Đang tải... (xem toàn văn)
Market orientation and business performance The role of positional advantage
MARKET ORIENTATION AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: THE ROLE OF POSITIONAL ADVANTAGE by Linda L. Vytlacil JEAN GORDON, PhD, Faculty Mentor and Chair FRANK BARNES, PhD, Committee Member MARTHA ROGERS, PhD, Committee Member William A. Reed, PhD, Acting Dean, School of Business and Technology A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Capella University December 2010 UMI Number: 3439658 All rights reserved INFORMATION T O ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3439658 Copyright 2 011 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 C:\Users\Linda\Documents\My Documents\Capella\OM9996 Dissertation I\VYTLACIL DISSERTATION FINAL DRAFT2 with edits saved to pdf.docx © Linda Vytlacil, 2010 C:\Users\Linda\Documents\My Documents\Capella\OM9996 Dissertation I\VYTLACIL DISSERTATION FINAL DRAFT2 with edits saved to pdf.docx Abstract U nderstanding business performance is the cornerstone of research in strategic management, and explaining how strategy influences performance is the fundamental object of inquiry for the discipline. Yet little in the strategic management literature recognizes the influence of marketing on business performance. Connecting marketing management and strategic management literatures is not trivial and involves more than just a translation of language, but rather a true bridging of the relevant literature in a cross-discipline spirit. While perhaps reasonable to implore strategic management researchers to adopt marketing concepts, this cross-discipline spirit can be advanced by the adoption of strategic management empirics into marketing’s models. Marketing researchers have commenced building this bridge by investigating the relationship between business strategy and market orientation in the overall context of business performance, and this study contributes to that body of knowledge by investigating simultaneously the relationship among the key constructs of market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation, and interfunctional coordination), positional advantage (differentiation advantage and cost advantage), and business performance (market performance and financial performance). Using a single-informant approach, 144 executives from among U.S. manufacturers responded to an email invitation to participate in a web-based survey, and models tested from the collected data were covariance structure models with multiple indicators for all latent constructs. Results reveal that customer orientation has a positive effect on differentiation advantage, while interfunctional coordination has a positive effect on low cost advantage. One interesting C:\Users\Linda\Documents\My Documents\Capella\OM9996 Dissertation I\VYTLACIL DISSERTATION FINAL DRAFT2 with edits saved to pdf.docx finding is that competitor orientation has no effect on either component of positional advantage. The findings also show that both differentiation advantage and cost advantage have a positive effect on market performance. We also find that market performance is a distinct construct from financial performance in the operationalization of business performance, and the results indicate an indirect path from positional advantage to financial performance through market performance. Finally, results indicate that the market characteristics of market turbulence and technological turbulence have no moderating effect between the market orientation components and positional advantage, nor do they indicate that the choice of an analyzer or prospector strategy type moderates the relationship between the market orientation components and positional advantage. iv Dedication F or Tom. v Acknowledgments T he author acknowledges her husband, Tom, who continues to be the best and most positive influence imaginable to me as a wife, mother, and professional. You are my greatest cheerleader, and I admire you. The author also acknowledges her children, Max and Emma, who are indeed “the best kids on the planet.” The author also wishes to acknowledge her father, Guenter Schmidt, who instilled courage, resilience, and a passion for learning. The author wishes to acknowledge her mentor, Dr. Jean Gordon, and Dr. Frank Barnes, whose encouragement has been essential to help me complete one of my life’s goals. The author acknowledges Dr. Martha Rogers, who inspired my passion for “the customer” and the value of demand-side thinking. vi Table of Contents A cknowledgments v List of Tables ix List of Figures xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem 1 Background of the Study 4 Statement of the Problem 6 Purpose of the Study 7 Rationale for the Study 8 Research Questions 8 Hypotheses 9 Significance of the Study 10 Definition of Terms 11 Assumptions and Limitations 13 Conceptual Framework 14 Organization of the Remainder of the Study 15 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Market Orientation 16 Measures of Business Performance 33 Positional Advantage and Market Orientation 42 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY Introduction 45 vii Research Questions 46 R esearch Variables 47 Hypotheses 48 Research Design 56 Sample 56 Measures and Instrumentation 57 Data Collection 58 Data Analysis Plan 60 Reliability and Validity 62 Ethical Considerations 64 CHAPTER 4. DATA ANALYSIS Introduction 65 Data Collection Plan 65 Pilot Study Results 66 Field Study Results 67 Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Path Model 69 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Proposed Measurement Model 72 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Modified Measurement Model 76 Assessment of Reliability and Validity 80 Causal Path Model Testing of the Proposed Structural Model and Hypothesis Testing 82 The Moderating Effects of Market Environment and Strategy Type 88 Modification to the Structural Model 90 viii CHAPTER 5. RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction 98 Results and Implication 98 Study Limitations 101 Recommendations for Further Research 102 REFERENCES 104 APPENDIX A. SURVEY INSTRUMENT 117 APPENDIX B. EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS 121 [...]