Anatomy of competitive advantage: towards a contingency theory of entrepreneurial marketing

Entrepreneurial marketing (EM), born out of the practice of firms operating in conditions of uncertainty, is emerging as a powerful alternative to cope with the decreasing effectiveness associated with traditional marketing. In this article, the authors provide their collective position regarding the field of EM. A brief history and conceptual background of EM is presented and the contextual differences that have shaped its evolution are considered. Distinctions between traditional and EM are derived based on discussions of the concepts of size, speed, market, opportunity, risk, and uncertainty. The perspective of value co-creation in uncertainty is used to develop a contingency framework to serve as the foundation towards a general theory of EM. Operand and operant resources and environmental conditions are proposed to moderate the EM process from opportunity recognition to entrepreneurial organization, EM, and temporary competitive advantage. The theoretical facets are illustrated with seven propositions and directions for future research.     

International entrepreneurial marketing strategies of MNCs: Bricolage as practiced by marketing managers

The extant research lacks information on entrepreneurial marketing in large international firms. This study explores the international entrepreneurial marketing strategies of multinational corporations (MNCs), and its results reveal that MNC marketing managers use bricolage to develop international entrepreneurial marketing. A novel finding of the study is that the international entrepreneurial marketing strategies of MNCs include co-innovation, accelerating customer value, and international expansion based on regional market leadership. Marketing managers use both parallel and selective bricolage in their international entrepreneurial marketing. Environmental uncertainty and entrepreneurship culture are important drivers of the implementation of bricolage to develop international entrepreneurial marketing. The research findings can inform MNC management of the options available to utilize corporate venturing to facilitate bricolage and in turn to realize international entrepreneurial marketing strategies.     

The impact of entrepreneurial marketing on innovative marketing performance in small- and medium-sized companies

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of entrepreneurial marketing on innovative marketing in small- and medium-sized companies producing industrial tools and mechanical parts. The statistical population of this study consisted of all owners and workers of industrial tools and mechanical parts around the world. The sample size includes 195 people who were chosen through simple random sampling method and Cochran formula. This is a correlational research and the data were collected using a questionnaire designed by theoretical foundations and Likert scale. The validity of the tool was confirmed using the opinions of experts and specialists and the reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha (0.891). Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results show that value creation that includes creating value for customers through the products and services, and marketing activities and technology has the greatest impact on innovative performance. Also, innovation, which includes innovative strategy, management believes in innovation, and using new methods to carry out activities, is in the next place. Among the factors, the leverage of resources, which include the financial and human forces, has the least effect on innovative performance.     

The influence of entrepreneurial marketing processes and entrepreneurial self-efficacy on community vulnerability,risk, and resilience

This paper uses the 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquake and re-development efforts as an exemplar to explore how entrepreneurial marketing processes combined with entrepreneurial self-efficacy can be leveraged to help a community reduce its vulnerability to natural disasters and enhance its resilience. Manyena's (Manyena, S. B. (2006). The concept of resilience revisited. Disasters, 30, 433–450; Manyena, S. B. (2012). Disaster and development paradigms: Too close for comfort? Development Policy Review, 30, 327–345) vulnerability–resilience theory is used as the conceptual framework to delineate the prophylactic benefits of building a community's entrepreneurial marketing process capabilities and the notion of entrepreneurial self-efficacy as defensive mechanisms to mitigate the effect of disasters. This work has resulted in an augmented disaster risk equation that considers: (1) the risk that a natural disaster poses on a community (as a function of the vulnerability of the community's tangible assets); (2) the hazard potential of the disaster; and (3) the resilience of its social and economic systems. This paper develops a measure of the symbiotic interrelationship of a community's entrepreneurial marketing process capabilities and community-level entrepreneurial self-efficacy to illustrate how leveraging the entrepreneurial, marketing, social, and engineering educational resources of a community can create a less vulnerable and more resilient community. In doing so, the paper develops a set of research propositions to guide future research and policy.     

A dynamic market conceptualization for entrepreneurial marketing: the co-creation of opportunities

The entrepreneurial marketing domain should consider opportunity co-creation as a foundational construct for advancing the discipline. This paper integrates emerging views in entrepreneurship with an evolving, service-dominant logic of marketing to develop a market conceptualization for exploring uncertainty in dynamic social and economic environments. With this market conceptualization, opportunities are continually co-created through the development and communication of value propositions, the derivation and determination of value, and the (re)formation of markets. Emerging research around the process of opportunity co-creation is used to create an initial definition and theoretical considerations.     

