Small exporting firms’ choice of exchange mode in international marketing channels for perishable products : A contingency approach

This study investigates how small, resource-constrained firms identify international marketing strategies for perishable products. Although international marketing of perishable products poses challenges for the exporter, many small companies manage to survive and thrive on an international business arena. Over the past decades, there has been a growing interest in how small firms design their international marketing channels. However, little is known about the conditions leading to the choice of a particular exchange modality. Drawing from the contingency framework, we investigate the role of firm-specific and industry-related factors in the choice of exchange mode among resource-constrained exporters. Based on insights from the Norwegian seafood industry, we introduce a contingency framework and develop a typology of exchange modalities. We suggest that resource-constrained exporters are inclined to engage in a succession of transactional exchanges. We offer propositions on the choice among alternative exchange modalities contingent upon firm and industry factors.publishedVersio

Exploring the impact of technological competence development on speed and NPD program performance

With growing levels of competition across industries, technological competence is increasingly viewed as crucial for businesses to maintain their long-term competitive advantage. Although there are many theoretical arguments about how firms' competences can yield competitive advantage and performance improvement, we have a limited understanding of where the capabilities originate in the context of NPD or what kind of product portfolios, internal climate and strategic alignment are required to build them. Moreover, empirical evidence for technological competence development is limited and comes primarily from case studies, anecdotal evidence, and management impressions. Accordingly, this research addresses these gaps by presenting and testing a conceptual model of technological competence development in NPD. This study makes advances in applying a dynamic capability approach to technological competence development in NPD, and investigates the impact of innovative climate, technological alignment, and project portfolio management on technological competence development as well as NPD speed. Moreover, the factors that might influence NPD program performance are also investigated. The analysis, based on data collected from 164 firms, shows that a firm's innovative climate, technological alignment and portfolio management are positively associated with technological competence development. While technological alignment was found to be negatively related to NPD speed, portfolio management and technological competence development were found to have positive effects on speed. However, innovative climate had no significant impact on speed. Moreover, technological competence development and portfolio management were found to be positively related to NPD program performance. Finally, the authors found no support for the relationship between speed and NPD program performance

Absorbing customer knowledge: how customer involvement enables service design success

Customers are a knowledge resource outside of the firm that can be utilized for new service success by involving them in the design process. However, existing research on the impact of customer involvement (CI) is inconclusive. Knowledge about customers’ needs and on how best to serve these needs (articulated in the service concept) is best obtained from customers themselves. However, codesign runs the risk of losing control of the service concept. This research argues that of the processes of external knowledge, acquisition (via CI), customer knowledge assimilation, and concept transformation form a capability that enables the firm to exploit customer knowledge in the form of a successful new service. Data from a survey of 126 new service projects show that the impact of CI on new service success is fully mediated by customer knowledge assimilation (the deep understanding of customers’ latent needs) and concept transformation (the modification of the service concept due to customer insights). However, its impact is more nuanced. CI exhibits an “∩”-shaped relationship with transformation, indicating there is a limit to the beneficial effect of CI. Its relationship with assimilation is “U” shaped, suggesting a problem with cognitive inertia where initial learnings are ignored. Customer knowledge assimilation directly impacts success, while concept transformation only helps success in the presence of resource slack. An evolving new service design is only beneficial if the firm has the flexibility to adapt to change

Strategic alignment and new product development: drivers and performance effects

Strategic alignment is widely accepted as a prerequisite for a firm's success, but insight into the role of alignment in, and its impact on, the new product development (NPD) process and its performance is less well developed. Most publications on this topic either focus on one form of alignment or on one or a limited set of NPD performance indicators. Furthermore, different and occasionally contradictory findings have been reported. NPD scholars have long argued for the importance of fit between context and NPD activities. However, this body of literature suffers from the same weakness: most publications have a limited scope and the findings are not always consistent with results reported previously. This study addresses these deficiencies by examining (1) the effects of various internal and external factors on different forms of alignment, and (2) the effects of these forms of alignment on a set of NPD performance indicators. Strategic planning and innovativeness appear to affect technological, market, and NPD-marketing alignment positively. Environmental munificence is negatively associated with NPD-marketing alignment, but has no effect on the two other forms of alignment. Technological change has a positive effect on technological alignment, a negative effect on NPD-marketing alignment, but no effect on market alignment. These findings suggest that internal capabilities are more likely to be associated with the development of strategic alignment than environmental factors are. Furthermore, technological and NPD-marketing alignment affect NPD performance positively, while market alignment does not have any significant performance effects

