Subramanian Sivaramakrishnan

The Relationship between Organizational Commitment and Market Orientation

Existing literature seems to disagree on exactly what role organizational commitment plays in the market orientation of a firm. This paper hypothesizes that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between a market‐based reward system and market orientation, and moderates the strength of the relationship between top management emphasis and market orientation. Data collected from 105 firms and 306 managers across Canada indicate that organizational commitment fully mediates the relation between market‐based reward systems and market orientation. Our hypothesis that organizational commitment moderates the relation between top management emphasis and market orientation was not supported.

The Effect of Country-Related Brand Associations and Product Attributes on Attitude toward Unfamiliar Foreign Brands: A Schema Congruity Perspective

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine which combinations of country-related brand associations and product attributes are critical when a new foreign brand is introduced into the market. Study 1 shows that moderately incongruent combinations of country of brand origin and country of manufacture result in the most positive attitude toward the brand. Study 2 shows that when information on tangible product attributes is available to resolve the incongruity between country of brand origin and country of manufacture, strength of product attributes determines attitude toward the brand. Strength of product attributes, however, becomes irrelevant when consumers have a positive perception of both brand origin and country of manufacture, in which case the attitude toward the brand is heuristically formed.

Critical Success Factors and Outcomes of Market Knowledge Management: A Conceptual Model and Empirical Evidence

In this paper, the authors examine critical success factors and outcomes of market knowledge management, which is the management of knowledge pertaining to a firms customers, competitors, and suppliers. Using data collected from 307 managers in 105 businesses across Canada, the authors show that a firms extent of information technology adoption, its analytical capabilities, and market orientation are critical success factors for the firms market knowledge management. An important outcome of market knowledge management is the organizations financial performance, mediated by customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Results of this study indicate that superior business performance depends not only on the effective management of knowledge, but also on what type of knowledge is managed. Finally, implications of results and avenues for future research are discussed.

The effect of cognitive busyness on consumers’ perception of product value

In this paper, an interesting paradox is demonstrated – when consumers pay a great deal of attention to product and price information in an advertisement, they are likely to find themselves lacking the cognitive resources required to use that information in making a discerning assessment of the value of the product offering. Using three studies, it is shown that paying close attention to product‐ and price‐related information details causes cognitive busyness, which can cause consumers to engage in a greater degree of heuristic processing than those who are cognitively less busy. It is demonstrated that, when consumers are cognitively busy, they are less likely to accurately assess the value of price discount offers. Such cognitively busy consumers generally disregard the magnitude of the discount and the actual savings offered in forming their assessments of value for the offer. Non‐busy consumers, on the other hand, perceive differences in value as magnitude of discounts, price, or quality of product features being altered. Implications for managers and consumers are discussed.

The Mediating Role of Knowledge Management in Translating the Firm's Learning Orientation and Market Orientation to Business Performance

Knowledge management, market orientation, and learning orientation have all been considered important success factors to a firms performance. Using data gathered from 307 managers in 105 organizations across Canada, this study develops and empirically tests a model that demonstrates that a firms knowledge management mediates the positive influences from the firms learning orientation and market orientation to market performance. The model highlights the important role played by knowledge management in translating organizational culture factors such as learning and market orientations to tangible business performance

Antecedents to Knowledge Management: The Role of Information Technology Adoption, Analytical Capabilities, and Market Orientation

Knowledge Management, which is concerned with how information is collected, processed, and converted into knowledge, is an important stream of research in organizational theory and strategy. A rich body of literature is developing on how knowledge is generated, processed, and managed within organizations. However, there is a lack of research on how knowledge management (KM) interacts with various organizational factors and, in particular, how it relates to the firm’s market orientation. Although knowledge of customers and competitors is at the heart of a firm’s market orientation, little is known on how this knowledge is created and managed. In this paper, we enhance our understanding of elements that lead an organization to create and use knowledge for decision-making. We hypothesize that analytical capabilities and information technology adoption are important antecedents to the organization’s knowledge management. We further hypothesize that their influences are partially mediated by the firm’s market orientation.