Simone Regina Didonet

The relationship between small business market orientation and environmental uncertainty

Purpose – While literature has examined market orientation, it is limited with respect to small businesses. More specifically, previous research has not considered empirically the relationship between small business market orientation and environmental uncertainty. Due to resource constraints, smaller businesses are especially vulnerable to environmental uncertainty. To address this, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between environmental uncertainty and small business market orientation.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from small business literature, the authors developed a research model advancing and testing hypotheses to address the research aim. An empirical study was conducted with 104 small grocery retailers from Brazil. A questionnaire was administered, divided into two sections relating to measurement of market orientation and the market turbulence and technological turbulence as dimensions of environmental uncertainty. ANOVA technique and a multinominal logistic regre...

Supply Chain Management Practices as a Support to Innovation in SMEs

Supply chain management (SCM) is an area of increasing importance among enterprises and of growing academic interest (Mentzer and Gundlach, 2010). It is based on the concept of firms as part of multiple organizations oriented to the provision of goods and services for the final customer (Lambert and Cooper, 2000). From this perspective, several studies have verified that integration and collaboration in the supply chain can provide important benefits to the companies involved. Among these benefits are added value, the creation of efficiencies and client satisfaction (Stock, Boyer and Harmon, 2010; Chow et al, 2008), which are represented by the reduction in inventories, improvements in service delivery and quality and shorter product development cycles (Corbett, Blackburn and Wassenhove, 1999).

The Influence of Innovative Organizational Culture on Marketing Strategy Formulation and Results

ABSTRACT This articles objective is to analyze the influence innovative organizational culture has on marketing strategy formulation and results, and how this relationship affects organizational performance. The theoretical basis lies in Menon et al.s (1999) model. The methodology included a survey with medium to large Brazilian companies in different sectors. The final sample consisted of 153 questionnaires that were valid for analysis. Techniques for statistical analysis including singular and multivariate methods were used, from which the relationships between constructs were established by structural equation modeling. Results show a positive relationship between innovative organizational culture, the marketing strategy process, and organizational performance. However, innovative culture does not have a direct influence on performance.

The role of the marketing strategy process in the innovativeness-performance relationship of SMEs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of the marketing strategy process in the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach The partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze data from Brazilian SMEs that belong to the software sector. Innovativeness was considered as a cultural aspect of the firm, which is related to being open to new ideas. The marketing strategy process was analyzed considering its two dimensions, i.e., formulation and implementation of marketing strategies. Organizational performance included variables of market, financial and innovation performance. Findings The results show that innovativeness positively influences organizational performance through the marketing strategy process. Specifically, the formulation of marketing strategies mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Implementation by itself does not mediate this relationship. When considering the path formulation→implementation as mediator, the influence is positive, i.e., formulation positively influences the implementation of marketing strategies and this path mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Therefore, the mediating role is stronger when considering the formulation-implementation path than when taking into account the activities of the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies separately. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by discussing how innovativeness influences SMEs’ performance through subsequent stages of the marketing strategy process. This is one of the first studies to consider activities in the marketing strategy process as a mediator in the innovativeness-performance relationship and explore its sequence.

Perspectives On Innovation Management Of Ecuadorian Companies — Empirical Evidence

This paper examines the relationship of 40 practices of innovation management lifted from Tidd et al. (2013, p. 634) in 477 Ecuadorian companies. The sample is from the period 2013–2014 and are divided into micro, small, medium and large enterprises. The management practices are divided a priori into 5 constructs (strategy, processes, organisation, relationships and learning). We then carry out a descriptive analysis, where the degree of the implementation of practices in the entirety of the businesses are stipulated. Later, we test a model with inferential analysis (multiple regression analysis) where the degrees of significance of the practices are determined within each construct and their relation to the size of the companies. The innovation management potential in the Ecuadorian business environment is also discussed. The results show, that companies are far from displaying constant management practices in innovation, as such, general recommendations for companies in the study are given.

