Fred Langerak

Possible determinants of consumers’ adoption of electronic grocery shopping in the Netherlands

Abstract This study examines (1) the relationship between the (dis) advantages of electronic grocery shopping, in comparison to traditional in-store shopping, and consumers’ perception of the innovation characteristics (i.e., relative advantage, compatibility and complexity) of electronic grocery shopping, and (2) the relationship between consumers’ perception of these characteristics and their intention to adopt electronic grocery shopping. These relationships are examined using a sample of 415 households in the Netherlands. The results indicate that the advantages and disadvantages of physical efforts and time pressure related to traditional in-store shopping positively influence consumers’ perception of the characteristics of electronic grocery shopping. The results further show that consumers’ perception of the relative advantage and compatibility of electronic grocery shopping positively influence their intention to adopt electronic grocery shopping. Consumers’ perception of the complexity of electronic grocery shopping negatively influences their intention to adopt electronic grocery shopping. It is also explored whether income, education and age moderate these relationships.

Effects of market orientation on the behaviors of salespersons and purchasers, channel relationships, and performance of manufacturers

This study uses data from matched sets of suppliers, manufacturers and customers to examine the influence of the manufacturers market orientation on the behaviors of salespersons and purchasers, the impact of these behaviors on relationships with customers and suppliers, and the effect of these relationships on the manufacturers financial performance. The results show that market orientation positively influences customer-oriented behaviors of salespersons and supplier-oriented behaviors of purchasers. The behaviors of salespersons also have a positive effect on the customers trust in, cooperative norms in, and satisfaction with the relationship with the manufacturer. The behaviors of purchasers positively affect the suppliers trust and cooperative norms in the relationship. The customers perception of trust, cooperative norms, and satisfaction positively influences the manufacturers financial performance. The suppliers trust and cooperative norms in the relationship also positively affect the manufacturers financial performance. An important managerial implication is that the manufacturer is partly dependent upon the behaviors of purchasers and salespersons for using market orientation to build and maintain channel relationships. This implication provides ample opportunities for further research on market orientation.

An appraisal of research on the predictive power of market orientation

The majority of studies on market orientation claim compelling evidence exists that market orientation has a positive effect on business performance. This study takes a closer look at 51 studies which have addressed the relationship between market orientation and business performance between 1990 and 2002. The results show that there is no unequivocal evidence as to if and when market orientation has a positive impact on business performance. There is however some unequivocal proof, albeit limited, on how market orientation influences business performance. These findings are unsettling for academics and managers because market orientation is the foundation of marketing strategy.

The effect of market orientation on positional advantage and organizational performance

To inform the evolving debate on the relationship between market orientation and strategy, our study investigates: (1) how the components of market orientation (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination) affect the positional advantage of a firm in terms of differentiation or low cost advantage vis-à-vis competitors; and (2) how the firms differentiation or low cost advantage influences the firms organizational performance. The results from a sample of 122 manufacturing firms in The Netherlands reveal that both customer orientation and competitor orientation have a positive effect on differentiation advantage, while interfunctional coordination has a positive effect on low cost advantage. The findings also show that differentiation advantage has a positive effect on organizational performance. A low cost position has, however, no effect on organizational performance. Another interesting finding is that the linkages between the components of market orientation and positional advantage are moderated by strategy type, but not by the characteristics of the market environment.

The impact of new product development acceleration approaches on speed and profitability: lessons for pioneers and fast followers

This work investigates the impact of nine new product development (NPD) acceleration approaches (supplier involvement, lead user involvement, speeding up activities and tasks, reduction of parts and components, training and rewarding of employees, implementation of support systems and techniques, stimulating interfunctional cooperation, emphasis on the customer, and simplification of organizational structure) on development speed and new product profitability. Our findings from 233 manufacturing firms show that lead user involvement and training/rewarding of employees increase both development speed and profitability. Supplier involvement, speeding up activities and tasks, and a simplification of the organizational structure also enhance development speed, while an emphasis on the customer has an additional positive impact on new product profitability. Both new product speed and profitability increase firm financial performance. Our results further show that pioneers and fast followers should not select the same NPD acceleration approaches as the speed and profitability impact of the majority of the acceleration approaches depends on the new product strategy of the firm. These results are important as they provide guidance for pioneers and fast followers regarding which NPD acceleration approaches to select in order to enhance speed and profitability and, hence, firm financial performance.

Eleven Misconceptions about Customer Relationship Management

Higher buying rates and lower service costs make long-term customers more profitable and firms increasingly focus their marketing efforts on customer relationship management (CRM). However, they are often disappointed by the performance of CRM projects. These disappointing results are caused by managerial misconceptions about CRM and customer behaviour. This article focuses on 11 of these misconceptions to help managers make well-considered CRM-related decisions and raise the success rate of CRM projects.

The mediating role of new product development in the link between market orientation and organizational performance

The proficiency in new product development activities may be the key to the conversion of a market‐oriented culture into superior organizational performance through better new product performance. To examine this conjecture our study tests hypotheses on the mediating effects of the proficiency in new product development activities and new product performance on the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance. The results from a sample of 126 manufacturing firms present evidence for the mediating roles of the proficiency in commercialization activities and new product performance. These mediating roles are consistent for three moderator variables: technological turbulence, market turbulence and innovation strategy. Together our findings provide a better understanding of how a market‐oriented culture leads to superior organizational performance.

Organizing for effective new product development: an exploratory study of Dutch and Belgian industrial firms

Abstract The rate of market and technological changes has accelerated dramatically. Central to a firms competitive success in these conditions is its ability to evaluate, develop, and commercialize new technologies. This turbulent environment requires new, innovative methods. To succeed in these conditions, improved cooperation is recommended among functions within the company and between companies. In this exploratory study of two middle European Union countries, the extent that industrial companies in highly turbulent environments develop their internal and external interfaces is measured. The study also measures if those firms with well developed interfaces exhibit better new product performance than firms with less well developed interfaces. The results indicate that an effective design of the new product development process depends upon the characteristics of the competitive environment in which the firm operates.

Managing increasing returns

Increasing returns means that a company can produce higher levels of output with relatively lower levels of input. This article focuses on the challenges faced by managers in dealing with increasing returns. Dealing with these challenges is especially relevant for companies with information and knowledge intensive business processes. For the managers of these companies this article (1) provides a definition of increasing returns, (2) explains the sources of increasing returns, (3) discusses the consequences of increasing returns for the rules of market competition, and (4) presents guidelines for competing in increasing returns markets.

The Performance Effects of Combining Rationality and Intuition in Making Early New Product Idea Evaluation Decisions

New product idea evaluation decisions made by individual development team members during their idea generation activities allow for and may also benefit from the use of both rational and intuitive approaches to decision‐making. Unfortunately, there is a lack of empirical research on whether at all and, if yes, in which temporal sequence the two approaches should best be combined in making single idea evaluation decisions. To start filling this gap in the innovation and decision‐making literatures, this research empirically explores which approach (combination) increases idea evaluation decision‐making quality and speed. To this end, an experiment with product development practitioners was conducted, manipulating the use of either only intuition, only rationality, or combining intuition with rationality in both sequences in making a typical idea evaluation decision. The results show that only one combination, starting with intuitively analysing the ideas and then rationally considering the resulting intuition in making the final decision, leads to both the highest quality and speed. This finding has significant implications for theory and practice and provides ample opportunities for further research.