Technological uncertainty, market orientation and firms’ economic performance

Titolo Rivista MERCATI & COMPETITIVITÀ
Autori/Curatori Gianluca Vagnani, Michele Simoni
Anno di pubblicazione 2016 Fascicolo 2016/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 25 P. 143-167 Dimensione file 174 KB
DOI 10.3280/MC2016-002008
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

The paper analyzes how the technological environment affects the relationship between market orientation and a firm’s economic performance. In particular, the study focuses on a dimension of technological environment that has been neglected by the extant literature to date, i.e., the level of uncertainty for firms created by the homogeneity-heterogeneity of the set of technologies available in an industry. In addition, in contrast to past studies that have been primarily based on cross-sectional analysis and subjective measures, this paper proposes a longitudinal study based on objective measures of market orientation, technological uncertainty and performance. Our findings show the peculiar effect of technological uncertainty on the market orientation-firm’s performance link. Moreover, this paper introduces a set of new methodologies, particularly on the measurement of market orientation and of technological uncertainty. The theoretical contribution and practical implications of our results are discussed.

Parole chiave:Technological uncertainty, market orientation, firm’s economic performance, endogeneity, content analysis, longitudinal research design

  1. Ashwin M. & Hirst A. (2014). Scoping the market orientation literature from 2009 to 2013: a review of the concept and the discussions found across a range of academic disciplines. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 23(4): 353-363, DOI: 10.1080/0965254x.2014.970213
  2. Atuahene-Gima K. & Ko A. (2001). An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Market Orientation and Entrepreneurship Orientation Alignment on Product Innovation. Organization Science, 12(1): 54-74, DOI: 10.1287/orsc.12.1.54.10121
  3. Atuahene-Gima K., Slater S.F. & Olson E.M. (2005). The contingent value of responsive and proactive market orientations for new product program performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 22(6): 464-482, DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5885.2005.00144.x
  4. Balakrishnan S. (1996). Benefits of customer and competitive orientations in industrial markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 25(4): 257-269, DOI: 10.1016/0019-8501(96)00012-0
  5. Baron R.M. & Kenny D.A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of personality and social psychology, 51(6): 1173-1182, DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173
  6. Bennett R.C. & Cooper R.G. (1979). Beyond the marketing concept. Business Horizons, 22(3): 76-83, DOI: 10.1016/0007-6813(79)90088-0
  7. Billett M.T., King T.H.D. & Mauer D.C. (2007). Growth opportunities and the choice of leverage, debt maturity, and covenants. The Journal of Finance, 62(2): 697-730, DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6261.2007.01221.x
  8. Birkinshaw J. & Gibson C. (2004). Building ambidexterity into an organization. MIT Sloan Management Review, 45: 47-55, DOI: 10.1225/SMR144
  9. Blundell R. & Bond S. (2000). GMM estimation with persistent panel data: an application to production functions. Econometric reviews, 19(3): 321-340, DOI: 10.1080/07474930008800475
  10. Bowman E.H. (1984). Content analysis of annual reports for corporate strategy and risk. Interfaces, 14(1): 61-71, DOI: 10.1287/inte.14.1.61
  11. Cassar, G. (2010). Are individuals entering self_employment overly optimistic? An empirical test of plans and projections on nascent entrepreneur expectations. Strategic Management Journal, 31(8): 822-840, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.945206
  12. Chakravarthy, B. S. (1986). Measuring strategic performance. Strategic Management Journal, 7(5): 437-458, DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250070505
  13. Christensen C.M. & Bower, J. L. (1996). Customer power, strategic investment, and the failure of leading firms. Strategic Management Journal, 17(3): 197-218, DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0266(199603)17:3<197::aid-smj804>3.3.co;2-l
  14. Chung K.H. & Pruitt, S. W. (1994). A simple approximation of Tobin’s q. Financial management, 23(3): 70-74, DOI: 10.2307/3665623
  15. Courtis J.K. (1982). Private shareholder response to corporate annual reports. Accounting & Finance, 22(2): 53-72, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-629x.1982.tb00036.x
  16. Daniel Kindström D.C.K., Dr, Carbonell P. & Rodriguez-Escudero A.-I. (2014). Antecedents and consequences of using information from customers involved in new service development. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 29(2): 112-122, DOI: 10.1108/jbim-04-2012-0071
  17. Deshpandé R. & Farley J. (1998). Measuring market orientation: generalization and synthesis. Journal of Market-Focused Management, 2(3): 213-232, DOI: 10.1023/A:1009719615327
  18. Deshpandé R., Farley J.U. & Webster F.E. (2000). Triad lessons: generalizing results on high performance firms in five business-to-business markets. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 17(4): 353-362, DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8116(00)00009-4
  19. Dess G.G. & Beard D.W. (1984). Dimensions of organizational task environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29(1): 52-73, DOI: 10.2307/2393080
  20. Devinney T.M., Yip G.S. & Johnson, G. (2010). Using frontier analysis to evaluate company performance. British Journal of Management, 21(4): 921-938, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00650.x
  21. Fleming L. & Sorenson, O. (2003). Navigating the Technology Landscape of Innovation. (cover story). MIT Sloan Management Review, 44(2): 15-23, Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=8955594&site=ehost-live.