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 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.     

Social networks and marketing cooperation in entrepreneurial clusters: An international comparative study

This research examines factors that influence the development of marketing cooperation among cluster-based firms in different regions in the world. Theorists have consistently demonstrated the role and importance of economic externalities, such as knowledge spillovers, within industrial clusters. Less research attention has been paid to the investigation of marketing-based externalities, though it has been suggested that these may also accrue from geographical agglomeration. The study focus is on the development of joint marketing activities between firms operating in a single industry sector, located in close proximity. The results suggest that social networking is important in facilitating inter-firm cooperation in marketing activities. The study also explores whether the levels of inter-firm cooperation differs between countries with distinctly different levels of social collectivism. Interestingly, this study finds few significant differences in marketing cooperation among cluster-based firms from Scotland and Chile.     

Pathways to entrepreneurial growth: The influence of management, marketing, and money

Business growth is considered a worthy goal for firms and a measure of entrepreneurial success, as well as important for economic development. Why some firms grow and others do not, though, remains a subject of debate. Of the small proportion of firms that do grow, it is often assumed that they follow a similar growth trajectory and/or encounter certain stage thresholds; however, the evidence base on this is wanting. The new study of business growth presented here provides an in-depth analysis of 19 New England-based firms. Our findings reveal that fast-growing companies exhibit different rates and patterns of growth: some display rapid growth trajectories (Rapid Growth Pattern); some, slower, more measured rates (Incremental Growth Pattern); others, episodic periods of quick growth followed by sharp retrenchment (Episodic Growth Pattern); and, while no firm actively chose to stop growing, some reached points of stagnation (Plateau Growth Pattern). We found that three key factors—management, marketing, and money—affected company growth across these patterns. While not every factor was critical at each moment of growth for each firm, every entrepreneur cited the relative importance of each factor at some time during the growth of their firm. Thus, fast-growing firms do not grow in the same manner, at the same rate, or with the same outcomes. This article has implications for those seeking to understand the processes of development and patterns of fast-growth businesses.     

The effects of entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and marketing subunit influence on firm performance

The study investigates how an organization’s entrepreneurial orientation moderates the interplay between market orientation and marketing subunit influence on firm performance. The hypothesized model predicts that the positive interaction between market orientation and marketing subunit influence has a weaker effect on firm performance under conditions of high entrepreneurial orientation. The regression and supplementary analyses provide support for most predictions and, most importantly, for a negative three-way interaction effect: At higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation, the positive moderating effect of marketing subunit influence on the market orientation–business performance relationship is reduced. The authors discuss the managerial and theoretical implications of their findings and provide a number of directions for further research.

International new venture performance: Role of international entrepreneurial culture,ambidextrous innovation,and dynamic marketing capabilities

International new ventures (INVs) contend with environmental dynamism in global markets, compelling firms to enhance their innovation and marketing capabilities. While the INV literature is growing, it is not informative as to how INVs develop and utilize dynamic capabilities to overcome resource-constraints to enhance performance. We utilize the concept of international entrepreneurship culture (IEC) to better understand how INVs advance innovation and dynamic marketing capabilities to succeed in their internationalization activities. Building on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV), we empirically examine the relationships among IEC, ambidextrous innovation, dynamic marketing capabilities, and INV performance under varying levels environmental dynamism. The findings highlight that IEC influences both ambidextrous innovation and dynamic marketing capabilities; and, together, these link to INV performance gains. Furthermore, this research finds support for the mediating effects of ambidextrous innovation and dynamic marketing capabilities in the IEC – INV performance relationship. Additionally, the results indicate an international entrepreneurial culture is of greater significance in developing ambidextrous innovation when environmental dynamism is present. The study context is a sample of 286 high-technology INVs from India, a large and dynamic emerging market.     

