Mapping knowledge management and organizational learning in support of organizational memory

The normative literature within the field of knowledge management has concentrated on techniques and methodologies for allowing knowledge to be codified and made available to individuals and groups within organizations. The literature on organizational learning, however, has tended to focus on aspects of knowledge that are pertinent at the macro-organizational level (i.e. the overall business). The authors attempt in this paper to address a relative void in the literature, aiming to demonstrate the inter-locking factors within an enterprise information system that relate knowledge management and organizational learning, via a model that highlights key factors within such an inter-relationship. This is achieved by extrapolating data from a manufacturing organization using a case study, with these data then modeled using a cognitive mapping technique (fuzzy cognitive mapping, FCM). The empirical enquiry explores an interpretivist view of knowledge, within an information systems evaluation (ISE) process, through the associated classification of structural, interpretive and evaluative knowledge. This is achieved by visualizing inter-relationships within the ISE decision-making approach in the case organization. A number of decision paths within the cognitive map are then identified such that a greater understanding of ISE can be sought. The authors therefore present a model that defines a relationship between knowledge management (KM) and organizational learning (OL), and highlights factors that can lead a firm to develop itself towards a learning organization.     

The effects of perceived market and learning orientation on assessed organizational capabilities

This study extends prior research by exploring the effects of managerial representations of market and learning orientation on perceived industrial firm capabilities. Cognitions that managers use to make sense of their environment impact competitive strategy decisions. Extant research has found market and learning orientation concepts to be empirically distinct and to have independent and synergistic effects on organizational performance. The present study generally supports hypotheses relating to independent effects of market and learning orientation viewpoints on perceptions of specific capability domains. Findings hold implications for managing the development of organizational capability portfolios as well as for future research aimed at understanding cognitions related to competitive advantage dynamics.     

The performance effect of organizational learning and market orientation

In recent decades an important set of articles on management has focused upon the marketing concept and the related construct of market orientation. The next challenge is to understand how this organizational orientation can be achieved and maintained. Using data from 451 companies and through structural equation models, this study considers that organizational learning represents the capacity of a company to move from a given situation to another desired situation of market orientation and performance. The results suggest that the influence of market orientation on performance is only significant when it is mediated by organizational learning. The results also indicate that organizational learning has a positive effect on performance.     

The positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on innovation performance and competitive advantage in industrial markets

This study utilized structural equations modeling (SEM) to explore the positive effects of relationship learning and absorptive capacity on competitive advantages of companies through their innovation performances in Taiwanese manufacturing industry. The results of this study showed that relationship learning and absorptive capacity positively influence upon innovation performances of companies, and further have positive effects on competitive advantages of companies. In addition, this study divided the sample into three groups by the levels of relationship learning and absorptive capacity and found that there was a significant difference of innovation performance among these three groups: ‘Highly Capable Companies’, ‘Medially Capable Companies’, and ‘Lowly Capable Companies’. It is important for ‘Lowly Capable Companies’ to increase both of their relationship learning and absorptive capacity to enhance their innovation performances.     

The effects of technology-mediated communication on industrial buyer behavior

Sellers are embracing technology-mediated sales communication tools such as videoconferencing systems, cellular phones, web sites, and electronic data interchange (EDI) systems in an attempt to control selling costs while maintaining the personal touch. What is unclear at this point, however, is if investment in communication technology actually pays dividends for industrial suppliers. This research explores the topic by examining the effects of buyer satisfaction with the adoption of technology-mediated communication (STMC) on channel partner relationships. STMC is found to have significant, positive, direct effects on future intentions (FI). Furthermore, these effects are found to be partially mediated by trust and commitment.     

The impact of organizational learning on relationship orientation, logistics service effectiveness and performance

The paper investigates the effects of organizational learning on inter-firm relationship orientation in the logistics service provider-client interaction. A conceptual model is developed and four research hypotheses are empirically examined using structural equation modelling. The data were collected via a survey of Hong Kong based logistics service providers. The results indicate that organisational learning has a positive influence on relationship orientation as well as on the improvement of logistics service effectiveness and firm performance. Theoretical, managerial and research implications are discussed.     

Information technology as a determinant of organizational learning and technological distinctive competencies

This study aims to assess the role played by information technology (IT) in organizational learning (OL) considered as a process of knowledge creation and determined by the interaction of stocks and flows variables. We also examine how IT and OL influence both business performance and the development of the technological distinctive competencies (TDCs), as well as the latter's influence on leading the firm towards better outcomes. These relationships have been tested via an empirical analysis carried out with a sample of 140 industrial companies, applying a structural equation linear model according to the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology. Our findings allow us to confirm that IT acts as an enabler of the OL process and influences on the development of TDCs, which allow the achievement of a better business performance. Such competencies are also the result of OL, thus demonstrating the influences of them both on perceived organizational performance.     

