Aysegul Ozsomer

The Effects of Entrepreneurial Proclivity and Market Orientation on Business Performance

The recent literature suggests a potential tension between market orientation and entrepreneurial proclivity in achieving superior business performance. This is unsettling for marketers, because it could mean that being market oriented is detrimental to a firm that is also trying to be entrepreneurial and successful. To examine this unnerving potential, the authors investigate structural influences (both direct and indirect) of entrepreneurial proclivity and market orientation on business performance. The results indicate that entrepreneurial proclivity has not only a positive and direct relationship on market orientation but also an indirect and positive effect on market orientation through the reduction of departmentalization. The results also suggest that entrepreneurial proclivitys performance influence is positive when mediated by market orientation but negative or nonsignificant when not mediated by market orientation. The authors also provide a discussion and future research implications.

What makes firms more innovative? A look at organizational and environmental factors

Innovative firms are generally more successful in both industrial and consumer markets. However, factors that make firms innovative are often elusive and complex. Looks at how strategic posture, organization structure, environmental hostility and uncertainty interact and how each factor contributes to an explanation of firm innovativeness. Suggests that strategic posture is a major factor determining the innovativeness of firms while organization structure mediates the effects of strategic posture, uncertainty, and hostility. Hence, for managers striving to make their firms more innovative, a prerequisite is to adopt a proactive strategic posture which gradually leads to a flexible organizations structure ‐ the two factors that have a direct effect in making firms more innovative.

Marketing Standardisation by Multinationals in an Emerging Market

Examines the extent to which MNCs in Turkey standardise their marketing activities. The findings suggest that, in general, MNCs pursue higher levels of standardisation when market conditions are similar among host and parent countries. The findings also suggest product category and industry, ownership structure and nationality of the parent as three factors underlying the degree of marketing standardisation.

Brand Concepts as Representations of Human Values: Do Cultural Congruity and Compatibility Between Values Matter?

Global brands are faced with the challenge of conveying concepts that not only are consistent across borders but also resonate with consumers of different cultures. Building on prior research indicating that abstract brand concepts induce more favorable consumer responses than functional attributes, the authors introduce a generalizable and robust structure of abstract brand concepts as representations of human values. Using three empirical studies conducted with respondents from eight countries, they demonstrate that this proposed structure is particularly useful for predicting (1) brand meanings that are compatible (vs. incompatible) with each other and, consequently, more (less) favorably accepted by consumers when added to an already established brand concept; (2) brand concepts that are more likely to resonate with consumers with differing cultural orientations; and (3) consumers’ responses to attempts to imbue an established brand concept with new, (in)compatible abstract meanings as a function of their own cultural orientations.

Selecting International Freight Forwarders: An Expert Systems Application

The environment of international freight forwarding has witnessed drastic changesin recent years. Three sources of change can be identified in this environment: (1) the changing nature and needs of companies involved in exporting; (2) the diverse and increasingly comprehensive set of services provided by international freight forwarders (IFFs); and (3) a rapidly changing set of environmental background factors that are affecting the nature and the scope of the forwarding business.

The effects of technology standards on the structure of the global PC industry

Investigates the effects of technology standards on the changing nature of interdependence between competitors in a global industry. Drawing on the theory of organizational ecology, the effects of technology standards on the type of interplay among competitors are investigated as the underlying process affecting new firm entry. Empirical data from the global personal computer industry provide preliminary evidence that positive interdependence, or mutualism, characterizes the nature of competition before the establishment of a technology standard. Negative interdependence, or full competition, is found to prevail after a technology standard emerged. These findings suggest that the evolution of industries where compatibility and technological standards are critical can be analyzed in two different phases: the technological legitimation phase; and the market competition phase. A discussion of the underlying interdependencies in the two phases and their implications is also provided.

A dynamic analysis of market entry rates in a global industry: a community ecology perspective

States that it is critical that incumbent firms understand the processes that enhance or inhibit entry of new firms into their industry. A new entrant into an industry may create additional demand by legitimizing the technology/products, and/or may share the existing market by drawing buyers away from incumbents. An analysis of market entry rates is especially important in new, high technology industries where sub‐groups of firms pursue different technology and global market diversification strategies because such sub‐groups may have asymmetrical cross‐effects on entry rates of new firms. Suggests a community ecology approach to assessing the impact of industry density on new firm entry rates. The framework is demonstrated by applying it to the global personal computer industry during the period of 1977‐1992. Results suggest that density has a nonmonotonic positive effect, while the firm‐level variables of technological strategy and market expansion strategies have a monotonic positive effect on new firm entry rates.

Validating Expert Systems in International Marketing

Suggests that the field of international marketing is a new application area of expert systems in recent years. Presents a formal, systematic and rigorous methodology for validating and evaluating expert systems and, most specifically, two expert systems developed for international marketing. The CEVAL Validation Methodology is a sequential and multiple‐criteria process. It evaluates expert systems on the following dimensions: correctness of reasoning techniques, quality of decision/advice, and efficiency and effectiveness of the system.

Exploring the Interaction Between Strategic Adaptability and Marketing Standardization in International Marketing: Some Research Proposals

The profound transformation of the world economy from a multinational to a global one has propelled strategy formulation to the center of scholarly and managerial inquiry. Intensifying competition for cross national market shares, homogenizing consumer tastes, rapid technological change, and novel forms of trade and investment have collectively heightened the need for proficiency in global strategy formulation.