The role of entrepreneurial marketing in new technology ventures first product commercialisation

This paper sheds light on the importance of entrepreneurial marketing (EM) in the context of new technology ventures (NTVs) first product commercialisation. This study explores the role of EM expressed as the degree of complementarity between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) in driving firms’ innovation activities including competence exploration and exploitation in achieving first product performance (FPP). The results of a survey drawn from Indian NTVs identify a significant effect for the complementarity of EO–MO on exploratory and exploitative innovation activities. Furthermore, the findings indicate a positive effect of both exploratory and exploitative activities in enhancing FPP and the contingency role of marketing capabilities (MCs) in enhancing the impact of competence exploration and exploitation in first product commercialisation.     

The Influence of Alternative Marketing Styles on Internal Competences in Small Manufacturing Firms: the Results of a UK Investigation

Increasingly firms are being encouraged to move away from traditional, transactional marketing and instead adopt a relationship marketing orientation. Concurrently another emerging academic concept is entrepreneurial marketing. Interest in this latter area has, in part, been stimulated by research on marketing processes within the SME sector. It is proposed that the merger of relationship and entrepreneurial marketing might result in 4 alternative marketing styles. To determine whether these styles exist, a mail survey of 300 small UK manufacturing firms was undertaken in the summer of 1996. The survey tool used the Covin/Slevin entrepreneurial measurement scale and a new scale developed specifically to measure relationship marketing style. Competence was measured by seeking managing directors' assessment of the current capability of their firm in the areas of positioning, innovation, H.R.M., employee productivity, quality and information management. Applying ANOVA to the responses from 104 firms suggests that respondent firms can be classified into 4 different marketing styles and that an orientation towards an entrepreneurial-transactional marketing style will generate the highest overall sales growth rate. Discriminant function analysis indicates that relationship orientated firms exhibit higher competences in areas such as the management of quality and the utilisation of information to enhance decision-making. The implications of these findings in relation to the future provision of support services to smaller firms are discussed, as is the need for further research.     

A meta-analysis of the determinants of organic sales growth

We present the results of a meta-analysis on drivers of organic sales growth conducted using a Hierarchical Bayes estimation technique. Based on a comprehensive review of a diverse set of literatures on organic sales growth, we identify eleven drivers of organic sales growth performance of firms: (i) innovation, (ii) marketing orientation (iii) advertising (iv) interorganizational networks, (v) entrepreneurial orientation, (vi) management capacity, (vii) firm age, (viii) firm size, (ix) competition, (x) munificence, and (xi) dynamism. Among the variables under a manager's control, innovation, advertising, market orientation, interorganizational networks, entrepreneurial orientation and managerial capacity serve as positive drivers of organic growth. Older firms and firms operating in dynamic and competitive environments face constraints in terms of organic growth. We find that the omission of marketing variables in empirical models biases the elasticities of eight of the drivers of organic growth. Three study design characteristics impact the magnitude of elasticity of organic growth drivers: using cross-sectional data instead of panel data, using growth rates instead of absolute change as operationalization of growth and using market share instead of sales as a measure of revenues.     

The Evolution and Development of Entrepreneurial Marketing

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of entrepreneurial marketing (EM). First an historical perspective of the evolution of EM is offered and some central incidents are identified. Further, empirical indications of small and medium-sized firm marketing behavior are reported and analyzed. Some distinctive differences between EM and administrative focused marketing are identified. This paper provides future scholars with a summary of how EM has evolved into a potential new school of marketing thought and offers several issues that should stimulate future research in EM.     

Entrepreneurial marketing strategies during the growth of international new ventures originating in small and open economies

This research provides new knowledge on the development of marketing strategies in international new ventures (INVs) by applying the concept of entrepreneurial marketing to these early internationalizing firms. Using a qualitative approach, the authors identify the key dimensions of this concept in INVs, namely innovativeness and adaptation, and elaborate on both the defining elements and the development of these dimensions. They suggest that the innovativeness and adaptation of marketing strategies decrease during the global growth of INVs. Other contextual issues also underlie the development of international entrepreneurial marketing strategies; in particular, they appear to reflect the turbulence and global diversity of the environment and the market orientation of the INV. The marketing performance of INVs is determined by the fit between international entrepreneurial marketing strategies and the internal and external contingencies of the firm. Propositions for future research and managerial implications are provided.     