The effects of government policies on agricultural input markets

Agricultural policies in most developed countries involve elements of price support. The primary objective appears to be the support of farm incomes, but effects of the policies are more wide ranging than this. The impact of price support on agricultural input markets in the UK is highlighted in this article and it is shown that the main effects of raising farm prices are to increase the wealth of landowners, increase capital intensity and reduce employment and wages of hired labour. These are not generally recognized as primary goals of the CAP. It is suggested that the British government might offset some of these effects through judicious reduction of capital grant rates.     

Leadership and organizational learning's role on innovation and performance: Lessons from Spain

Leadership style has been traditionally emphasized as one of the most important individual influences on firm innovation. Scholars are now paying growing attention to the possibility that the collective capability of organizational learning plays a key role in determining innovation. We propose that leadership style, an individual feature, and organizational learning, a collective process, simultaneously and positively affect firm innovation. A structural equation model and data from 408 large firms in four sectors supported our hypotheses. Organizational learning had a stronger direct influence on innovation than CEO transformational leadership for our sample; however, leadership had a strong, significant influence on organizational learning, indirectly affecting firm innovation. Additionally, innovation positively and significantly influenced performance. Organizational learning also positively affected performance, but interestingly mainly through innovation.     

Market orientation and organizational performance: A comparison of industrial versus consumer companies in mainland China using market orientation scale (MARKOR)

Although not conclusive, past empirical marketing strategy studies conducted in the United States and western European countries suggested a strong positive relationship between market orientation and a company's performance. The objective of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the market orientation construct in a very different socioeconomic, cultural, and business environment of Asia. Specifically, using the Kohli and Jaworski [J. Mark. 54 (1990) 1] MARKOR scale, this study investigates the market orientations of Chinese business managers who operate in a select number of industrial and consumer goods industries in urban China. Previous research has predicted a positive relationship between market orientation and performance, on the assumption that market orientation provides a firm with a better understanding of its environment and customers, which ultimately leads to enhanced customer satisfaction. Study results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between market-oriented and non-market-oriented Chinese managers in terms of their responses to market orientation scale statements. As well, a higher level of market orientation of Chinese companies operating in the Beijing area was discovered. This is rather encouraging because there is a large body of marketing literature that supports the argument that higher levels of market orientation would lead to better organizational performance. The managerial and public policy implications of the study are also discussed.     

Organizational learning and market orientation: interface and effects on performance

This paper discusses the relationship between market orientation and organizational learning and, in particular, the former's contribution to the generation of double-loop learning. Although prior contributions on this topic have been controversial, the authors, departing from the principles of RBV, consider market orientation a resource capable of generating higher order organizational learning and, in this way, capable of additionally reinforcing firms' sustainable competitive advantage. The empirical study provides evidence on the existing relationship between a firm's learning and market orientation degree and the organization's economic and non-economic results. Findings indicate that learning orientation stimulates the market-oriented behavior and that it also positively affects the establishment of long-term relationships with strategic clients. Contrary to prior research a significant and positive effect on business performance is only contrasted in the case of market orientation.     

Market and supplier characteristics driving distributor relationship quality in international marketing channels of industrial products

Although we are beginning to comprehend the fundamental importance of relationship quality in interorganizational exchange, a relatively small, but growing, body of literature that has not kept pace with the tremendous growth in global channel transactions has been devoted to the development of cross-border relationship quality. This study addresses this gap in the literature by investigating the extent to which certain market and exporter characteristics affect the development of relationship quality in the context of importing distributors trading with exporting manufacturers of industrial products. Relationship quality is viewed as a higher-order construct composed of trust, commitment, and satisfaction. Findings reveal that psychic distance is related negatively to relationship quality, while transaction-specific investments and role performance are associated positively with relationship quality. No link is found between environmental uncertainty and relationship quality. Managerial implications of the findings are considered and limitations along with future research directions discussed.     

Customer value, overall satisfaction, end-user loyalty, and market performance in detail intensive industries

The objective was to test a customer value variable, as operationalized by a modification of Ulaga and Eggert's scale, as a direct explanatory concept in predicting satisfaction, loyalty, and market performance in a hybrid veterinary pharmaceuticals market. The market was considered to be a hybrid because physicians purchase on behalf of their clients. The scale proved to be reliable and valid in a detail intensive market using 220 veterinary physicians as respondents. To achieve an acceptable structural equation modeling fit, the customer value variable had to be dropped. The final model indicated a direct influence by product, strategic, and personal benefits as well as perceived sacrifices on the dependent variables. Management implications of the study are described.     

