The interplay between key marketing and supply chain management capabilities: The role of integrative mechanisms

Purpose: This paper identifies key marketing and SCM related capabilities and explores the nature of the linkages between these specific capabilities as shaped by the integrative mechanisms adopted by firms. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the findings from dyadic interviews with 26 marketing and supply chain management executives from business-to-business firms, we develop an empirically grounded conceptual framework. Findings: We identify innovativeness and market learning capability as key marketing capabilities and supply chain agility and relational capability as key supply chain management capabilities. We find that relationships between these strategic marketing and supply chain management capabilities follow a specific pattern. We also find that the application of unique integrative mechanisms can cultivate the potential tandem between marketing and supply chain management capabilities. Research limitations/implications: Our study informs theory with regard to two key areas: relationships among key marketing and supply chain management capabilities and integrative mechanisms that shape the underlying mechanisms of capability relationships. Practical implications-Application of organizational dynamics to key marketing and supply chain management provides a more nuanced understanding of the linkages among such capabilities. A better understanding and application of integrative mechanisms may help managers develop better tools and means to bundle their key marketing and supply chain management capabilities effectively. Originality/value: The qualitative and exploratory nature of the paper will be of significant interest to managers who would like to achieve greater synergy between marketing and supply chain management capabilities

Customer categorization, relational justice and SME performance in supermarket supply chains

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of perceived relational justice on the relationship between key customer categorization and performance of small food and drink producers in supermarket supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data are derived from a sample of (small-scale) suppliers of local and regional food to a large British supermarket. Partial least squares regression analysis was used to test a conceptual framework, which positions relational justice as a mediator in the relationship between key customer categorization and supplier performance, moderated by the length of the relationship. Findings: The findings reveal that small suppliers who perceive their treatment by their key customers as fair tend to achieve higher business performance, which supports the hypothesized mediating role of relational justice on supplier performance. However, this research found no evidence to support the hypothesis that this role is moderated by the length of the relationship between the supplier and buyer. Originality/value: This paper makes a novel empirical contribution, focusing on performance outcomes for small-scale suppliers in a highly competitive environment (fast-moving consumer goods) with customers (supermarkets) who have significant market power. Accordingly, the paper shows that the way supermarket buyers treat their suppliers matters more for the performance of their suppliers than the very fact that they are key customers

Institutions and Dynamic Capabilities: Theoretical Insights and Research Agenda for Strategic Entrepreneurship.

The current paper aims to comparatively analyze both institutional and dynamic capabilities approaches conceptually in the context of strategic entrepreneurship. We offer a conceptual review, where strengths, as well as limitations of both theoretical approaches, are highlighted. Our review and discussion show that both approaches are subtly intertwined and can complement each other to further understanding of firm’s behavior including strategic entrepreneurship. Institutions provide templates for action and cognition in developing, managing, and utilizing dynamic capabilities in that context. Dynamic capabilities, as enablers of agency, can be expected to play a role in creating, maintaining, bridging, and disrupting institutions. The synthesis of institutional and dynamic capabilities approaches leads to a better understanding of agency, behavior, and structure in the context of strategic entrepreneurship. Finally, we also present a research agenda for strategic entrepreneurship that explores key concepts germane to both institutions and dynamic capabilities

The human impact on the emergence of firm supply chain agility: a multilevel framework

Purpose The human element, especially its multilevel manifestation, has been overlooked in research investigating the antecedents of firm supply chain agility (FSCA). The purpose of this paper is to explore how a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation affect FSCA through individual capabilities and actions within the boundary conditions of individual identification with the firm and organizational work climate. Design/methodology/approach Following a multilevel approach and drawing on a cross-disciplinary reading of the literature, the authors analyze drivers and enablers of FSCA and advance a framework explaining the emergence of FSCA within the boundary conditions of transformational leadership, individual identification and organizational work climate. Findings The authors advance that relevant individual capabilities and intraorganizational actions underlie FSCA in the firms’ pursuit of realizing their strategic orientations as increased agile capacities. The effectiveness of individual capabilities and actions for the emergence of FSCA is contingent upon the extent to which managers identify themselves with their firm, transformational leadership and the nature of organizational work climate. Originality/value The original contribution of the paper is to explain the interplay between the multilayered attitudinal, behavioral and structural enablers of FSCA and incorporate the human element into the research on the antecedents of FSCA

The Human Impact on the Emergence of Firm Supply Chain Agility: A Multilevel Framework:a multilevel framework

Purpose: The human element, especially its multilevel manifestation, has been overlooked in research investigating the antecedents of firm supply chain agility (FSCA). The purpose of this paper is to explore how a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation affect FSCA through individual capabilities and actions within the boundary conditions of individual identification with the firm and organizational work climate. Design/methodology/approach: Following a multilevel approach and drawing on a cross-disciplinary reading of the literature, the authors analyze drivers and enablers of FSCA and advance a framework explaining the emergence of FSCA within the boundary conditions of transformational leadership, individual identification and organizational work climate. Findings: The authors advance that relevant individual capabilities and intraorganizational actions underlie FSCA in the firms’ pursuit of realizing their strategic orientations as increased agile capacities. The effectiveness of individual capabilities and actions for the emergence of FSCA is contingent upon the extent to which managers identify themselves with their firm, transformational leadership and the nature of organizational work climate. Originality/value: The original contribution of the paper is to explain the interplay between the multilayered attitudinal, behavioral and structural enablers of FSCA and incorporate the human element into the research on the antecedents of FSCA.</p