Evolving "New Marketing" Philosophies By Merging Existing Concepts: Application Of Process Within Small High-Technology Firms

The important role of small high-technology firms in both job creation and new innovations capable of sustaining a country's competitive advantage has understandably caused many Governments to be interested in factors influencing the market performance of these types of firm. A potential hazard with alternative emerging theories about appropriate marketing philosophies is that polarisation of opinions may cause theorists to reject alternative perspectives despite the fact that observations of "real world" marketing practice may suggest that a hybrid managerial approach is the most appropriate response to prevailing market circumstances. If one accepts this perspective, it permits merger of the transactional, relationship and entrepreneurial schools of marketing thought; thereby generating alternative approaches to marketing practice based upon (i) conservative-transactional, (ii) conservative-relationship, (iii) entrepreneurial-transactional and (iv) entrepreneurial-relationship orientations.

Research questions which arise about a hybrid concept are whether orientation might influence overall performance and the level of internal organisational competencies required of the firm in the key areas of innovation, HRM, employee productivity and decision-making. The results of a mail survey measuring revenue growth suggest that an entrepreneurial-relationship orientation will enhance overall performance of small high-technology firms. The survey also suggests that as entrepreneurial high-technology firms move closer to customers they exhibit higher competencies in areas such as HRM, employee productivity, management of quality and utilisation of information in decision-making.

It is concluded that the research has some interesting implications concerning the appropriate marketing styles available to small, high-technology firms. As entrepreneurial and relationship marketing can enhance performance, then possibly an owner/manager seeking to increase sales may be able to select a style which seem appropriate both to the degree to which customers seek closer relationships with suppliers and the vision of the firm concerning the importance of innovation as a strategy for delivering customer satisfaction. Further research is needed in order to gain additional understanding of (a) the influence of organisational competencies on overall performance and (b) whether marketing style might influence how small high-technology firms acquire the knowledge they require to improve internal operational processes.     

Firm Growth in Family Businesses—The Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Entrepreneurial Activity

Previous studies show that growth is an important goal for businesses, but little is known of how the entrepreneurial orientation–performance relationship works in family businesses and how this differs from their nonfamily peers. We examine that and how entrepreneurial activity mediates the relationship in family and nonfamily businesses. Our results on 532 firms show that family businesses benefit from innovative orientation, which is both directly and indirectly associated with firm growth via entrepreneurial activity. This association does not exist in nonfamily businesses. Furthermore, risk taking does not influence family business growth even if it does in nonfamily businesses.     

Proactiveness,legitimation via ISO certification and the growth of SMEs in China

According to the literature on entrepreneurial orientation (EO), proactive firms are more likely to achieve first-mover advantage and higher performance. The neoinstitutionalism, however, suggests that enterprises with more legitimacy will acquire more growth opportunities. Usually, the first mover might face more legitimacy obstacles. To date, there has been little research on how proactive firms cope with legitimacy constraints and achieve firm growth. Integrating the legitimacy perspective and the EO literature, this research examines the roles of ISO certification as a strategy for seeking legitimacy of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies, and the relationship between proactiveness and firm performance. In particular, it hypothesizes that ISO certification has a mediating effect on the relationship between proactiveness and firm growth. We test the hypothesis using a sample of 632 firms collected from a nationwide survey on SMEs conducted by the Chinese SME Association. The results reveal that ISO certification partially mediates the relationship between proactiveness and firm growth, suggesting that proactive firms tend to use legitimation via ISO certification to enhance firm growth. Our paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the important relationship between seeking legitimacy, entrepreneurial orientation and firm growth in SMEs in an emerging economy.     

Family firm performance: The influence of entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity

This article investigates the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity on family firm performance. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) was used to analyze empirical data for 218 Spanish family firms. Absorptive capacity positively mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family firm performance. This total mediation effect suppressed the direct effect of entrepreneurial orientation on family firm performance. A major implication of this finding is that for family firms to improve their performance through entrepreneurial orientation, absorptive capacity must act as a mediator.     

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance of Chinese High-Tech Firms： The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning and Moderating Role of Firm Life Cycle

The evidence about how entrepreneurial orientation （EO） affects firms＇ performance remains inconclusive. This study joins the research by incorporating organizational learning （OL） as a micro-macro link and by extending empirical work to the largely underexplored context of Chinese high-tech industries. Results from a survey of 252 Chinese high-tech firms demonstrate： （1） entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to firm performance; （2） organizational learning is also positively related to firm performance; （3） organizational learning partly mediates the positive impact of entrepreneurial orientation on firm performance; and （4） high-tech companies in the start-up and growth stage are likely to demonstrate stronger linkages in the EO-OL-performance relationship than in mature stage, which shows that the EO-OL-performance relationship is moderated by firms＇ life cycle.     

