Miguel Hernández-Espallardo

Fostering innovation: The role of market orientation and organizational learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study empirically the relationships between market orientation, organizational learning, innovation and performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper formulates some hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equations modelling with data collected from 744 firms. Findings – Findings show that, although market orientation and organizational learning foster innovation, the effect of the latter is comparatively higher. Moreover, the impact of market orientation and organizational learning on performance is completely mediated by innovation. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations of this paper are the cross‐sectional design of the research and the use of single informants for collecting the data. Apart from overcoming these limitations, for future research it is suggested that: studying the likely causal relation between market orientation and organizational learning; taking into account information about how radical the innovation is; and including the degree of dynamism of the market as a likely moderator of the relations proposed in the model. Practical implications – The paper provides evidence, first, that companies should be more innovative in order to increase performance. Second, that both adopting market orientation and improving the organizational learning processes of the company have a positive impact on innovation. And third, that innovation mediates the relation between market orientation and organizational learning, and performance. Originality/value – This paper jointly examines in the same model the little‐researched links between market orientation, organizational learning, innovation and performance.

The effects of authoritative mechanisms of coordination on market orientation in asymmetrical channel partnerships

Abstract An important outcome of a firms interorganisational relationships is the attainment of resources and capabilities required to attain a competitive advantage. Although market orientation has been considered one of those critical resources, there is little understanding regarding how it is created and nurtured in business relationships. In the context of asymmetrical channel partnerships dominated by a downstream leader, in this paper we present a model where the upstream followers market orientation is promoted as a consequence of the leaders use of authoritative mechanisms of coordination. Some hypotheses are presented and empirically tested in a sample of agricultural cooperatives that maintain channel partnerships with second-order marketing cooperatives. The results indicate that formalization, participation, input control, and behaviour control are coordination mechanisms that lead to improvements in market orientation. Implications for interorganisational theory and managerial activities are discussed at the end of the paper.

Product innovation in small manufacturers, market orientation and the industry's five competitive forces

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study whether the effectiveness of innovation in improving a firms performance varies in different competitive situations and to analyze whether the competitive forces act as a motivator or as an inhibitor.Design/methodology/approach – The paper formulates some hypotheses from the literature review. These hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling with data collected from 218 manufacturers.Findings – The findings show that small firms must invest in innovation preferably when competitive forces are more intense. Moreover it is found the positive role that market orientation plays in promoting innovation and performance, no matter the level of the competitive forces.Research limitations/implications – A decision had to be taken on the range of concepts and the domain used for measuring each concept. For future research the paper suggests considering different types of innovations (e.g. incremental vs radical) to get a more precise explanation of the...

Building online brands through brand alliances in internet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the consequences that brand alliances have on a new and unknown online brand in terms of attitude to its web site, brand trust, brand equity and consumers willingness to engage in online transactions.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 367 subjects participated in an online experiment of buying a travel package from an unknown travel agency which is allied with other known and well‐reputed brands. The information provided by the participants in different online designs of brand alliances was used to test the theoretical model proposed in the paper. This model was tested and compared with other alternative models using conventional maximum likelihood estimation techniques.Findings – The results show that attitude toward brand alliance represents a strategic marketing opportunity to help an unknown online brand to leverage a favourable first impression from consumers in terms of brand trust and attitude toward the brands web site. Furthermore, online...

Store image influences in consumers’ perceptions of store brands: the moderating role of value consciousness

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to develop and test a conceptual model of the moderating effect of customers’ value consciousness (CVC) on the relationship of store image (SI) with four dimensions of the perceived risk associated to the purchase of a store brand over a manufacturers’ brand, and the direct effect of those variables on the perceived unfairness of manufacturers’ brand prices. Design/methodology/approach – A mall-intercept survey of 600 shoppers in Colombia (South America) gathered data on their consumption experiences of a store brand and manufacturer’s brand across six product categories and two supermarket chains. Findings – Results suggest that SI exerts different influences on the four categories of perceived risk, the strength of which varies with value-consciousness. Perceptions of the price unfairness of manufacturers’ brands are attenuated by the financial and functional risk of buying store brands but increased by the social and psychological risk. Research limitations/implic...

