Niche marketing strategy and export performance in SMEs

Building on the stepping stone of the KBV and incorporating building blocks from dynamic capabilities and the competitive strategy perspective, this thesis extends previous research on export marketing by developing a theory-based model to examine the relationships of export market knowledge, international experience, and specialized marketing capabilities with niche marketing strategy, which in turn leads to export performance. Using data from 201 UK exporting SMEs, this study shows that specialized marketing capabilities play an important role in enhancing export venture business strategy. The theoretical model and results show that export market knowledge and aspects of international experiential knowledge (i.e. psychic dispersion, duration, multinationality) influence specialized marketing capabilities differently. The direct influence of export psychic dispersion on specialized marketing capabilities is positive, while the results indicate that there is a negative effect of export duration on specialized marketing capabilities. Further, the results do not support the relationship between multinationality and specialized marketing capabilities. The study finds that a high level of export niche strategy would strengthen the association between export differentiation strategy and export performance. Export niche strategy has no moderating influence on export cost leadership strategy and export performance nexus. Finally, implications for managers and public policy makers of these findings are discussed and useful future research avenues are proposed

Emerging-market firms’ dynamic capabilities and international performance: The moderating role of institutional development and distance

While extant research has examined the separate influences of dynamic capabilities and institutions on international performance, their interactive role has received limited attention. Therefore, we examine the role of host-country institutional conditions in the relationships between emerging-market firms’ (EMFs) innovation-related dynamic capabilities and their international performance. We use multi-source secondary data and primary data from multiple informants from 254 Turkish international firms to test our framework. The study finds that the linkages between three innovation-related dynamic capabilities (innovativeness, supply-chain agility, and adaptability) and international performance are positively and negatively moderated by institutional development and institutional distance, but that their influences are opposite. These influences demonstrate that host-country institutional conditions shape the link between dynamic capabilities and EMFs’ international performance in a multifaceted and paradoxical fashion

The Effects of Learning Orientation and Marketing Programme Planning on Export Performance: Paradoxical Moderating Role of Psychic Distance

Despite extensive research on the effect of organisational learning processes on firm performance, how and when a propensity to learn influences the export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains unclear. Using multiple-informant and time-lagged primary data from 242 SMEs in a sub-Saharan African market, this study examines the roles of marketing programme planning and host country psychic distance in linking export learning orientation to export performance. Findings from the study show that increases in both export learning orientation and marketing programme planning are associated with increases in export performance. In addition, the study finds that while increases in psychic distance weaken the effect of export learning orientation on export performance, it strengthens the effect of marketing programme planning on export performance. These findings draw attention to the idea that cognitive distance between home and host country markets may play a paradoxical role in explaining when organisational learning activities may help or hurt exporting SMEs

Renewable energy and innovation in Saudi Arabia: An exploration of factors affecting consumers’ intention to adopt Solar PV.

Achieving ‘net-zero’ has become a major concern for governments worldwide. For this momentous transition to be realised, individual citizens must be motivated to adopt ‘cleaner’ innovative technologies to reduce their carbon footprint. Against this backdrop, our study investigates factors that may encourage or inhibit the intention to adopt renewable energy (specifically Solar photovoltaics (PV)) among home-owning Saudi consumers. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, we examine the relationship between demographic variables and consumers’ attitudes towards renewable energy (RE) and their intention to adopt new RE technology. Our findings reveal that a lack of consumer knowledge about RE is the major obstacle to Solar PV adoption among Saudi consumers. Moreover, consumers’ environmental beliefs may not lead directly to an intention to adopt RE, even though it is associated with favourable attitudes towards the technology. Finally, social influence may be crucial when promoting RE adoption among Saudi consumers. These are essential considerations for policymakers to note and act on when constructing energy policy

Do Export Learning Processes Affect Sales Growth in Exporting Activities?

The understanding of experiential learning through export learning process (XLP), and its outcomes, is limited in the international marketing literature. Using multisource, time-lagged data of exporting firms in the United Kingdom and China, this study finds that XLP is positively associated with marketing strategy adaptation for both U.K. and Chinese exporters. Results suggest contrasting moderating effects of experiential knowledge resources (i.e., psychic dispersion, multinationality, and duration) and strategy adaptation on the relationship between XLP and export sales growth in the two samples. In the U.K. sample, the authors observe a positive moderation effect of psychic dispersion and negative moderation effects of multinationality and duration. For the China sample, they find the exact opposite pattern of moderation effects for the experiential knowledge resources. Marketing strategy adaptation plays a negative moderation role in the China sample but has no such effect in the U.K. sample. The study has implications for theory development on, and the productive management of, processes of learning export management