The role of innovation,entrepreneurial self-efficacy and local uniqueness on marketing performance in small and medium-sized restaurants

ABSTRACT

The growth of the food service business in Indonesia cannot be optimized by small and medium restaurants due to a lack of innovation and entrepreneurial skill. This present study combines marketing and entrepreneurship literature and explores the link among innovation, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and marketing performance. Using a purposive sampling methodology, data were collected from 124 respondents of small and medium-sized restaurants in Bogor city, Indonesia. This study used Structural Equation Modeling to analyze the influences of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, innovation and local uniqueness on marketing performance. The findings indicate that innovation activity has a direct significant influence on marketing performance. This study also indicates that entrepreneurial self-efficacy positively influences marketing performance reflected by increasing sales, profits and number of customers. In addition, local uniqueness, which is an intermediary variable, is not affected by innovation activities and does not directly affect marketing performance. Even though this study supports most hypotheses, two out of six were not. As such, the results of this study provide important practical insights as well as interesting contributions to the theoretical advancements in entrepreneurship and marketing especially in the setting of small and medium-sized restaurants.     

Innovation of entrepreneurial firms

An empirical test is provided of the effect of the degree of obsolescence on the effect of firm size and monopoly profits on a firm's ability to innovate. Recent theory suggests that innovation depends on firm size and monopoly profits only if the firm conducts product improvement as well as new product innovation. This is due to the allocation of limited entrepreneurial attention between improving current products and innovating new products. Current products are subject to obsolescence and innovation requires technological opportunities. The firm conducts product improvement as well as new product innovation only if the degree of obsolescence is sufficiently low relative to the level of technological opportunity. This theory provides an explanation for previously unexplained empirical observations. We find preliminary support for the hypothesis that product improvement reduces the positive effect of firm size on new product innovation and sufficient product improvement may reverse the negative effect of monopoly profits on new product innovations. In addition, product improvement reduces the positive effect of technological opportunity on new product innovation.     

Narrative attributions of entrepreneurial failure

We examine how organizational stakeholders use narratives in their psychological processing of venture failure. We identify a range of “narrative attributions”, alternative accounts of failure that actors draw on to process the failure and their role in it. Our analysis provides a view of entrepreneurial failure as a complex social construction, as entrepreneurs, hired executives, employees and the media construct failure in distinctively different ways. Narratives provide means for both cognitive and emotional processing of failure through grief recovery and self-justification.     

Emergence of the entrepreneurial society

Once dominated by a managed economy, the United States—and, eventually, the entire world—came to acknowledge the incredible power of the entrepreneurial movement of the 1990s. The entrepreneurial society refers to places where entrepreneurship has emerged as a focal point for economic growth, sustainable job creation, and competitiveness in global markets. This article explains why and how the entrepreneurial society emerged, and why it is key to taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by globalization by enhancing the innovation prowess of a nation.     

Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions

Why are intentions interesting to those who care about new venture formation? Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, a way of thinking that emphasizes opportunities over threats. The opportunity identification process is clearly an intentional process, and, therefore, entrepreneurial intentions clearly merit our attention. Equally important, they offer a means to better explain—and predict—entrepreneurship.We don't start a business as a reflex, do we? We may respond to the conditions around us, such as an intriguing market niche, by starting a new venture. Yet, we think about it first; we process the cues from the environment around us and set about constructing the perceived opportunity into a viable business proposition.In the psychological literature, intentions have proven the best predictor of planned behavior, particularly when that behavior is rare, hard to observe, or involves unpredictable time lags. New businesses emerge over time and involve considerable planning. Thus, entrepreneurship is exactly the type of planned behavior Bird 1988, Katz and Gartner 1988 for which intention models are ideally suited. If intention models prove useful in understanding business venture formation intentions, they offer a coherent, parsimonious, highly-generalizable, and robust theoretical framework for understanding and prediction.Empirically, we have learned that situational (for example, employment status or informational cues) or individual (for example, demographic characteristics or personality traits) variables are poor predictors. That is, predicting entrepreneurial activities by modeling only situational or personal factors usually resulted in disappointingly small explanatory power and even smaller predictive validity. Intentions models offer us a significant opportunity to increase our ability to understand and predict entrepreneurial activity.The current study compares two intention-based models in terms of their ability to predict entrepreneurial intentions: Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Shapero's model of the entrepreneurial event (SEE). Ajzen argues that intentions in general depend on perceptions of personal attractiveness, social norms, and feasibility. Shapero argues that entrepreneurial intentions depend on perceptions of personal desirability, feasibility, and propensity to act. We employed a competing models approach, comparing regression analyses results for the two models. We tested for overall statistical fit and how well the results supported each component of the models. The sample consisted of student subjects facing imminent career decisions. Results offered strong statistical support for both models.(1) Intentions are the single best predictor of any planned behavior, including entrepreneurship. Understanding the antecedents of intentions increases our understanding of the intended behavior. Attitudes influence behavior by their impact on intentions. Intentions and attitudes depend on the situation and person. Accordingly, intentions models will predict behavior better than either individual (for example, personality) or situational (for example, employment status) variables. Predictive power is critical to better post hoc explanations of entrepreneurial behavior; intentions models provide superior predictive validity. (2) Personal and situational variables typically have an indirect influence on entrepreneurship through influencing key attitudes and general motivation to act. For instance, role models will affect entrepreneurial intentions only if they change attitudes and beliefs such as perceived self-efficacy. Intention-based models describe how exogenous influences (for eample, perceptions of resource availability) change intentions and, ultimately, venture creation. (3) The versatility and robustness of intention models support the broader use of comprehensive, theory-driven, testable process models in entrepreneurship research (MacMillan and Katz 1992). Intentional behavior helps explain and model why many entrepreneurs decide to start a business long before they scan for opportunities.Understanding intentions helps researchers and theoreticians to understand related phenomena. These include: what triggers opportunity scanning, the sources of ideas for a business venture, and how the venture ultimately becomes a reality. Intention models can describe how entrepreneurial training molds intentions in subsequent venture creation (for example, how does training in business plan writing change attitudes and intentions?). Past research has extensively explored aspects of new venture plans once written. Intentionality argues instead that we study the planning process itself for determinants of venturing behavior. We can apply intentions models to other strategic decisions such as the decision to grow or exit a business. Researchers can model the intentions of critical stakeholders in the venture, such as venture capitalists' intentions toward investing in a given company. Finally, management researchers can explore the overlaps between venture formation intentions and venture opportunity identification.Entrepreneurs themselves (and those who teach and train them) should benefit from a better understanding of their own motives. The lens provided by intentions affords them the opportunity to understand why they made certain choices in their vision of the new venture.Intentions-based models provide practical insight to any planned behavior. This allows us to better encourage the identification of personally-viable, personally-credible opportunities. Teachers, consultants, advisors, and entrepreneurs should benefit from a better general understanding of how intentions are formed, as well as a specific understanding of how founders' beliefs, perceptions, and motives coalesce into the intent to start a business. This understanding offers sizable diagnostic power, thus entrepreneurship educators can use this model to better understand the motivations and intentions of students and trainees and to help students and trainees understand their own motivations and intentions.Carefully targeted training becomes possible. For example, ethnic and gender differences in career choice are largely explained by self-efficacy differences. Applied work in psychology and sociology tells us that we already know how to remediate self-efficacy differences. Raising entrepreneurial efficacies will raise perceptions of venture feasibility, thus increasing the perception of opportunity.Economic and community development hinges not on chasing smokestacks, but on growing new businesses. To encourage economic development in the form of new enterprises we must first increase perceptions of feasibility and desirability. Policy initiatives will increase business formations if those initiatives positively influence attitudes and thus influence intentions. The growing trends of downsizing and outsourcing make this more than a sterile academic exercise. Even if we successfully increase the quantity and quality of potential entrepreneurs, we must also promote such perceptions among critical stakeholders including suppliers, financiers, neighbors, government officials, and the larger community.The findings of this study argue that promoting entrepreneurial intentions by promoting public perceptions of feasibility and desirability is not just desirable; promoting entrepreneurial intentions is also thoroughly feasible.     

The role of entrepreneurial cooperation

Entrepreneurial cooperation between industrial and developing countries has gained in significance during the past decade, both in practice and in academic discussion. To what factors can this trend be attributed? What forms of cooperation are available? Where do the opportunities and risks lie?     

Digital sport entrepreneurial ecosystems

The entrepreneurial ecosystems literature has increasingly explored network relationships between different stakeholders, as well as the role of context. This article addresses the challenge of including a sport context in the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature thereby contributing to the sport entrepreneurship literature by bringing insights from entrepreneurship ecosystem research. In‐depth interviews of football stakeholders in the sport entrepreneurship ecosystem are conducted in terms of understanding the emergence of digital sport start‐ups. The issues raised help explore the changing nature of digital entrepreneurial ecosystems to take into account new sport technological advances. Mixed embeddedness theory is used as the conceptual foundation to understand sport digital entrepreneurial ecosystems. Key management practices are identified in terms of sport start‐ups participating in entrepreneurial ecosystems. The article concludes by making suggestions for future research.