Learning processes, their impact on innovation performance and the moderating role of radicalness

Purpose – This study aims to extend the proposal of Holmqvist with regard to organisational processes of learning and their impact on firm performance.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of 187 firms, the paper shows that certain organisational processes of learning are related to innovation performance. Further, it investigates the moderating role of product radicalness on such relationships.Findings – Based on a survey of 187 firms, the paper shows that certain organisational processes of learning are related to innovation performance. Further, it investigates the moderating role of product radicalness on such relationships and proves that the other two types of organisational learning processes are not related to innovation performance.Originality/value – The innovation performance of collaboration between firms has not received a great deal of attention in the literature. This research paper offers some guidelines on how to obtain great advantages from this collaboration.

Interfirm strategic integration in retailer buying groups: antecedents and consequences on the retailer's economic satisfaction

Abstract Independent small retailers have shown a growing trend toward joining buying groups as a means to compete against large distribution chains. The retailers strategic integration of the relationship with the buying group (RSI), i.e., the retailers recognition of this relationship as a strategic asset, is the focal theoretical construct of this study. With a sample of retailers of home appliances that are integrated in a buying group, the empirical test of two alternative models about the antecedents and consequences of RSI has confirmed that the concept plays an important and significant mediational role in explaining the effects of environment and relational characteristics on the retailers satisfaction with the buying group. The author discusses the theoretical implications of the results obtained and explores consequences for decision makers.

Propuesta metodológica para medir la calidad del servicio de consulta externa en medicina general

Este articulo ofrece una propuesta metodologica para medir la calidad del servicio de consulta externa con el modelo de la zona de tolerancia. Con una mezcla de entrevistas en profundidad, grupos focales, analisis factorial exploratorio y analisis factorial confirmatorio, se encontro que los usuarios de los servicios de consulta externa evaluan la calidad considerando la conveniencia del servicio, los elementos sustanciales del mismo y los aspectos profesionales/ humanos de quienes los atienden. El articulo incluye una guia para los gerentes sobre como aplicar, interpretar y utilizar los resultados de la metodologia de evaluacion propuesta. Finalmente, se senalan las limitaciones y se sugieren futuras lineas de investigacion.

Outcome- and behaviour-control in distribution partnerships: the role of trust and dependence and their effects on performance

In dyadic channel partnerships, specific outcomes and behaviours are often emphasised to signal desirable objectives and actions that would lead to adequate levels of coordination. Much of the research regarding the outcome- and behaviour-based controls has adopted the perspective of the firm that manages the relationship (source). However, questions remain as to how, or even whether, the managed firm (target) benefits from these coordination efforts. Drawing on the most recent literature on channel governance, this research posits that both the targets trust in, and dependence on, the source moderate the effects of outcome- and behaviour-control on the targets performance. Formal hypotheses are tested on a sample of 157 agricultural cooperatives involved in channel partnership with larger, downstream second-order marketing cooperatives. The results indicate that the targets trust in the source enhances the positive effects of both types of controls. However, the targets dependence on the source decreases the positive effects of behaviour-based controls on the targets performance.

Unilateral control and the moderating effects of fairness on the target's performance in asymmetric channel partnerships

With the use of unilateral control, the leader in a channel dyad (source) leads the activities of its partner (target) to achieve its own goals. Although there are numerous studies that have found a positive effect of a companys unilateral control on its own performance, the effects on the targets performance remain unexplored, even though this is essential to explain the long‐term survival of the relationship. In this research, the concept of attributed performance, defined as the fraction of its own performance that the target attributes to the relationship maintained with the source, is addressed postulating a number of hypotheses about the direct effects of unilateral control and the moderating role of the sources fair behaviour. In a sample of companies involved in channel partnerships, strong evidence is found about the positive effects of unilateral control on attributed performance, and the moderating role of the sources distributive and procedural fairness.