Eco-eficiencia en la gestión de residuos municipales en Catalunya

El objetivo del presente trabajo es medir la eco-eficiencia en la gestion de residuos urbanos en Catalunya, Espana. Para ello, se presenta un modelo que incluye aspectos de medicion ambiental y Analisis Envolvente de Datos DEA (Data Envelopment Analisis). La base de esta investigacion, se centra en la orientacion hacia la sostenibilidad, indicada por el World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), quien tambien recomienda la aplicabilidad de la eco-eficiencia, dentro de los organismos publicos. A tal efecto, hemos realizado una aproximacion empirica tomando una muestra de 48 municipios de Catalunya, Espana. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que en terminos generales, solo existirian dos municipios eco-eficientes, lo que denotaria que existe un alto nivel de ineficiencia en materia de gestion de residuos municipales. Por otro lado, las conclusiones apuntan a demandar de parte de los organos de gobierno, mas acceso y calidad de informacion.

The role of marketing capabilities, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze effects of absorptive capacity (ACAP) on organizational performance. The model looks at the mediating influence of marketing capabilities (innovative capability and new product development capability (NPDC)) and innovation performance (IP). Design/methodology/approach This study takes a quantitative approach by using survey data from 333 Brazilian manufacturer managers involved with strategic marketing processes. Structural equation modeling was used to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that ACAP does not have a direct impact on organizational performance. The relation is fully mediated by marketing capabilities (innovative capability and NPDC) and IP. Research limitations/implications According to the research findings, managers should put efforts in the ACAP as well as marketing capabilities that will result in better organizational performance. This research is limited to the context of manufacturer firms in Brazil. However, it is suggested that an application of this research can be conducted in different industries and different countries. Originality/value This study contributes to theory and management practice. First, no study has explored all these constructs together. Through the relationship between ACAP and performance, the authors found that marketing capabilities and IP can fully mediate the former proposed relation. The authors’ contribution is the understanding of the role of ACAP influence on performance. Managers should be encouraged to invest in companies’ ACAP as well as marketing capabilities to differentiate themselves from competitors and improve performance.

The innovation orientation influence on architectural marketing capabilities and the impact on innovation performance

This study aims to analyse the influence of innovation orientation on architectural marketing capabilities and the impact on innovation performance. These capabilities are considered through its two dimensions: strategic market planning and marketing strategy implementation capabilities. The research outcomes allow concluding that innovation orientation positively influences innovation performance and both architectural marketing capabilities dimensions. However, the two of them are not related to innovation performance, neither have they mediated the relation between innovation orientation and innovation performance. Therefore, results indicate that marketing capabilities may not contribute to isolate company performance.

Market Orientation and Sources of Knowledge to Innovate in SMEs: A Firm Level Study

This work examines the relationship between the three market orientation (MO) components, i.e. customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination, and the extension to which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use different sources of knowledge to innovate. Based on a sample of 181 Chilean SMEs, a confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was performed to analyze the relationship among constructs. The results show that the extension to which SMEs use different sources of knowledge to innovate depends on the interactions between MO components. This study addresses a gap in the literature, by linking and interrelating market orientation components to the innovation perspective in SMEs. Therefore, we provide insights into the role of each MO component in influencing the extension to which firms seek for and use different sources of knowledge to innovate and attempt to explain some literature inconsistencies on the theme.

Market orientation’s boundary-spanning role to support innovation in SMEs

This study aims to examine the relationship between market orientation, sources of innovation and intra‐firm mechanisms to support innovation. A research conducted among 325 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) reveals that market orientation significantly affects sources of innovation, providing a market‐centric focus for SMEs. It also reveals that sources of innovation positively affect intra‐firm mechanisms for innovation. Finally, it reveals that market orientation has an indirect and positive effect on intrafirm mechanisms for innovation via the extent to which the studied SMEs use different sources of innovation. To better understand these relationships we consider market orientations boundary‐spanning role for SMEs.