Firm survival through a crisis: The influence of market orientation,marketing innovation and business strategy

As an outcome of the economic crisis, the global manufacturing sector is collapsing. Focusing on Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this study investigates whether marketing innovation, defined as improvements in the marketing mix, can assist in withstanding the challenges of operating under the current economic conditions. A conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling. Three key findings are derived. First, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage. Second, marketing innovation assisted in developing and sustaining competitive advantages based on differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Third, marketing innovation capabilities improved when the examined manufacturing SMEs were competitor oriented and had good inter-functional capabilities.     

‘New order’ or business as usual: uncertainties and issues for frequency policy and WARC 79

One by one previously calm, traditional areas of telecommunications planning and policy have been upset and their landscapes changed beyond recognition by technological and social change: examples now familiar include the revolution in network planning brought about by digital and stored-program technologies, and the steady trend, most notable in the USA but increasingly visible in Europe, towards more competition, initially in such ‘peripheral’ areas as the supply of terminals and the development of private ‘affinity’ networks. At the same time international affairs have been transformed in the past twenty years by such factors as the increasing assertiveness of the developing countries, the growing importance of international cooperation and international institutions in a high-technology world economy, and the new world role of China. All these forces converge in the international process of frequency-spectrum regulation carried on through the International Telecommunication Union and due for thorough-going review at the General World Administrative Radio Conference to be held in September 1979 (WARC 79), the first such conference for twenty years.     

Foreign entry and survival: Effects of strategic choices on performance in international markets

This paper investigates effective strategies that can reduce the risk of failure in international expansion by examining the entry and survival of foreign subsidiaries in the U.S. computer and pharmaceutical industries over the 1974-89 period. Using a hazard rate model, we examine the effects of (1) diversification strategies, (2) entry strategies, and (3) organizational learning and experience on the survival probabilities of foreign subsidiaries. The results show a higher exit rate for foreign acquisitions and joint ventures than for subsidiaries established through greenfield investments. The results also indicate a higher exit rate for subsidiaries that diversify than for those that stay in the parent firm's main product areas. Finally, the results show that firms benefit from learning and experience in foreign operations, which improves the chances of success for subsequent foreign investments. These findings shed light on the dynamic process of international expansion and the evolution of the multinational corporation.     

Effect of entrepreneurial orientation,collectivistic orientation and swift Guanxi with suppliers on market performance: A study of e-commerce enterprises

This study investigates the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and swift Guanxi (three dimensions: mutual understanding, reciprocal favor and relationship harmony) on perceived value of suppliers and market performance of e-commerce enterprises, and the moderating effect of collectivistic orientation on the relationship between EO and swift Guanxi. The results obtained from a sample of 153 Chinese e-commerce enterprises using SEM-PLS analysis show that market performance of this kind of businesses is favorably influenced by their EO, but not by their swift Guanxi with suppliers. The findings confirm EO’s direct effect on swift Guanxi and its indirect effects on perceived value of suppliers, mediated through reciprocal favor and relationship harmony. In addition, the findings verify the negative moderating effect of collectivistic orientation on the EO-mutual understanding link. The study's implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Decision making for business model development: a process study of effectuation and causation in new technology-based ventures

This study investigates the decision-making logics used by new ventures to develop their business models. In particular, they focussed on the logics of effectuation and causation and how their dynamics shape the development of business models over time. They found that the effectual decision-making logic was used dominantly to generate a viable value proposition for a specific customer segment. Causal logic is then used dominantly to define the other business model components in relation to the value proposition and customer segment. When a shortage of resources emerges, causal logic is replaced by an increase in effectual decision-making again. They concluded that before investing significant resources in a business model it was crucial for firms to reduce, as far as possible, technological and market uncertainty through effectual strategies to avoid high re-configuration costs later.     

R&D investment,business performance,and moderating role of Guanxi: Evidence from China

Conventional wisdom posits that a long-term orientation with important partners such as key suppliers and clients is essential for superior performance. This study critically examines this business tenet by studying the relationship between duration of partnerships with major suppliers and clients and company performance. Based on a dataset comprising over 10,000 Chinese manufacturing firms obtained through a probability sampling procedure, results show that relationship duration with major clients not only has a direct, negative effect on total income (sales), but also has a negative moderating effect on the association between research & development (R&D) and total income. However, relationship duration with major suppliers has a positive moderating effect on the association between R&D and total profits. Furthermore, relationship with government has a positive effect on total income, and it also has a negative moderating effect on the R&D-performance chain. Managerial and research implications are also discussed.     

The evolution of base of the pyramid approaches and the role of multinational and domestic business ventures: Value-commitment and profit-making perspectives

Anchored in the current controversy around the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in promoting base of the pyramid (BoP) initiatives in developing nations, this paper analyzes the evolution and changes in BoP approaches associated with the roles of MNEs and domestic business ventures at the BoP, applying both value-commitment and profit-making theoretical lenses. Despite the practical importance of BoP initiatives and the special role assigned to the MNEs involved, the literature shows a lack of established theoretical knowledge on the topic. This paper presents a review of the existing research on management studies, industrial marketing, strategies and related disciplines, and offers three main contributions. First, it provides a categorization of the literature into four approaches to BoP: 1.0 – ‘finding fortune’ at BoP; 2.0 – ‘creating fortune’ at BoP; 3.0 – ‘sharing fortune’ with BoP; and 4.0 – ‘enabling fortune’ with BoP. Second, it analyzes each of these BoP approaches by applying value-commitment and profit-making theoretical lenses, highlighting a persistent interactive tension between these perspectives and synthesizing the results into an integrative framework. Third, it offers a comprehensive agenda for future research and elaborates on the implications for business-to-business (B2B) research.     

Optimal pricing and advertising strategy for introducing a new business product with threat of competitive entry

The problem of optimal joint pricing and advertising decision making for a new product facing potential competitive entry has received inadequate attention. We propose a model that attempts to find the optimal price-advertising frontier in the face of potential competitive entry that maximizes total discounted profits for pre- and post-entry periods. We find that a firm would charge the price that equates price elasticity to marginal revenue product of advertising (as predicted by [Dorfman, R. and Steiner, P.O. (1954), Optimal Advertising and Optimal Quality, American Economic Review, 44(5), 826-836.]) only when the potential effects of pricing and advertising on its market share are not considered. Under optimal conditions, aware that market share is subject to erosion, the firm charges a somewhat lower price than the profit maximizing price, and sets an advertisement expense that is somewhat higher than the profit-maximizing advertising level as predicted by Cournot's monopolistic setting. We illustrate the applicability of our model using business product examples taken from several industries including operating systems, software, pharmaceutical, and telephone switching. Directions for future research with implications for B2B managers (for example, the possible effects of preannouncement to forestall competitive entry) are discussed.     

Eco-innovation and business performance: the moderating effects of environmental orientation and resource commitment in green-oriented SMEs

Drawing on the eco-innovation and resource-based view, this research attempts to contribute to the eco-innovation-performance debate by examining the effects of eco-innovation on business performance. In particular, we propose that the eco-innovation–performance relationship is contingent on environmental orientation and resources commitment. The analysis of 83 green-oriented SMEs in New Zealand suggests that eco-innovation has a positive effect on business performance. More interestingly, the findings show although environmental orientation does not directly influence business performance, it enhances the positive effect of eco-innovation on business performance. The results further suggest that green-oriented firms will reap more performance benefit of eco-innovation when they commit more organizational resources.     

A dynamic model of growth phases and survival in international business-to-business new ventures: The moderating effect of decision-making logic

The growth and survival of international new ventures (INVs) has not been the subject of extensive in-depth qualitative study and our understanding of their decision-making is deficient. On the basis of empirical analyses in a small and open economy, a dynamic model was developed that explains the growth phases through which INVs pass as they mature in the high-technology business-to-business field. The model also recognizes rapid advancement, survival crises, and retrenchment. Propositions were devised regarding the impact of opportunities, resources and capabilities, entrepreneurial orientation, and learning on growth phases and survival. A novel finding is that the decision-making logic moderates the impact of these factors. These findings have important implications for industrial marketing scholars and practitioners.     

When is more better? The impact of business scale and scope on long‐term business survival,while controlling for profitability

Empirical research shows that larger businesses tend to survive longer than smaller companies. Little research, though, shows whether size confers survival advantages in addition to the survival benefits of baseline profitability. Moreover, no prior research attempts to disentangle the benefits of organizational capital that accrue from greater scale from those that arise from greater business scope. Thus, we lack a conceptual understanding of the underlying benefits of business size for long‐term survival. We expect business scale and business scope to reflect organizational capital that offers survival benefits, where we conceptualize scale in terms of annual sales revenue and scope in terms of product line breadth and sub‐sector participation within a related business context. We first argue that greater business scale and business scope each enhance long‐term survival, independent of baseline profitability, owing to greater availability of financial resources, organizational routines, and external ties. We then argue that the benefits of scale are greatest for multi‐product businesses, stemming from positive interactive effects of breadth and depth. We find support for these hypotheses with data from 618 firms that operated in the U.S. medical sector between 1978 and 1995. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of big data and social media analytics for business to business sustainability: A participatory web context

The digital transformation is an accumulation of various digital advancements, such as the transformation of the web phenomenon. The participatory web that allows for active user engagement and gather intelligence has been widely recognised as a value add tool by organisations of all shapes and sizes to improve business productivity and efficiency. However, its ability to facilitate sustainable business-to-business (B2B) activities has lacked focus in the business and management literature to date. This qualitative research is exploratory in nature and fills this gap through findings arising from interviews of managers and by developing taxonomies that highlight the capability of participatory web over passive web to enable different firms to engage in business operations. For this purpose, two important interrelated functions of business i.e. operations and marketing have been mapped against three dimensions of sustainability. Consequently, this research demonstrates the ability of big data and social media analytics within a participatory web environment to enable B2B organisations to become profitable and remain sustainable through strategic operations and marketing related business activities. The research findings will be useful for both academics and managers who are interested in understanding and further developing the business use of participatory web tools to achieve business sustainability. Hence, this may be considered as a distinct way of attaining sustainability.     

