Ashwin W. Joshi

Customer Knowledge Development: Antecedents and Impact on New Product Performance

By enhancing the fit between new product features and customer preferences, the customer knowledge development process fosters new product success. Despite this significant benefit, there is considerable variance in the extent to which firms engage in this process in their new product development projects. This is because not all firms can meet the resource, strategic flexibility, and motivational requirements of the process. In this research, the authors develop a nomological network wherein they identify (1) the organizational actions that enable effective implementation of the customer knowledge development process, (2) the characteristics of new product development projects that moderate the effects of these actions, and (3) the outcomes that are generated by the process. The results from a survey of 165 marketing managers who had recently participated in new product development projects provide substantial support for the nomological network. The authors explore the theoretical and managerial implications that arise from their results and provide future research directions.

Continuous Supplier Performance Improvement: Effects of Collaborative Communication and Control

Manufacturing firms seek continuous supplier performance improvement because this outcome makes them more competitive in downstream markets. Although manufacturing firms use a range of tools to effect continuous supplier performance improvement, the author focuses on two that are especially important—collaborative communication and control—and poses the following research questions: (1) How does collaborative communication foster continuous supplier performance improvement? and (2) What are the combined effects of collaborative communication and control? The results from a survey of 153 manufacturer–supplier dyads show that collaborative communication fosters continuous supplier performance improvement by enhancing supplier knowledge (of manufacturer needs) and by building supplier affective commitment (toward the manufacturer). With respect to the combined effects of communication and control, the results show that capability control enhances the positive effects of both supplier knowledge and supplier affective commitment on continuous supplier performance improvement, whereas process control undermines the effect of supplier knowledge on the outcome. This pattern of results suggests that manufacturing firms should emphasize capability control and deemphasize process control to foster continuous supplier performance improvement.

Effect of Environmental Dynamism on Relational Governance in Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships: A Contingency Framework and an Empirical Test

The effect of dynamism in the downstream (i.e., customer and competitive) environment on the manner in which manufacturers manage their upstream (i.e., supplier) relationships is not well understood in the literature. While some prior studies suggest that manufacturers will adopt relational governance with suppliers in response to dynamism in the downstream environment, other studies suggest that manufacturers will avoid relational governance with suppliers when faced with environmental dynamism. Drawing from the literature on interparty learning, the authors develop a conceptual framework wherein the validating conditions for each conclusion are identified. Results from a survey of 221 manufacturing organizations show that in dynamic environments, manufacturers adopt (avoid) relational governance with suppliers under two conditions: (1) when manufacturer collaborative belief is high (low) and (2) when supplier knowledge is high (low). The results are discussed in terms of their managerial and future research implications.

The indirect effects of organizational controls on salesperson performance and customer orientation

Abstract Based upon Path Goal Theory (PGT) and Organizational Socialization Theory (OST), we develop a conceptual model that identifies the indirect effects of organizational controls on salesperson performance and on salesperson customer orientation. Task clarity and affective commitment are posited as key mediating variables of the relationships between organizational controls and salesperson outcomes (salesperson performance and customer orientation). Research results, based on a sample of 151 salespeople, show that organizational controls affect both the salespersons task clarity and the salespersons affective commitment to the organization. Further, results show that task clarity affects salesperson performance, but that it has no effect on customer orientation. Affective commitment, however, has a significant impact on both outcomes. Theoretical, managerial, and future research implications are discussed.

How relational norms affect compliance in industrial buying

Abstract Buyers who are dependent on their suppliers are more likely to comply with supplier requests, despite the potential costs associated with such compliance, than buyers who are not dependent on their suppliers. This well-known result is qualified in this research by the argument that the dependence-compliance relationship is moderated by the level of relational norms present in the exchange relationship. Consistent with the research hypotheses, results from a scenario-based experiment with 147 purchasing managers show that the positive main effect of dependence on compliance only holds under conditions of high relational norms. In low relational norm-based relationships, dependence does not increase compliance.