Experience as a moderator of involvement and satisfaction on brand loyalty in a business-to-business setting 02-314R

This paper examines the relative influence of two key antecedents of brand loyalty—satisfaction and involvement and the moderating role of experience, using a sample of business buyers. The central argument of this paper is that the strength of the effect of these variables on attitudinal brand loyalty will vary with the level of customer experience with purchasing the service. Building on previous research which examined low-risk, customer product settings [Kim, J., Lim, J.S., & Bhargava, M. (1998). The role of affect in attitude formation: A classical conditioning approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 26 (2): pp. 143-152; Shiv, B., & Fedorikhin, A. (1999). Heart and mind in conflict: The interplay of affect and cognition in consumer decision-making. Journal of Consumer Research 26: 278], this study shows that for a high-risk setting, involvement with the service category will be more dominant in its influence on brand loyalty than satisfaction with the preferred brand. Furthermore, it was found that experience moderated the influence of involvement and satisfaction on attitudinal brand loyalty for a high-risk business-to-business service. This study provides new insights into the theory and practice of buyer behavior and business-to-business brands.     

The effects of market orientation on relationship learning and relationship performance in industrial marketing: The dyadic perspectives

From dyadic perspectives, this study explores the effect of market orientation on relationship learning and relationship performance and the moderating effect of relationship quality in Taiwan manufacturing industry. The results reveal that: (1) both customer market orientation and supplier market orientation are positively related to relationship learning; (2) relationship learning is positively related to relationship performance; (3) both customer and supplier market orientation has positively interaction effect on shared information and negatively interaction effect on sense-making activities; and (4) trust of relationship quality has moderating effect on the relationship between customer market orientation and relationship learning.     

The outcome of company and account manager relationship quality on loyalty, relationship value and performance

This study explores the effects of perceived relationship quality of the company and account managers with customers. It examines the effects of both types of relationship quality on relationship outcomes including: loyalty, relationship value, and performance. Consistency and relationship-specific investments are tested as mediating constructs between relationship quality and relationship outcomes. The model was tested in the automotive parts industry in Brazil. Findings indicate that relationship quality with account managers is directly related to loyalty and perceptions of relationship value. However, relationship quality with the firm is related to loyalty indirectly, through relationship-specific investment. Further, perceptions of consistency do not mediate the linkage between relationship quality with the company and account managers and specific investments. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are presented.     

Brand and product attachment in an industrial context: The effects on brand loyalty

The role of attachment as a driver of industrial brand loyalty has largely been investigated at the inter-organizational level, while there is a notable lack of studies on industrial buyers' attachment to industrial brands and products. By researching an empirical setting in which buyers have first-person experience of product use, this study proposes the existence of brand attachment and product attachment in an industrial context and tests their influence on brand loyalty based on the results of a survey of 317 owner-operators of heavy trucks. Findings suggest that while brand attachment positively and directly influences brand loyalty, product attachment indirectly drives brand loyalty through the mediating effects of brand attachment. Product irreplaceability, however, was found to be a direct driver of brand loyalty. The current research also proposes tests to measure the relationship between the constructs of brand attachment and product attachment. This research has several managerial and theoretical implications indicating that paying attention to the emotional meanings of industrial brands and products is warranted, as are further studies on the application of attachment in industrial marketing.     

Conflict-coordination learning in marketing channel relationships: The distributor view

Although a fairly large body of literature exists on channel conflict management, little research has been done from an interorganizational conflict-learning perspective. This study explores how channel members can use conflict-coordination learning (CCL), as a conflict resolution mechanism, which leads to improved capabilities, which in turn can enhance co-created value in marketing channel relationships from a distributor point of view. Drawing on both a resource-based view of the firm, an absorptive capacity perspective, and an interorganizational learning approach, we propose that conflict values (positive conflict attitudes and avoidance of conflict behaviors) can be viewed as firm resources that directly influence CCL, which in turn can enhance co-created value (joint marketing strategy quality and joint profit performance). To explore these issues, we developed and tested our hypotheses with data from 101 distributors within the food industry in Taiwan. As predicted, we find that positive conflict attitudes are positively related to CCL, and that avoidance of conflict behaviors is negatively related to CCL. Furthermore, the results indicate that joint marketing strategy quality mediates the relationship between CCL and joint profit performance. Specifically, under high positive conflict attitudes, CCL strongly appears related to joint marketing strategy quality.     

The evolution of generic brands in industrial markets: the challenges to owners of brand equity

The paper suggests that generic brands can develop in industrial markets as easily as they can in consumer goods markets. It briefly examines the issue of branding in industrial markets and then describes the problems that firms can face if their brand name becomes used in a generic manner. It suggests actions that such firms can take as responses to this situation.     

The impact of market orientation on the development of relational capabilities and performance outcomes: The case of Russian industrial firms

The article investigates the role of market orientation as an antecedent for the development of relational capabilities and performance in Russian industrial firms. We test the direct role of different aspects of market orientation on business performance in comparison to an indirect and mediated influence via improving a firm's ability to become embedded in relational structures. The results of an empirical study demonstrate the differential impact of components of market orientation - customer orientation, competitor orientation, and interfunctional coordination - as direct and indirect antecedents of relational capabilities and thus subsequently of overall firm performance. It can be shown that in Russian industrial markets competitor orientation directly and positively impacts on performance, while the other two components of market orientation have only a mediated effect on performance via the development of relational capabilities.