... moderates the relationship between market orientation components and positional advantage H4c: Competitive intensity moderates the relationship between market orientation components and positional advantage H5: There is a positive relationship between the components of market orientation and positional advantage and strategy type H6: There is a positive relationship between market performance of a firm and. .. financial performance through market performance? R4: Does strategy type moderate the relationship between market orientation and positional advantage? R5: Do market characteristics moderate the link between market orientation and positional advantage? Hypotheses Based on the research questions, the hypotheses of the study are as follows: H1a: There is a positive relationship between customer orientation of. .. between the interfunctional coordination of a firm and its cost advantage H3a: There is a positive relationship between the differentiation advantage of a firm and its market performance 9 H3b: There is a positive relationship between the cost advantage of a firm and its market performance H4a: Market turbulence moderates the relationship between market orientation components and positional advantage. .. management and marketing to inform further on this broader organizational management issue, and (b) to fill the gap in market orientation research in understanding the indirect effect of positional advantage on financial performance through market performance Research Questions This study investigates the relationship among market orientation, positional advantage, and business performance in the context of. .. determine the effect on market orientation of three sets of antecedents, (b) to determine the effect of market orientation on a set of business outcomes including business performance, and (c) to measure the moderating effect of environmental 22 variables between market orientation and business performance Market orientation is conceptualized as three distinct business activity components (market intelligence... (2003b), the conceptual model for the study disaggregates market orientation into the three core components, and conceives distinct influences of the market orientation components on the differentiation advantage and cost advantage Specifically, the model hypothesizes that all three components of market orientation directly affect the differentiation advantage of the firm, while only competitor orientation. .. 1998) Market orientation As the operationalization of the marketing concept, market orientation is the organization culture…that most effectively and efficiently creates the necessary behaviors for the creation of superior value for buyers and, thus, continuous superior performance for the business (Narver & Slater, 1990) Market performance The subcomponent of business performance indicating the effectiveness... demonstrating the multidimensionality of business performance as both market performance and financial performance Practitioners also gain insight from this study as it further informs on the role of organizational strategy to explain the modus operandi by which an organization converts market orientation culture into superior business performance Definition of Terms Business performance The component of organizational... business performance The current study seeks to extend Langerak’s study model by exploring the multi-dimensionality of the business performance variable, and to do so among U.S manufacturers Statement of the Problem While the operationalization of the marketing concept as market orientation is established in the literature, evidence of a direct relationship between market orientation and business performance. .. includes U.S companies, and none of the studies distinguish market performance and financial performance in the specification of business performance Only Langerak (2003b) simultaneously explores the relationship among market orientation, positional advantage, and business performance, and does so among Dutch manufacturers The rationale for this study is twofold: (a) to contribute to the sparse cross-discipline . constructs of market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation, and interfunctional coordination), positional advantage (differentiation advantage and cost advantage) , and business performance. find they are able to explain more fully the market ori entation business performance link. Another factor to improve the explanation of the market orientation business performance link is the. between market orientation and business performance. Slater and Narver (1996) demonstrate a positive relationship between market orientation and the strategic management concept of positional advantage,