Market orientation, guanxi, and business performance

The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of guanxi in the relation between market orientation (MO) and business performance (financial and strategic). In this study, based on prior findings, we have proposed that an interaction between MO and business guanxi is likely to be positively related to both financial and strategic performance. The interaction between MO and political guanxi is proposed to be negatively associated with financial and strategic performance. In this study we focus on the competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination of the MO components. Our findings advance the existing guanxi and MO-performance literature by revealing that; (a) business guanxi has both positive and negative effects on business performance (financial and strategic), (b) political guanxi has both positive and negative moderation effect on financial performance and a negative influence on strategic performance, (c) the alignment of guanxi and MO can be extended to the MO competitor and interfunctional coordination components, and (d) a proper match between guanxi and the MO elements is important. The outcomes of this study have implications for marketing managers and research concerning MO, guanxi, and business performance.     

Customer reference marketing: Conceptualization,measurement and link to selling performance

The use of customer references to facilitate marketing and sales in business markets has received growing interest among practitioners and academics. The importance of references has been highlighted in a wide range of contexts, such as customer relationship management, customer value management, sales, and marketing communications. Yet knowledge about the effective application of references in business remains scant, and studies have not addressed in-depth what constitutes customer reference marketing or studied its relation to firm performance. This study contributes to this important but underdeveloped business marketing topic by 1) conceptualizing customer reference marketing based on theory and an extensive qualitative field study, 2) building a measure for the construct using survey data, and 3) demonstrating its relevance by linking the construct to firms' selling performance with additional collected data. The results broaden and specify the current understanding of how to effectively deploy references in business markets and provide evidence of the hypothesized performance, as well as contingency effects. The established conceptual foundations for the phenomenon provide substantial opportunities for practitioners and theory-testing oriented business marketing research.     

The personal touch of business relationship: A study of the determinants and impact of business friendship

Business friendship refers to the integration of “business” dealings and personal “friendship” that permeates many markets. As relationship marketing and customer relationship management become increasingly prevalent practices, business friendship as a fundamental element embedded in business relationships needs to be better understood. This paper studies how business friendship is formed and its impact on key marketing outcomes. We propose that business friendship is driven by three factors spanning business and personal domains—congeniality, rule adherence and business reputation. Our empirical analysis is based on survey and actual sales data from 263 client firms of a leading provider of business intelligence and strategic planning services. The results show the three factors contribute significantly to business friendship. We find that business friendship between the client and the supplier significantly impacts the sales to the client, and this impact is further moderated by how the two parties share responsibilities in achieving common goals. In addition, we show that business friendship induces one party to accommodate and cooperate with the other (i.e., compliance), and to engage in positive word-of-mouth. The framework and findings shed lights on how companies may influence (and be influenced by) business friendship as they increasingly emphasize long-term business relationships.     

Business relationship portfolios and subcontractors' capabilities

While research on vertical relationships has demonstrated that suppliers' capabilities can be developed via partnerships, we lack studies that relate the development of such capabilities to the management of business relationship portfolios. This paper partially fills this research gap by investigating how small to medium subcontractors (SMSs) align their customer relationship portfolios with their design and marketing capabilities.Applying one-way ANOVA to a sample of 62 subcontractors located in the mechanical industrial district of Pordenone (North East Italy), we show that the development of marketing and design capabilities affects subcontractors' business relationship portfolios. Our study suggests that SMSs strategically manage their customer relationships, moving from traditional subcontracting to a more articulated portfolio characterized by a stronger presence of partnership and market relationships. Marketing and design capabilities shape SMSs' autonomy and strategic options in choosing the appropriate combinations of different relationship types.     

Strategic marketing and business performance: A study in three European ‘engineering countries’

In spite of its relevance, the effects of strategic marketing on business performance are sparingly studied, especially in particular business contexts. We address this gap in two ways. First, we examine the influence of four key strategic marketing concepts—market orientation, innovation orientation, and two marketing capability categories (outside-in and inside-out capabilities)—on company performance. Second, these relationships are studied in three European “engineering countries:” Austria, Finland and Germany. Their relative homogeneity enables testing the generality versus context-specificity of strategic marketing's performance impact. Using SEM analysis, surprisingly weak relationships between market orientation and outside-in capabilities, and business performance are identified, as opposed to the strong role of inside-out capabilities and innovation orientation. These results can be understood through the “engineering country” characteristics. Moreover, clear differences in results are identified among these relatively homogenous countries. This is a major finding as it challenges the widely assumed generality of the strategic marketing–performance relationship. Country-specific results have also considerable managerial relevance.     