  22. Fleming L. & Sorenson O. (2004). Science as a map in technological search. Strategic Management Journal, 25(8-9): 909-928, DOI: 10.1002/smj.384
  23. Frenken K. (2006). A fitness landscape approach to technological complexity, modularity, and vertical disintegration. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 17(3): 288-305, DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2006.01.001
  24. Frenken K., Saviotti P.P. & Trommetter M. (1999). Variety and niche creation in aircraft, helicopters, motorcycles and microcomputers. Research Policy, 28(5): 469-488, DOI: 10.1016/s0048-7333(99)00008-6
  25. Frosch R.A. (1996). The customer for R&D is always wrong! Research Technology Management, 39(6): 22-27, DOI: 10.1002/pam.2028
  26. Golinelli G.M. & Vagnani G. (2002). Corporate Governance as a Viable System: the Role of Intra-and Inter-Systemic Relationships. Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management (2): 54-68, DOI: 10.4468/2002.2.07golinelli.vagnani
  27. González-Benito Ó. & González-Benito J. (2005). Cultural vs. operational market orientation and objective vs. subjective performance: Perspective of production and operations. Industrial Marketing Management, 34(8): 797-829, DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2005.01.002
  28. Gotteland D. & Boulé, J.-M. (2006). The market orientation–new product performance relationship: Redefining the moderating role of environmental conditions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(2): 171-185, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2005.08.001
  29. Gray B., Matear S., Boshoff C. & Matheson P. (1998). Developing a better measure of market orientation. European Journal of Marketing, 32(9/10): 884-903,
  30. 10.1108/03090569810232327.
  31. Greene W.H. (2002). Econometric analysis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
  32. Griliches Z. (1981). Market value, R&D, and patents. Economics letters, 7(2): 183-187, DOI: 10.1016/0165-1765(87)90114-5
  33. Griliches Z. (1990). Patent statistics as economic indicators: a survey. National Bureau of Economic Research, DOI: 10.3386/w3301
  34. Hall B.H. (1993). The stock market’s valuation of R&D investment during the 1980’s. The American Economic Review, 83(2): 259-264, Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117674.
  35. Hansen L.P. (1982). Large sample properties of generalized method of moments estimators. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 50(4): 1029-1054, DOI: 10.2307/1912775
  36. Hsiao C. (2007). Panel data analysis—advantages and challenges. Test, 16(1): 1-22, DOI: 10.1007/s11749-007-0046-x
  37. Jaworski B.J. & Kohli A.K. (1993). Market orientation: antecedents and consequences. Journal of Marketing, 57(3): 53, DOI: 10.2307/1251854
  38. Katila R. (2002). New product search over time: past ideas in their prime?. Academy of Management Journal, 45(5): 995-1010, DOI: 10.2307/3069326
  39. Keegan J. & Kabanoff B. (2007). Indirect industry-and subindustry-level managerial discretion measurement. Organizational Research Methods, DOI: 10.1177/1094428107308897
  40. Keil T., Maula M., Schildt H. & Zahra S.A. (2008). The effect of governance modes and relatedness of external business development activities on innovative performance. Strategic Management Journal, 29(8): 895-907, DOI: 10.1002/smj.672
  41. King G. & Lowe W. (2003). An automated information extraction tool for international conflict data with performance as good as human coders: A rare events evaluation design. International Organization, 57(3): 617-642, DOI: 10.1017/s0020818303573064
  42. Kirca A.H., Jayachandran, S. & Bearden W.O. (2005). Market orientation: A metaanalytic review and assessment of its antecedents and impact on performance. Journal of Marketing, 69(2): 24-41, DOI: 10.1509/jmkg.69.2.24.60761
  43. Kleinknecht A., Van Montfort K. & Brouwer E. (2002). The non-trivial choice between innovation indicators. Economics of Innovation and new technology, 11(2): 109-121, DOI: 10.1080/10438590210899
  44. Kohli A.K. & Jaworski, B.J. (1990). Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications. Journal of Marketing, 54(2): 1-18, DOI: 10.2307/1251866
  45. Kohli A.K., Jaworski B.J. & Kumar A. (1993). MARKOR: A Measure of Market Orientation. Journal of Marketing Research, 30(4): 467-477, DOI: 10.2307/3172691
  46. Kumar K., Subramanian R. & Yauger C. (1998). Examining the Market Orientation-Performance Relationship: A Context-Specific Study. Journal of Management, 24(2): 201-233, DOI: 10.1177/014920639802400204