How does cultural intelligence influence the relationships between potential and realised absorptive capacity and innovativeness? Evidence from Poland

Cultural intelligence underpins the interaction between firms and their cultural environments as the domain of external sources that are explored and utilised for innovation through absorptive capacity. This research seeks to answer the question of if and how cultural intelligence moderates the links between innovativeness and potential and realised absorptive capacity. We test our hypotheses based on data from 215 firms operating in Poland. We demonstrate that cultural intelligence strengthens the linkage between potential absorptive capacity and innovativeness that highlights cultural intelligence as an important enabler of exploring new and diverse external knowledge sources. We discuss cultural intelligence concept in relation to strategic management and reveal its contingent role in innovativeness

The role of marketing agility and risk propensity in resilience and survival of eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs in Denmark

Abstract Purpose: While extant research has increasingly examined minority entrepreneurs, less attention has been paid to Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs and the role that marketing agility and risk propensity play in their resilience and survival in Nordic countries. This paper aims to highlight the importance of these factors for Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs in the developed Nordic economy of Denmark. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts the dynamic capabilities view as a theoretical framework and uses a qualitative research approach with interviews as the main data collection method. The empirical sample comprises 12 entrepreneurs originating from Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, who operate in Denmark. Findings: The findings show that contrary to prior studies that have highlighted a reliance among the migrant entrepreneurial community on ethnic networks as their dominant target market, Eastern European immigrant entrepreneurs located in Denmark, in contrast, focused on attracting Danish consumers as their target market audience. Leveraging multiple networks was therefore found to be critical to the survival of these immigrant ventures. Additionally, the entrepreneurs’ marketing agility, underpinned by their optimistic approach, growth ambitions and passion for entrepreneurship, was found to play a pivotal role in their survival. Finally, despite the stable institutional environment in Denmark and the ease of doing business (both of which are influential factors in shaping the risk propensity and risk perception of entrepreneurs), the authors found immigrant entrepreneurs’ risk propensity to be rather low, which was contrary to the expectations. Originality/value: The current paper is one of the first studies that explicitly analyzes the roles of marketing agility and risk propensity in the resilience and survival of the ventures of relatively skilled immigrant entrepreneurs from Eastern Europe in a developed Nordic economy (Denmark). The paper’s findings also challenge the notion associated with immigrant entrepreneurial ventures being primarily focused on ethnic customers or enclaves. The paper also specifies the peculiarities of marketing agility in immigrant entrepreneurial contexts and solidifies the importance of diverse networks in immigrant business survival and development

Impression management and leadership in failing or failed business-to-business firms during and post-COVID-19 : Empirical insights from Africa

This paper is one of the pioneering studies to specifically link COVID-19 pandemic with business failures in African B2B firms and the role of leadership and impression management in mitigating business failures. Based on the qualitative data from Ghana and Nigeria, our findings show that although B2B firms in emerging markets are agile and proactive, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the process of business decline leading to failure in some cases. Particularly, the lack of technological know-how and the absence of online business activities made it difficult for B2B firms to continue operations. Further, we found that case B2B African firms needed a balance of market and non-market strategies to avoid failure caused by the pandemic. Study findings also indicate that despite the challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic presented opportunities to B2B firms in emerging markets. Flexible working and employee management are found to be instrumental in avoiding business failure. Finally, our findings show that, despite the absence of institutional support in African emerging markets, several case B2B firms quickly adopted digital technologies to communicate with partners and manage online business operations.© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

COVID-19 Driven Challenges in international B2B Customer Relationship Management : Empirical Insights from Finnish High-Tech Industrial Microenterprises

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Knowledge sharing dynamics in international subcontracting arrangements : The case of Finnish high-tech SMEs

This paper focuses on an under-researched topic of knowledge sharing dynamics in international subcontracting relationships of SMEs. Based on in-depth qualitative analysis of three Finnish high-tech firms, our findings reveal that not only cost and performance expectations motivate SMEs for international subcontracting, but also the factors like lack of in-house alternatives, the volatility of workload, and need for speed in growth-related activities such as deliveries play an important role. We further found that the SMEs try to balance internal risks/uncertainty and external risks/uncertainty throughout international subcontracting. Our paper contributes to the extant literature by being one of the first studies to specifically highlight the range of knowledge sharing and knowledge protection mechanisms used in international subcontracting in SME-SME relationships in which partners come from different institutional settings and physical locations. Moreover, this paper is one of the few studies to specifically highlight the role of time in knowledge sharing from the buyer's point of view as well, specifically by emphasizing the need to balance the internal and external risks during the life-cycle of international subcontracting while balancing short-term challenges and long-term strategic development plans.© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed