers. Supply chain orientation (SCO) is separated into two concepts: strategic supply chain orientation and structural supply chain orientation (Patel et al., 2013). Strategic SCO is defined as the supply chain directed motivation and objectives arising from executive strategic plans and decisions. Structural SCO is defined as the behaviors and actions related to supply chain management in the implementation of its strategic plan. Therefore, strategic SCO is the antecedent of structural SCO. In retailing, many retail buyers search and negotiate with the suppliers who have the ownership of strong brands and distribution networks. In the buying process, retail buyers can get market information from suppliers. Thus, a retailer can collect market information from internal and external sources. This information is useful for the retailer to not only make marketing plan but also to revise marketing plan during its implementation process. To sum up, customer relationship management and supply chain orientation have a positive impact on marketing capabilities. Similarly, marketing capabilities have a positive impact on business performance. The theoretical framework of the study is presented in Figure 1. Data and Measurement To test the framework, we conducted a mail survey (N=243) among Japanese retailers in 2017. The scales were adapted or developed from existing literature. Market orientation (MO) was based on questions adapted from Narver and Slater (1990). Strategic SCO (STRACO) and structural SCO (STRUSCO) scales were based on Patel et al. (2013). Customer relationship management (CRM) was based on Vorhies et al. (2011), marketing capabilities (MKGCAP) was based on Morgan et al. (2003) and Vorhies and Morgan (2005). Business performance was based on Hooley et al. (2005). The measurement model was assessed using Mplus 8. The measurement model specification allows each construct to covariate with all others. The fit indexes of the measurement model were satisfactory (CFI: 0.95; TLI: 0.94; RMSEA: 0.05; SRMR: 0.05). Next, we tested the reliability and validity of measurements. The convergent and discriminate validity of the latent variables were tested by confirmatory factor analysis where all constructs are correlated (Table 1). Also, we tested the common methods variance using two methods: Harman’s single factor test and the common latent method. The results of these methods suggest that common method variance is not a problem in this study. Results and Conclusions We tested the hypotheses by applying structural equation modeling (SEM) using Mplus 8. The results are presented in Figure 1. The proposed model provides a good fit to the data (χ2= 517.1, d.f.=290, p < 0.000; CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.08). In addition, we assessed the mediating role of marketing capabilities by employing a bootstrapping routine (Table 2). Figure 1 presents the results of the SEM. Most hypotheses were supported, and overall the study provides evidence of the importance of market orientation and strategic SCO on business performance. The most interesting findings are related to the role of marketing capabilities and structural SCO. First, the results show that marketing capabilities serve as a mediator between business performance and customer relationship management (H7). The main aim of CRM is to establish and keep the relationship with target customers. CRM contributes to increasing the marketing capabilities by helping retailer achieve marketing objectives more effectively and efficiently (Chang et al., 2010). Second, marketing capabilities is not a mediator between business performance and structural SCO (H8). The structural SCO has a negative direct impact on business performance, while structural SCO has a positive impact on marketing capabilities which in turn has a positive impact on business performance. Japanese retailer-supplier relationships are different from that in the western economy (Chung et al., 2006). The channel members in Japan have a long-term orientation when they establish a relationship with each other. The findings of our study reflect this cultural aspect of Japanese retailing environment. Japanese retailers purchase products and services from suppliers on long-term. Economic performance is not a single decision making criteria. Instead, relationships with suppliers who do not contribute fully to economic performance continue. The result of H8 refers to this character of Japanese retailing environment.

B2B 중소기업에게 필요한 마케팅역량에 대한 연구: 대구광역시 소재 중소기업을 대상으로

신진교,조정일,이호택 한국경영컨설팅학회 2022 경영컨설팅연구 Vol.22 No.4

This study examines the marketing capabilities required for B2B SMEs. Previous researches related to marketing capabilities have focused on the marketing capabilities that companies in the B2C industry should have. In this study, the authors are presenting the marketing capabilities for SMEs in the B2B industry. Based on the study of overseas literature related to B2B marketing and FGI results of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) representatives and management consultants, the questionnaire items on B2B marketing capabilities were determined. A survey was conducted targeting 172 B2B small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Daegu area that had previously supported from marketing support projects with the cooperation of Daegu Science and Technology Supporting Center in Daegu Technopark. As a result of the survey, it was found that the marketing capabilities required for B2B companies consisted of seven competency factors: Customer relationship management capability, brand capability, channel bonding, market orientation, new product development capability, innovation capability, and pricing capability. The causal relationship between these marketing capabilities and various corporate performance such as financial performance, non-financial performance, customer performance and technical performance was analyzed, and academic and policy implications of the study were presented based on this analysis. In the last part, the limitations of this study and future research directions are presented.