  47. Kumar V., Jones E., Venkatesan R. & Leone R.P. (2011). Is market orientation a source of sustainable competitive advantage or simply the cost of competing?. Journal of Marketing, 75(1): 16-30, DOI: 10.1509/jmkg.75.1.16
  48. Laver, M., Benoit, K. & Garry, J. (2003). Extracting policy positions from political texts using words as data. American Political Science Review, 97(2): 311-331, DOI: 10.1017/s0003055403000698
  49. Lavie D., Kang J. & Rosenkopf L. (2011). Balance within and across domains: The performance implications of exploration and exploitation in alliances. Organization Science, 22(6): 1517-1538, DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1100.0596
  50. Lenox M.J., Rockart S.F. & Lewin A.Y. (2010). Does interdependency affect firm and industry profitability? An empirical test. Strategic Management Journal, 31(2): 121-139, DOI: 10.1002/smj.811
  51. Leonard-Barton, D. (1992). Core capabilities and core rigidities: A paradox in managing new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 13(S1): 111-125, DOI: 10.1142/9789814295505_0002
  52. Liao S.-H., Chang W.-J., Wu C.-C. & Katrichis J.M. (2011). A survey of market orientation research (1995-2008). Industrial Marketing Management, 40(2): 301-310, DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.09.003
  53. Lin B.-W., Lee Y. & Hung S.-C. (2006). R&D intensity and commercialization orientation effects on financial performance. Journal of Business Research, 59(6): 679-685, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.01.002
  54. Lindenberg E.B. & Ross S.A. (1981). Tobin’s q ratio and industrial organization. Journal of Business, 54(1): 1-32, DOI: 10.1086/296120
  55. Lubatkin M. & Shrieves R.E. (1986). Towards reconciliation of market performance measures to strategic management research. Academy of Management Review, 11(3): 497-512, DOI: 10.5465/amr.1986.4306197
  56. Michalisin M.D. (2001). Validity of annual report assertions about innovativeness: an empirical investigation. Journal of Business Research, 53(3): 151-161, DOI: 10.1016/s0148-2963(99)00118-6
  57. Moran P., Simoni M. & Vagnani G. (2011). Becoming the best: by beating or ignoring the best? Toward an expanded view of the role of managerial selection in complex and turbulent environments. Journal of Management & Governance, 15(3): 447-481, DOI: 10.1007/s10997-010-9129-2
  58. Morgan N.A., Vorhies D.W. & Mason C.H. (2009). Market orientation, marketing capabilities, and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 30(8): 909-920, DOI: 10.1002/smj.764
  59. Narver J.C. & Slater S.F. (1990). The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54(4): 20-35, DOI: 10.4135/9781452231426.n3
  60. Osborne J.D., Stubbart C.I. & Ramaprasad A. (2001). Strategic groups and competitive enactment: a study of dynamic relationships between mental models and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 22(5): 435-454, DOI: 10.1002/smj.166
  61. Patel P. & Pavitt K. (1997). The technological competencies of the world’s largest firms: complex and path-dependent, but not much variety. Research Policy, 26(2): 141-156, DOI: 10.1016/s0048-7333(97)00005-x
  62. Pelham A.M. & Wilson D.T. (1995). A longitudinal study of the impact of market structure, firm structure, strategy, and market orientation culture on dimensions of small-firm performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24(1): 27- 43, DOI: 10.1177/009207039602400103
  63. Porac J.F., Wade J.B. & Pollock T.G. (1999). Industry categories and the politics of the comparable firm in CEO compensation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1): 112-144, DOI: 10.2307/2667033
  64. Raju P.S., Lonial S.C. & Crum M.D. (2011). Market orientation in the context of SMEs: A conceptual framework. Journal of Business Research, 64(12): 1320-1326, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.12.002
  65. Reichheld F.F. (1996). Learning from customer defections. Harvard Business Review, 74(2): 56-69, doi 10.1225/96210
  66. Richard P.J., Devinney T.M., Yip G.S. & Johnson G. (2009). Measuring organizational performance: Towards methodological best practice. Journal of Management, 35(3), DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.814285
  67. Rodriguez Cano C., Carrillat F.A. & Jaramillo F. (2004). A meta-analysis of the relationship between market orientation and business performance: evidence from five continents. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21(2): 179-200, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2003.07.001
  68. Roodman D. (2009). A note on the theme of too many instruments. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and statistics, 71(1): 135-158, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0084.2008.00542.x