Learning Orientation and Performance Satisfaction as Predictors of Small Firm Innovation: The Moderating Role of Gender

Research on innovation in the context of small entrepreneurial firms is limited. Limited available studies on innovation in small firms are devoted mostly to firms operating in knowledge-intensive or technology industries and ignore the vast majority of small firms operating in traditional and less knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy. The rapid pace of technological change and the intensifying environmental turbulence in our economy influence all firms, including the majority of small firms that are perishing at a faster rate. Innovation is a key competitive tool for survival in a turbulent environment. Thus, it is important to understand factors influencing innovation in small firms. In this paper, we explore how learning orientation, a small-firm owner’s satisfaction with firm performance, and the firm owner’s gender influence innovation in small firms. We test the proposed model on a sample of small firms located in the United States of America.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and international commitment

This paper contributes to the development of the field of international corporate entrepreneurship (ICE) by examining the influences that the time lapse between foundation and first international market entry may have on the development of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Moreover, the paper highlights the existence of a positive relationship between the development of an entrepreneurial orientation and both internationalization decision and dimensions (degree, scope) in established companies. Based on a sample of 155 Spanish firms, our findings suggest that an entrepreneurial orientation positively influences a firm’s propensity to internationalize activities. The results obtained confirm the idea that fast entry into foreign markets is positively related to the development of an entrepreneurial orientation in established firms, and that firms with a marked entrepreneurial orientation have higher relative international sales and operate in a greater number of foreign countries.     

Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: The moderating role of environment and industry life cycle

The term “entrepreneurial orientation” has been used to refer to the strategy-making processes and styles of firms that engage in entrepreneurial activities. A popular model of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) suggests that there are five dimensions of EO—autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness (Lumpkin and Dess 1996). This paper reports on two of those dimensions—proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness. Proactiveness refers to how firms relate to market opportunities by seizing initiative in the marketplace; competitive aggressiveness refers to how firms react to competitive trends and demands that already exist in the marketplace. Despite these distinctions, prior research has tended to equate these two concepts and argued that they have a similar effect on firm performance. This paper investigates how these two approaches are related to each other, how they are related to performance, and how their function differs in the environments in which firms exhibit these approaches to strategy making. These distinctions are important because proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness represent distinctly different avenues to entrepreneurial success.A field study was conducted in which 124 executives from 94 firms were surveyed. These were executives from non-affiliated, non-diversified firms who were actively involved in strategic decision making at the top level of the firm. All firms reporting had at least one respondent who was an owner. Analysis of the data was conducted in two phases. In phase 1, factor analysis was used to examine the distinctions between different dimensions of EO. Proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness emerged as two separate factors indicating that these two strategy-making modes were perceived differently by the executives in the study. In the second phase, the relationship of these two dimensions to performance was analyzed in various contexts. Initial tests found that proactiveness was positively related to performance but competitive aggressiveness tended to be poorly associated with performance.Subsequent tests of the EO-performance relationship indicated that the stage of industry life cycle tended to favor one entrepreneurial orientation over another. The performance of firms in the early stages of industry development was stronger when their strategy making was proactively oriented. In contrast, a competitively aggressive frame of mind was helpful to firms in more mature stages of industry development. These findings were supported by other tests of the business environment. In dynamic environments, characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, proactive firms had higher performance relative to competitively aggressive firms. In hostile environments, where competition is intense and resources are constrained, competitively aggressive firms had stronger performance.The findings suggest that these two different approaches to entrepreneurial decision making may have different effects on firm performance. The differences were particularly apparent in the way firms relate to their external environment. Proactiveness—a response to opportunities—is an appropriate mode for firms in dynamic environments or in growth stage industries where conditions are rapidly changing and opportunities for advancement are numerous. But such environments may not favor the kind of combative posturing typical of competitive aggressiveness. Firms in hostile environments, or in mature industries where competition for customers and resources is intense, are more likely to benefit from competitive aggressiveness—a response to threats. A further implication of this research is that the dimensions of an entrepreneurial orientation, often considered to be positively related to performance under all conditions, may not always be associated with successful outcomes. This study indicates that the dimensions of EO often vary independently rather than covary, suggesting that the extent to which an entrepreneurial approach to strategy making is useful will frequently depend on the organizational or environmental conditions under which such decisions are made.     

Achieving sustained competitive advantage in retail and consumer service firms: The role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage

The vital role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage in creating sustained competitive advantage in retail and consumer service firms is increasingly acknowledged in modern markets. Using data from 246 retail and consumer service firms (hereafter R&CSFs) in Japan, this paper develops and empirically tests a framework delineating how entrepreneurial-oriented R&CSFs strategically combine existing resources while managing risks to differentiate their service portfolios to be competitive. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage influence differentiation advantage and risk management, which, in turn, is associated with creating a sustained competitive advantage (hereafter SCA). This paper adds novel insights to the dynamic capabilities view and retail and service marketing literature by identifying entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial bricolage, and risk management as dynamic capabilities, which allows R&CSFs to create service innovations in resource-constrained environments.     

