David A. Griffith

An Examination of Exploration and Exploitation Capabilities: Implications for Product Innovation and Market Performance

The authors employ the dynamic capabilities perspective to gain a greater understanding of the conversion of firm resources into exploitation and exploration capabilities and the influence of these firm capabilities on firm outcomes. Specifically, they theorize that marketing and technological resources provide a foundation for the establishment of exploitation and exploration capabilities, respectively, and that these dynamic capabilities influence the degree of product innovation and market performance. The theorized relationships, which the authors examine using a survey of 111 U.S. importers, indicate that marketing resources influence an importers development of exploitation capabilities, whereas technological resources influence the development of exploration capabilities. Furthermore, the authors find that exploitation capabilities provide a foundation for the development of exploration capabilities. They also find that whereas exploitation capabilities are negatively related to the degree of product innovation, exploration capabilities positively influence both the degree of product innovation and market performance. The authors provide implications for international marketing academics and practitioners.

An empirical examination of factors influencing the internationalization of service firms

The internationalization of service firms is expanding dramatically, fueled by recent technological innovations and reductions of trade barriers. Drawing upon Dunning’s eclectic theory, firm‐ and location‐specific factors which have been found to be antecedents of internationalization of manufacturing firms are extended to determine their applicability to the internationalization of service firms. The hypotheses are empirically examined through a survey of 228 business‐to‐business service firms. Findings indicate that the firm‐specific factor of firm size and the location‐specific factor of market characteristics influence management attitudes toward operating internationally, which in turn influence the degree of internationalization of service firms. Practical implications, drawn from the results, are offered for managers of service firms who are facing the task of internationalizing.

Standardization/adaptation of international marketing strategy: Necessary conditions for the advancement of knowledge

For over 40 years academicians and practitioners have debated the standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy. Despite the importance of, and tremendous interest in the topic, and the volume of scholarly activity this topic has generated, the debate remains unresolved. Why? Here, it is argued that the last 40 years of scholarly research has advanced without a strong underlying theoretical framework. The historical foundations of the standardization/adaptation perspective are presented, followed by a critical evaluation of the field under the guiding framework of the fundamentals of theoretical construction. Suggestions for developing a stronger theoretical foundation, as well as directions for future research are addressed.

An Investigation of National Culture's Influence on Relationship and Knowledge Resources in Interorganizational Relationships Between Japan and the United States

The increasing globalization of business has heightened the importance of understanding national cultural influences in interorganizational relationships from both a cross-cultural and an intercultural perspective. The authors use Hofstedes (2001) multidimensional national cultural framework to theorize differences in the relationships between key firm resources. Specifically, they explore relationship resources (i.e., the influence of trust on commitment), knowledge resources (i.e., the influence of information sharing on problem resolution), and their linkage (i.e., the influence of commitment on information sharing) both cross-culturally and interculturally from the perspective of Japanese and U.S. firms. The authors use a sample of Japanese and U.S. firms that report on their primary intra-and intercultural business partners to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that national culture influences relationship resources (i.e., the relationship between trust and commitment) and the linkage of relationship resources to knowledge resources (i.e., the relationship between commitment and information sharing). The authors address implications for both academics and practitioners.

The Influence of Competitive Intensity and Market Dynamism on Knowledge Management Capabilities of Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries

The authors use the environment–strategy–performance theoretical framework to examine the direct influence of the environmental market conditions of competitive intensity and market dynamism on knowledge management capabilities of multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries and resultant subsidiary performance. The results of a survey of the managers of Croatian subsidiaries of foreign MNCs indicate that though both competitive intensity and market dynamism individually influence knowledge management capabilities, when examined jointly, market dynamism is a more influential environmental market condition than competitive intensity. The authors also find a significant, positive relationship between a subsidiarys knowledge management capabilities and its performance. The findings indicate the importance of understanding local market conditions and developing proper strategic configurations for MNC subsidiaries.

The Role of Interface in Electronic Commerce: Consumer Involvement with Print Versus On-Line Catalogs

The theory of interface involvement is used to analyze the influence of physical-medium and content-presentation interfaces on consumer response. Consumer responses to print and Web-based catalog stimuli are examined. The results support interface-involvement theory, which holds that a print physical-medium interface is more effective than a Web-based physical-medium interface in stimulating consumer involvement with retailer offerings and a positive consumer response. They also indicate that media vividness and other elements of the content-presentation interface employable on a Web site stimulate higher levels of consumer involvement with retailer offerings and a more positive consumer response than a content-presentation interface of direct on-line replication of printed material. The implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.

An Examination of the Web-Based Strategies of the Top 100 U.S. Retailers

This article presents a two-stage study examining the Web-based strategic objectives of the top 100 u.s. retailers. In-depth interviews, Web site observation and a review of the Web-based literature were used to ascertain the strategic objectives of retailers establishing Web sites. Three strategic objectives were found: online sales, communication, and customer service. The second study content analyzed the Web sites of the top 100 U.S. retailers. Results indicate that a majority of these retailers are utilizing their Web sites for advertising, public relations and customer service access.

Getting Marketers to Invest in Firm-Specific Capital

Firms gain competitive advantage by employing marketing professionals that have developed firm-specific capital. This study argues that marketers’ perceptions of the governance structure employed by the firm to protect marketer capital influence marketers’ job outcomes of organizational commitment, organizational trust, job satisfaction, and intention to turnover, which in turn influence the accumulation of capital more specific to the firm. The results demonstrate (1) that a protective governance structure in which marketers are able to obtain greater rewards internally than externally on more specific or less easily transferable capital does not enhance positive job outcomes and (2) that it is through the governance structures’ influence on job outcomes, not through the governance structure itself, that marketing professionals are motivated to invest in the accumulation of capital specific to the firm. These results provide insights for senior marketing managers charged with developing a governance mechanism to both retain current marketing talent and develop a more effective marketing group.

The marketing strategy‐performance relationship in an export‐driven developing economy

The relationship between export marketing strategies and export performance is examined in Korea under the strategy‐environmental co‐alignment theoretical perspective put forth previously. A sample of managing directors of electronics exporters in Korea is used to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that the adaptation of products to foreign customers’ tastes, adjustment of export prices to foreign market conditions, direct exporting, and trade promotions toward overseas distributors positively influence the performance of Korea exporters. Expenditure on overseas advertising was not found to influence export performance. Implications for marketing practitioners and academics are addressed.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AS A MEANS FOR RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT: A KAZAKHSTAN-FOREIGN INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURE ILLUSTRATION

Developing effective international joint ventures (IJVs) is critical for firms entering economies in transition, such as Kazakhstan. The resource-based view of the firm forms the foundation to examine the influence of knowledge transfer between IJV partners. Traditionally, the transfer of knowledge between IJV partners has been theorized to lessen dependence, increasing IJV instability. However, the relationship development literature indicates that the exchange of assets between partners can strengthen relationship ties, enhancing IJV stability. The authors use a sample of 87 matched dyads from two-party IJVs formed in Kazakhstan to examine the influence of knowledge transfer between IJV partners on commitment and resulting satisfaction. The results, supportive of relationship development theory, indicate that Kazakhstan–foreign IJVs with higher levels of knowledge transfer resulted in higher levels of firms’ commitment to and satisfaction with their relationships, thus supporting a relationship development perspective of knowledge transfer. The authors address implications for academics and practitioners.