중소제조 수출기업의 기업가정신이 수출성과에 미치는 영향: 제품차별화 역량과 해외마케팅 역량의 매개효과를 중심으로

김영수,이남민 한국경영교육학회 2017 경영교육연구 Vol.32 No.4

[Purpose]This study develops a comprehensive model of entrepreneurship and export performance of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises including the mediating effects of product differentiation capabilities and marketing differentiation capabilities. [Methodology]The sample consisted of 195 Korean manufacturing SMEs. Data was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS tools to empirically examine the impact of entrepreneurship on product differentiation capabilities and overseas marketing capabilities. Also, this study focuses on how product differentiation capabilities and overseas marketing capabilities mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship and export performance. [Findings]Results confirm that entrepreneurial innovativeness has a significant impact on product differentiation capabilities. Second, entrepreneurial pro-activeness is significantly related to overseas marketing capabilities. Third, overseas marketing capabilities and product differentiation capabilities mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship and export performance. Lastly, product differentiation capabilities have a significant impact on overseas marketing capabilities. [Implications]This study indicates that firms need to foster not only product differentiation capabilities but also overseas marketing capabilities to build sustainable capabilities. This study integrates entrepreneurship, product differentiation capabilities, overseas marketing capabilities, and export performance in a comprehensive model that can be used to develop competitive advantages in today’s fast-changing global economy. [연구목적]본 연구는 우리나라 중소제조 수출기업의 성과결정요인을 기업가정신과 제품차별화 역량의 한정된 분석 틀에서 해외마케팅 역량이라는 선행요인을 고려하여 보다 통합적 모형으로 구축하여 그 관계를 알아보고 이해의 폭을 넓히고자 확인 하였다. [연구방법]이에 우리나라 중소제조수출기업 195개 회사를 표본으로 SPSS와 AMOS 분석을 이용 도구로 사용하였다. 기업가정신이 제품차별화 역량과 해외마케팅 역량에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 또한 제품차별화 역량과 해외마케팅 역량은 기업가정신과 수출성과간의 관계를 매개하는지에 대하여 실증분석을 하였다. [연구결과]첫째, 기업가정신의 혁신성은 제품차별화 역량에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 기업가정신의 진취성은 해외마케팅 역량에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 두 가지 역량은 기업가정신과 수출성과 간에 매개효과가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 제품차별화 역량은 해외마케팅 역량에 유의한 영향이 있다. [연구의 시사점]중소제조 수출기업의 성과를 지속적으로 창출하고 성장하기 위해 제품차별화 역량만큼 해외마케팅 역량의 중요성을 강조한다. 특히 급변하는 글로벌 시장 환경의 신속한 대응과 차별적 경쟁우위의 역량 확보는 기업가정신, 제품차별화 역량, 해외마케팅 역량, 수출성과간의 관계 연구로 학문적․실무적 합의를 제공한다.

A STUDY OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, MARKETING CAPABILITY, AND FIRM VALUE

Woo Li Ko,Sang Yong Kim,Jong-Ho Lee 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

The purpose of this study is to assess the role of marketing to the area of strategic alliances. We suggest that marketing capability – the ability to deploy resources to serve customers better- is a key determinant that facilitates value creation in strategic alliances. Specifically, we investigate the interaction effects of marketing capability on performance of strategic alliance experience and types of strategic alliances (introducing three types: SI-SF alliance, AI-SF alliance and AI-DF alliance), and whether these interaction effects are moderated by high vs. low technological industry. This study analyzed the panel data from 39 international firms and their 2,158 alliances during the period 1994 - 2014, 21 firms from computer industry (high-tech industry) and 18 firms from food industry (low-tech industry), respectively. The results indicate that the contribution of marketing capability on the relationships between alliance experience, types of strategic alliances and firm value varies with environmental contexts. First, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the effect of strategic alliance experience on firm value is greater than those of firms with low marketing capability. Also, the strength of its interaction effect is lower in high-tech industry than low-tech industry. Second, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the effects of three different types of strategic alliances on firm value are greater than those of firms with low marketing capability. However, their interaction effects to firm value were significant only in high-tech industry. Specifically, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the stock market reacts most favorably to the AI-DF alliance than those of SI-SF alliance and AI-SF alliance in high-tech industry. In contrast, even a firm has strong marketing capability, the stock market reacts favorably only to AI-SF alliance in low-tech industry. In sum, our research suggests that the interactive performance impact of marketing capability to the strategic alliance experience and the types of strategic alliances can be obtained in particular environmental contexts.

Influence of market orientation and e-marketing capability on marketing performance in Chinese SMEs

Jiatong Yu,Sungbae Kang,Taesoo Moon 한국인터넷전자상거래학회 2019 인터넷전자상거래연구 Vol.19 No.5

According to rapid development of science and technology, firm’s e-marketing is recognizing as an important part of modern economy. Firms use more actively science and technology to carry out marketing activities and enhance the core competitiveness of firms. Previous researchers have studied the relationship between firm’s market orientation and marketing performance, but have not discussed in detail whether market orientation can improve marketing performance through e-marketing capability. Based on the theory of dynamic capability, this study try to analyze the relationship between market orientation and marketing performance through the firm’s e-marketing capability. We divide e-marketing capability into sensing, planning and responding, and prove empirically that firm can improve their marketing performance through e-marketing capability. Improving firm’s e-marketing capability has important implications for sustainable growth of the firm. So business managers must recognize that e-marketing capability has become one of their core capabilities to build competitive advantage of the firms. This study contributes to provide an empirical evidence how to cultivate the e-marketing capability of companies as the primary task faced by managers, and also contributes to companies how to use information technology to develop e-marketing capability for improving marketing performance.