Salesperson Influence on Product Development: Insights from a Study of Small Manufacturing Organizations

This research addresses three questions: (1) How do salespeople get their desired product modifications implemented within organizations? (2) What effect does salesperson trustworthiness have on the means they adopt to get product modifications implemented? and (3) What are the performance outcomes of the modified products? The results from a survey of 149 product managers in small manufacturing organizations suggest that two influence strategies—rationality and exchange—have a positive impact and that two influence strategies—coalition building and upward appeal—have an inverse impact on product modification implementation. The results also show that salesperson trustworthiness enhances the positive effects of rationality and exchange while mitigating the inverse effects of coalition building and upward appeal. Finally, the results show that product modification implementation has a positive effect on the products performance in the marketplace. Collectively, the results suggest that salespeople should adopt the rationality and exchange strategies to get their desired product modifications implemented while also developing a reputation for trustworthiness and that it pays for organizations to listen to their salespeople.

Understanding New Product Co-Development Relationships in Technology-Based, Industrial Markets

This study focuses on new product co-development relationships, where a seller and buyer enter into a relationship to mutually undertake the development of an innovative product. We draw upon the relationship marketing literature as well as the theoretical frameworks of agency theory and transaction cost analysis to investigate the antecedent conditions that foster such co-development relationships, and the manner by which these factors subsequently influence sellers’ satisfaction with the relationship. The results of our empirical study reveal that the extent to which sellers undertake new product co-development relationships is a function of perceived buyer knowledge and the extent of prior interactions with the buyer as well as the degree of product customization involved. Further, perceived buyer knowledge moderates the sellers’ satisfaction with such co-development efforts.

Effects of organizational and serviceperson orientation on customer loyalty

Purpose – Within the service industry, the serviceperson enhances customer loyalty by increasing customer benefits and decreasing customer costs, but is also embedded within and influenced by the organizational context. Thus, the influence of a servicepersons orientation may differ or even conflict with the organizations orientation. There are two purposes to this paper. The paper first aims to develop a conceptual model that clearly distinguishes between benefit‐ and cost‐based explanations of the effect of the serviceperson. The papers second aim is to examine the impact of the organization on the servicepersons ability to foster customer loyalty through interactions with customers.Design/methodology/approach – A survey methodology is used and data gathered from managers and customers. Multi‐group structural equation modeling is employed to test partial mediation and partial moderation theses.Findings – In line with social exchange theory, the paper finds that a servicepersons customer orientation ...

Enforcement Structures in Business-to-Business Exchange Relationships: An Exploratory Study

While the channels literature has long been concerned with governance issues, there have been relatively few empirical studies to simultaneously examine the extent to which self-enforcement (private ordering) versus court enforcement (public ordering) are actually being practiced by businesses, as opposed to the simple reliance upon marketplace competition (using multiple sources of supply and low purchasing allocations) (Telser 1980; Klein 1996; Koss and Eaton 1997; Buvik and John 2000; Wathne and Heide 2000).

Supplier Diversity Programs and their Impact on Purchasing Agent Negotiation Strategies: A Role Theoretic Model

Government contracting and procurement practices that include preference programs for women and minority-owned business enterprises (WMBE) and supplier diversity initiatives in industry are commonplace in the U.S. and have sprung up in other nations like Australia and Canada, but with a focus on aboriginal business enterprises (ABE). An interesting incongruity exists however. Although WMBE procurement preference and supplier diversity programs are commonplace in the U.S. and articles about these efforts regularly appear in the business press and trade publications, this topic has received scant attention in the academic literature (Carter, Auskalnis & Ketchum 1999; Krause, Ragatz & Hughley 1999). Within this limited literature there are several reports that many of these programs have produced disappointing results and frustration (Bates 1985; Bates & Williams 1996; Dollinger & Daily 1989; Pearson, Fawcett & Cooper 1993; Singleton 1995). Among these critical studies, several common themes can be noted. Many have reported that WMBEs face impediments to success that are structural (e.g., firm size, access to financing) and communications-related (e.g., inadequate access to bid requests, failure to disseminate information on WMBEs to purchasing staff). Other studies have noted impediments that are more related to the social context. These include findings of the perceived difficulty by WMBEs in developing strong buyer-supplier relationships, opportunistic behavior by purchasing agents, and the sometime hostile environments encountered (Dollinger & Daily 1989; Pearson, Fawcett & Cooper 1993).