The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation,Technological Capability,and Consumer Attitude on Firm Performance: A Multi‐Theory Perspective

Despite the maturing entrepreneurial orientation literature, limited advance has occurred in the theoretical aspect of entrepreneurial orientation–firm performance relationship, and wide‐ranging empirical investigations are few. The authors address these concerns by testing a comprehensive model and by extending the theoretical boundary. Specifically, drawing on dynamic capability theory, core competence perspective, and consumer theories, we argue that technological capability is central for growth and financial performance of an entrepreneurially oriented firm. We introduce a construct called consumer attitude dynamism. We reason that this variable influences the growth of entrepreneurial firms. Our theory and empirical results primarily contribute to the entrepreneurship literature.     

Understanding Market-Driving Behavior: The Role of Entrepreneurship

In recent years, the marketing literature has placed significant emphasis on market-driving and proactive market-driven behavior within firms in attempts to reconceptualize the meaning of "market orientation." For their part, market-driving firms such as Starbucks, Amazon.com, Dell, and Southwest Airlines are demonstrating how business model innovation results in sustainable advantage and superior long-term performance in a wide range of industries. In this paper, we contend that market-driving behavior is distinct from a firm's market orientation, and instead is the essence of entrepreneurial action in the Schumpeterian "creative destruction" sense. It is further argued that the firm's entrepreneurial orientation interacts with other strategic orientations, in the process determining how they are manifested and, in some cases, whether they are manifested. Furthermore, entrepreneurial orientation plays a critical role in determining transitions among various strategic orientations over time. An integrative model illustrates the dynamics of the interface between marketing and entrepreneurship from both a content and process perspective. Two case studies illustrate how trajectories can be identified in the dominant strategic orientations within companies as they evolve.     

The effects of entrepreneurial orientation and marketing information on the performance of SMEs

In this study, we investigate the effects of entrepreneurial orientation and marketing information on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. We build and test a causal model using data obtained from Singaporean entrepreneurs and find support for most of our hypotheses. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation plays an influential role on the acquisition and utilization of marketing information, and also has a direct effect on firm performance. The utilization of information regarding marketing mix decisions (particularly the Promotion and Place elements) positively affects firm performance, and it partially mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. The implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth

The Internet has been shown to facilitate elements of internationalisation such as information accumulation and network opportunities. However, there is limited understanding of how the Internet combined with marketing capabilities drives international market growth. This study, based on a sample of 224 Australian firms, develops and tests, using structural equation modelling (SEM), a conceptual model of Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth. Results indicate that firms deploying Internet marketing capabilities will benefit due to the reduction of information uncertainty and increased capacity to develop international network capabilities. Moreover, Internet marketing capabilities indirectly lead to international market growth when the firm has a high level of international strategic orientation and international network capabilities. Overall, Internet marketing capabilities enhance the firm's ability to generate other internal capabilities within the firm, which in turn have a positive impact on the international market growth of the firm.     

Influence of CEO Demography on Entrepreneurial Orientation: The Moderating Role of Competitive Intensity

Although entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as a key facilitator of a firm’s innovative behaviors, its antecedents, especially the determinant role of the business leader, have yet to be explored. Drawing on strategic leadership theory, which posits the role of CEO in determining a firm’s strategic direction, we examined the influence of CEO demography, specifically age, tenure, and education, on a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation. Based on a sample of 231 Chinese firms, we found firms with a CEO who was younger, higher educated, and with a shorter tenure on the job had a greater extent of entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, the firm’s competitive environment moderated these relationships.     

Market valuation of marketing alliances in East Asia: Korean evidence

This paper investigates firm value created by non-equity marketing alliance announcements of Korean listed firms in terms of stock price reactions to the announcements. We find evidence that on the Korean stock market, the announcements of marketing alliances produce significant positive abnormal returns, which reflect an increase in firm value, around the announcement date. This suggests that firm managers need to seek for various marketing alliances not only for an effective competition in competitive business environments but also for enhancement in shareholder wealth. The increase in firm value has inverse relationship with firm's size and growth opportunity. In particular, marketing alliances with firms based in G7-countries create greater firm value than ones with firms based in the home country. Our study provides investors, firm managers, and academics with valuable implications of an importance of marketing alliances for valuation of firms in other Asian countries as well as in Korea.