Vertical stakeholder collaborations for firm innovativeness in new product development: the moderating roles of legal bonds and operational linkages

Drawing on stakeholder and organizational learning theories, this study investigates when and how diverse types of formal mechanisms with varying levels of adaptation and integration properties for bonding stakeholders, including legal bonds and operational linkages, affect a firm's vertical stakeholder collaborations in new product development (NPD). It also explores how vertical stakeholder collaborations in NPD affect a firm's innovativeness and its eventual performance outcomes under technological turbulence. The study contributes to the stakeholder literature by focusing on diverse types of formal mechanisms rather than a single type of formal mechanism for bonding stakeholders. Survey data of 146 firms in Turkey evidence that while legal bonds decrease the likelihood of establishing vertical stakeholder collaborations during technological turbulence, such collaborations enhance firm innovativeness for focal firms holding operational linkages. Moreover, vertical stakeholder collaborations improve firm innovativeness under technological turbulence and enhance firm performance through new product performance

Conceptualization and measurement of competitive advantage construct

Üstün performans elde etmek için, rakiplere karşı sürdürülebilir avantajlara sahip olmak prensibi günümüz strateji düşüncesinin temelini oluşturmaktadır. Ancak, bu avantajların neler olması gerektiği konusunda sınırlı ve çelişkili bilgiler bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, sürdürülebilir rekabet avantajlarının neler olduğunu ve nasıl elde edildiğini anlamak için kaynak bazlı firma teorisi temel yapı olarak benimsenmiş ve rekabet avantajı literatürü ile sentez edilmiştir. Araştırmamızda rekabetçi avantaj kuramının literatürde belirlenmiş tüm farklı boyutları sunulmuş ve bunları içeren sermaye bazlı üç ana üstünlük tanımlanmıştır. Önerilen çok boyutlu ölçüm modelinin ampirik testi ihracat yapan 184 Türk firmasının verilerine dayanmaktadır. Ön analizlerle psikometrik özellikleri sınanan ölçekler doğrulayıcı faktör analizinde yapısal eşitlik modeliyle test edilmiştir.The notion that superior performance requires sustainable advantage over competitors is central to contemporary strategic thinking. Yet, limited and conflict information is available as to what these advantages should be. In this study, we adopt the resource based view of the firm as a theoretical foundation and synthesize it with the competitive advantage literature to understand what these advantages are and how they are achieved. Our research considers the different dimensions of competitive advantage suggested in the literature and defines three fundamental equity based competitive advantages. The proposed multidimensional measurement model is tested empirically with data obtained from 184 Turkish exporting firms. After preliminary test of the psychometric properties of the scales they are subjected to a Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Structural Equations Modeling

Conceptualization and measurement of competitive advantage construct

Üstün performans elde etmek için, rakiplere karşı sürdürülebilir avantajlara sahip olmak prensibi günümüz strateji düşüncesinin temelini oluşturmaktadır. Ancak, bu avantajların neler olması gerektiği konusunda sınırlı ve çelişkili bilgiler bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, sürdürülebilir rekabet avantajlarının neler olduğunu ve nasıl elde edildiğini anlamak için kaynak bazlı firma teorisi temel yapı olarak benimsenmiş ve rekabet avantajı literatürü ile sentez edilmiştir. Araştırmamızda rekabetçi avantaj kuramının literatürde belirlenmiş tüm farklı boyutları sunulmuş ve bunları içeren sermaye bazlı üç ana üstünlük tanımlanmıştır. Önerilen çok boyutlu ölçüm modelinin ampirik testi ihracat yapan 184 Türk firmasının verilerine dayanmaktadır. Ön analizlerle psikometrik özellikleri sınanan ölçekler doğrulayıcı faktör analizinde yapısal eşitlik modeliyle test edilmiştir