Performance implications of the buyer-supplier market orientation fit

Extant research examining the link between market orientation and performance offers few insights into how the interplay between a firm's market orientation (MO) and its key supplier's MO influences the firm's performance. Using archival and survey dyadic data from 876 firms (438 firm-supplier dyads), we explore the impact of MO fit (i.e., fit between the focal firm's MO and its supplier's MO) on the focal firm's performance (ROA). The findings indicate a direct and positive relationship between MO fit and ROA. This highlights the need for firms to focus both on their own MO and their key supplier's MO as sources of competitive advantage in today's business environment. The strength of the relationship between MO fit and ROA increases when the exchanged business volume increases between the focal firm and its supplier and when the respective relationship progresses in age. Furthermore, firms with MO fit perform best, followed by firms with higher supplier MO misfit (firm's MO is lower than its key supplier's MO), while firms with lower supplier MO misfit (firm's MO is higher than its key supplier's MO) are the laggards.     

Marketing metrics' usage: Its predictors and implications for customer relationship management

This research aims to determine the conditions that foster use of marketing metrics in customer relationship management (CRM) and identify the organizational factors that strengthen/weaken the impact of usage of marketing metrics on CRM performance. Based on the customer value-based theory of the firm and the contingency perspective, a research framework was developed to shed light on the predictor roles of customer value-based organizational culture and processes in determining usage of marketing metrics, and foster an understanding of the moderating roles of marketing-supply chain conflict, and innovative value proposition on the marketing metric-performance relationships. Empirical evidence from a sample of 209 business firms confirmed the main effect that customer value-based organizational culture and processes support a firm's use of marketing metrics that in turn enhance its CRM performance. Notable moderating effects were also identified. Although marketing-supply chain conflict weakens the impact of marketing metrics usage in achieving superior CRM performance, innovative value proposition strengthens the conversion of marketing-metric-related knowledge into superior CRM performance.     

Analyzing the Effects of Market and Resource Orientations on Innovative Outcomes in Times of Turbulence*

Innovation and new product success are often a core precursor to superior performance. Although research has examined the resource‐based view (RBV) and market orientation (MO) individually, limited research has evaluated and compared their effect on innovation and new product success in one study. Furthermore, relative to MO, comparatively less research has been conducted to evaluate the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and the RBV to examine their effects on a firm's ability to innovate and succeed. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of environmental variables (i.e., market turbulence and technological turbulence) on the relationship between two strategic orientations and performance and to extend a previous study. Specifically, it aims to evaluate whether a focus on the customer or the firm will impact innovation, product quality, new product success, financial performance, and customer value in settings of varying environmental turbulence. Data were collected from more than 200 senior executives. LISREL was applied to evaluate the relationships under examination. Interaction effects were assessed using a nested goodness‐of‐fit strategy using a multiple‐group solution. Results depicted significant relationships between organizational learning and both resource and market orientations. Significant relationships also emerged between each strategic orientation and various performance indicators. Interaction effects were observed for market turbulence on customer value and market orientation as well as for resource orientation (RO) on innovation in times of high technological turbulence. The paper concludes with a review of theoretical and managerial implications to stimulate further debate. These results suggest that managers seeking innovation and new product success cannot afford to ignore the environment and do so at their peril. The provision of customer value is essential for positive financial performance. Thus, management needs to monitor environmental contexts so that they are able to adjust their investment in market orientation and the requisite processes that enable its implementation. Conversely, the effects of RO on performance are more robust across industry conditions, presenting an alternative avenue for management to achieve market superiority. The paper concludes with a review of theoretical and managerial implications to stimulate further debate.     

The Impact of the Corporate Mind‐set on New Product Launch Strategy and Market Performance

In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in the link between new product launch strategy and market performance. So far, new product launch research has focused on this performance relationship without giving much attention to background factors that can facilitate or inhibit successful launch strategies. However, investigating such antecedents that set the framework in which different strategic launch decisions enable or prevent the market performance of new products is useful for enhancing the current state of knowledge. Drawing on the concept of a firm's orientation, the present study discusses the influence of the corporate mind‐set on new product launch strategy and market performance. It is hypothesized that the capability to successfully launch new products is based on the interplay between a firm's mind‐set (i.e., an analytical, risk‐taking, and aggressive posture) and its strategic launch decisions on setting launch objectives, selecting target markets, and positioning the new product. A research model with mediating effects is proposed, where the corporate mind‐set determines the launch strategy decisions, which in turn impact market performance. The model is tested with data on 113 industrial new products launched in business‐to‐business markets in Germany using a multiple informant approach. The results support the mediated model as the dimensions of the corporate mind‐set have a significant impact on most strategic launch decisions, which in turn significantly contribute to market performance. It is found that while an analytical posture relates to all three strategic launch decisions, risk taking and an aggressive posture have a significant impact on two, respectively one, launch strategy elements. These findings confirm the importance of investigating antecedents for a successful new product launch, as the corporate mind‐set serves as a background resource that sets the framework for successful new product launch decisions. In the final section implications for research and managerial practice as well as limitations of this research are provided.     

Effective forms of market orientation across the business cycle: A longitudinal analysis of business-to-business firms

Macroeconomic developments, such as the business cycle, have a remarkable influence on firms and their performance. In business-to-business (B-to-B) markets characterized by a strong emphasis on long-term customer relationships, market orientation (MO) provides a particularly important safeguard for firms against fluctuating market forces. Using panel data from an economic upturn and downturn, we examine the effectiveness of different forms of MO (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation, interfunctional coordination, and their combinations) on firm performance in B-to-B firms. Our findings suggest that the impact of MO increases especially during a downturn, with interfunctional coordination clearly boosting firm performance and, conversely, competitor orientation becoming even detrimental. The findings further indicate that both the role of MO and its most effective forms vary across industry sectors, MO having a particularly strong impact on performance among B-to-B service firms. The findings of our study provide guidelines for executives to better manage performance across the business cycle and tailor their investments in MO more effectively, according to the firm's specific industry sector.     

The impact of aligning business,IT, and marketing strategies on firm performance

In order to succeed in today's competitive business environment, a firm should have a clear business strategy that is supported by other organizational strategies. While prior studies argue that strategic alignment enhances firm performance, either strategic alignment including multiple factors or strategic orientation of firms has received little attention. This study, drawing on contingency theory and configuration theory, investigates the performance impact of triadic strategic alignment among business, IT, and marketing strategies while simultaneously considers strategic orientation of firms. A research model is tested through SEM and MANOVA using data collected in a questionnaire survey of 242 Yemen managers. The findings indicate that (1) triadic strategic alignment has a positive impact on firm performance and (2) there is an ideal triadic strategic alignment for prospectors and defenders. This research contributes to strategic alignment literature and managers' understanding of how to align business, IT and marketing strategies to improve firm performance.     

关系范式下市场细分的变革与关键变量

传统营销战略思想在微利时代受到了前所未有的挑战。随着世界营销研究和实践逐步从交易范式过渡到关系范式 ,市场细分理论与应用发生了变革。本文对比研究了新旧范式下市场细分的差异 ,率先建立了关系范式下市场细分的关键变量 (因变量 )体系 ,对Y .Wind的管理任务与细分标准选择模型做了修正 ,为当前国内一些重要行业开展直接营销、数据库营销、BtoB营销、顾客关系管理等实践提供有益的指导     

Managing customer share in key supplier relationships

Supply base consolidation is an important issue in many business markets. Against this background, the allocation of purchasing budgets across vendors becomes an area of vital interest to suppliers. In the present research, we argue that customer share is a key decision variable in business marketing settings and investigate how a supplier can proactively manage the share of its customer's business. We report the results of a cross-sectional study among purchasing managers in U.S. manufacturing industries. Our findings confirm the role of customer value as an antecedent to customer share in business relationships. The study further shows that customer share influences the stability of key supplier relationships. Rather than displaying a direct impact, our results suggest that trust mediates and dependence moderates the link between customer share and search for alternative suppliers. Based on these findings, we propose a framework for managing customer share in key supplier relationships. Four approaches of how industrial vendors can proactively manage customer share are discussed.     

The development and diffusion of customer relationship management (CRM) intelligence in business-to-business environments

CRM data is among the most important and comprehensive information available to management in many organizations. This is particularly the case in business-to-business marketing, where the firm's extended working relationship with its customers is frequently crucial for the maintenance of a healthy business. However, in many instances management has treated CRM data as highly specific to its client relationships and has therefore neglected to analyze this information across market segments, customer categories, and customer–firm relationship forms in order to draw meaningful conclusions for driving business decisions.     