Utilization of business technologies: Managing relationship-based benefits for buying and supplying firms

There is increasing evidence to suggest that organizations often fail to fully capitalize on the purchased business technologies due to their failure to utilize the new procurement throughout their corporate system. To this end, this study sets out to identify the factors that play a tangible role in facilitating the utilization of procured business technologies. In this context, we not only examine the direct effects of technology and organizational culture on utilization, but also assess the moderating effects of user environments and supplier service orientation on these direct relationships. More importantly, we focus on the impact of utilization in creating the relationship-based benefits for both the technology user and supplier. Using data on purchase and use of customer relationship management (CRM) system, we empirically validate that the user firm's corporate culture, perceived technology attributes, environmental turbulence, and the supplying firm's service orientation are critical in increasing the utilization level of business technologies, which in turn helps to create/sustain relationship-based advantages for both parties.     

The impact of transactional and relational strategies in business markets: An agenda for inquiry

The impetus for the special issue of Industrial Marketing Management is the importance of understanding the implications of transactional and relational strategies in business-to-business contexts. The objective of the special issue is to integrate conceptual and empirical research in this area. We highlight research that extends current thinking in the area to ensure that this special issue serves an impetus for future research on this important topic.     

Performance implications of using signaling and screening for expanding interfirm business networks: Evidence from franchising

Entrepreneurial business firms such as franchisors can enhance their network performance by attracting high-quality partners and preventing low-quality partners from joining the network. We draw on agency and transaction cost theories and the substantive literature on voluntary information disclosure to develop a theoretical framework that examines the consequences of using signaling and screening mechanisms for interfirm network performance. Our model posits a complementary effect for signaling and screening because of their ability to offset the disadvantages of each other. We empirically evaluate our hypotheses through econometric analyses of a unique multi-sector panel dataset from the U.S. franchising industry. We find that ex-ante signaling and screening at the contractual relationship formation stage are complementary mechanisms that enhance network performance when they are used together. Additionally, we find that specific investments by the focal firm and by the partners positively moderate the performance impact of screening and signaling respectively. Our findings suggest that the joint use of screening and signaling and their synchronization with specific investment commitments from each side can assist an entrepreneurial business network in mitigating the double-sided adverse selection problem at the formation stage of dyadic network partnerships and enhancing network performance.     

Videotex for news and business data: Comparison of user response to two information retrieval applications

An empirical comparison of user response to two information services offered by a prototype videotex system indicated that the business (ie farm market data) service was rated as more efficient and that users browsed more in that service than in the consumer (ie news) service. Further, both efficiency ratings and amount of browsing were more strongly correlated with amount of service use, ratings of service value and ratings of dependence upon the service for the business service than for the consumer service. Browsing thus seems to be a utitarian surveillance behaviour rather than a communication play behaviour in this setting.     

Regulating audiotex: Lessons for the future development and oversight of electronic information and telecommunication services

Much can be learned from the audiotex experience regarding the future regulation of automated, recorded, live conversation and fax-based information and entertainment telecommunication services. Audiotex has raised a number of ‘carriage v content’ issues with significance for value-added multimedia services more generally. In addition, audiotex has led policy makers and practitioners alike to wrestle with the challenges posed to traditional, industry-focused regulatory regimes by the convergence of the telecommunications, broadcasting, computing and publishing industries which lies at the heart of the development of multimedia services. This paper draws heavily on events in two of the most developed domestic audiotex markets (the UK and the USA) in discussing four lessons which it is suggested both industry players and regulatory bodies take from the audiotex experience in considering the future development and oversight of electronic information and telecommunication services.     

转型期中国经济增长的产业结构和制度效应——基于一个随机前沿模型的研究

本文依据中国的市场化改革特征,将产业结构和制度引入到随机前沿生产函数的分析框架中,探讨了产业结构和制度对经济增长的影响。数理分析表明,产业结构和制度不仅对经济规模产生直接影响,而且还通过对生产要素的资源配置功能发生作用,影响其产出效率,从而对经济增长产生间接影响。实证分析显示,在改革开放的30年中,产业结构和制度对经济增长的作用具有明显的阶段演进特征。总体上,产业结构调整对经济增长的直接影响在短期和长期内均有明显作用,但是其要素配置功能则只具有短期效应,制度对经济增长的影响则不同,其对要素配置功能具有长期和短期效果,而对经济增长的直接影响则是短期的。