Strategic orientations,marketing proactivity and firm market performance

Guided by strategic orientations, firms must continuously deliver superior value in order to maintain a strong position in the market over the long-term. This study explores how two prominent strategic orientations (i.e., market and technological orientations) influence a firm's marketing proactivity and performance, with marketing proactivity being the key to delivering continuously superior value. Specifically, we examine how the cultural (i.e., a proactive market orientation) and the behavioral (i.e., market pioneering) dimensions of marketing proactivity, and the interaction between them, affects a firm's market performance. A structural equation modeling analysis of survey data from 109 firms shows that a proactive market orientation and market pioneering have a significant positive impact on the sales per employee and the growth rate of a firm. Our findings suggest that market pioneering strengthens the positive relationship between proactive market orientation and sales per employee and growth rate. A firm's technological orientation is positively related to both its proactive market orientation and market pioneering. However, the responsive market orientation of a firm only has a significant positive effect on proactive market orientation, and not on market pioneering. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.     

Linking account portfolio management to customer information: Using customer satisfaction metrics for portfolio analysis

When appropriate variables are used, account portfolio analyses engender a convenient framework for the relationship composition of companies and allow management to reconsider which customers and relationship dimensions need attention. Based on an industrial company's key account relationships, the portfolio approach considered in this study employs Customer Satisfaction (CS) metrics as a portfolio dimension and suggests a new and more customer oriented approach to account portfolio analysis. Proposed portfolio matrices provide insights into the strength and stability of customer relationships. Furthermore, the matrices force managers to adopt a future perspective on customer relationships by evaluating the business potential of customers along with CS information and allow prioritization with respect to resource allocation. The study attempts to put forward customer heterogeneity in industrial markets and offers a managerial guideline embracing customer specific marketing actions. In addition, the paper proposes a new use for CS information in strategic decision making.     

市场导向的战略营销管理：一个分析的框架

相对于交易营销范式和关系营销范式来说,战略营销管理范式以市场为导向适应了全球化背景下竞争激烈的营销环境,是一次重要的范式创新。以获取关键顾客价值和营销竞争力为基础分析战略营销管理框架对于企业应对复杂的竞争环境具有深远的影响.     

Winning through innovation and marketing: Lessons from Australia and Vietnam

We examine the role of innovation and marketing, two functional capabilities that have the capacity to play a major role in creating superior marketplace performance in firms. Our study of the two capabilities and firms' marketplace performance also takes into account the contribution of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) to our focal functional capabilities and marketplace performance. The results of a study of firms in Australia and Vietnam show innovation capability, marketing capability mediate the effects of the firm's MO on its marketplace performance. The results also show that the interaction of innovation and marketing capabilities significantly influences firms' marketplace performance more than they do individually. Finally, our results show that MO partially mediates the relationship between EO and innovation and marketing capabilities.     

Stage of the organizational life cycle and competition as mediators of problem perception for small businesses

An empirical study based upon a sample of 645 small businesses assesses the relationship that life cycle stage and level of competition exhibit with the problems perceived to constrain small business strategic planning. Problems have been identified as either internal (cash flow) or external (competition); they have further been classified as either situational or core problems. Among the most prevalent problems reported by decision makers are customer contact, market knowledge, marketing planning, location, and adequacy of capital. A total of 16 problem areas were identified. Traditional wisdom offers the scenario where problems faced will vary as the organization progresses through the life cycle. Much of this research refutes conventional wisdom in that level of competition was determined to have more of an impact on problem perception.     

Interaction Orientation and Product Development Performance for Taiwanese Electronics Firms: The Mediating Role of Market‐Relating Capabilities

While academics and practitioners are increasingly aware of the value of including the customer in new product development (NPD), processes for doing so effectively remain unclear. Therefore, this study explores the process through which a firm's interaction orientation (the ability to effectively interact with customers) influences product development performance. Drawing on the resource‐based view, this study develops a research model in which two market‐relating capabilities—market‐linking and marketing capabilities—mediate the effect of interaction orientation on product development performance. The validity of this model is examined by analyzing primary data gathered from 167 Taiwanese electronics companies. The model results provide support for a process link between interaction orientation, market‐relating capabilities, and product development performance, such that a firm's capabilities enable the conversion of customer‐based resources into productive new product outcomes. More specifically, the interaction orientation–product development speed relationship is mediated by both marketing and market‐linking capabilities, while the interaction orientation–product innovativeness relationship is partially mediated by marketing capability. That is, interaction orientation has indirect effects on product innovativeness and product development speed by strengthening both marketing and market‐linking capabilities that in turn improve product development performance. In addition, the results suggest that a firm's interactive rationality moderates the relationship between interaction orientation and marketing capability. Overall, this study enhances our understanding of how firms achieve superior product development performance by developing effective customer interaction. The findings of this study provide important strategic insights into NPD.