  69. Rosenberg N. (1982). Inside the black box: Technology and economics. Cambridge University Press.
  70. Ruekert R.W. (1992). Developing a market orientation: an organizational strategy perspective. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 9(3): 225-245, DOI: 10.1016/0167-8116(92)90019-h
  71. Saviotti P.P. & Metcalfe J.S. (1984). A theoretical approach to the construction of technological output indicators. Research Policy, 13(3): 141-151, DOI: 10.1016/0048-7333(84)90022-2
  72. Schot J. & Geels F. (2007). Niches in evolutionary theories of technical change. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 17(5): 605-622, DOI: 10.1007/s00191-007-0057-5
  73. Shannon C.E. (1948). A mathematical theory of communication. The Bell System Technical Journal, 27: 379-423, 623-656, DOI: 10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x
  74. Shiller R.J. (1980). Do Stock Prices Move Too Much to be Justified by Subsequent Changes in Dividends?. National Bureau of Economic Research, DOI: 10.3386/w0456
  75. Slater S. F. & Narver J.C. (1994). Market orientation, customer value, and superior performance. Business Horizons, 37(2): 22-28, DOI: 10.1016/0007-6813(94)90029-9
  76. Slater S.F. & Narver J.C. (2000). The positive effect of a market orientation on business profitability: a balanced replication. Journal of Business Research, 48(1): 69-73, DOI: 10.1016/s0148-2963(98)00077-0
  77. Abell D. (1993). Managing with dual Strategies. Mastering the present and preempting the future. New York: The Free Press.
  78. Abrahamson E. & Amir E. (1996). The information content of the president’s letter to shareholders. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 23(8): 1157-1182, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.1996.tb01163.x
  79. Anderson P. & Tushman M.L. (1990). Technological discontinuities and dominant designs: A cyclical model of technological change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(4): 604-633, DOI: 10.2307/2393511
  80. Arellano M. (2003). Panel data econometrics. New York: Oxford University Press.
  81. Sorenson O., Rivkin J.W. & Fleming L. (2006). Complexity, networks and knowledge flow. Research Policy, 35(7): 994-1017, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.310001
  82. Stevenson R.L. (2001). In Praise of Dumb Clerks: Computer-Assisted Content. In M.D. West (Ed.), Theory, Method, and Practice in Computer Content Analysis (pp. 3-12). Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
  83. Tauber E.M. (1974). How market research discourages major innovation. Business Horizons, 17(3): 22-26, DOI: 10.1016/0007-6813(74)90070-6
  84. Theil H. (1967). Economics and information theory. Amsterdam: North Holland.
  85. Tobin J. (1969). A general equilibrium approach to monetary theory. Journal of money, credit and banking, 1(1): 15-29, DOI: 10.2307/1991374
  86. Tobin J. (1978). Monetary policies and the economy: the transmission mechanism. Southern Economic Journal, 44(3): 421-431, DOI: 10.2307/1057201
  87. Trajtenberg M., Henderson R. & Jaffe A. (1997). University versus corporate patents: A window on the basicness of invention. Economics of Innovation and new technology, 5(1): 19-50, DOI: 10.1080/10438599700000006.TsaiK.-H.,ChouC.&KuoJ.-H.(2008).Thecurvilinearrelationshipsbetweenresponsiveandproactivemarketorientationsandnewproductperformance:Acontingentlink.IndustrialMarketingManagement,37(8):884-894,doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2007.03.005
  88. Tushman M.L. & Anderson P. (1986). Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31(3): 439-465, DOI: 10.2307/2392832
  89. Uotila J., Maula M., Keil T. & Zahra S.A. (2009). Exploration, exploitation, and financial performance: analysis of S&P 500 corporations. Strategic Management Journal, 30(2): 221-231, DOI: 10.1002/smj.738

Gianluca Vagnani, Michele Simoni, Technological uncertainty, market orientation and firms’ economic performance in "MERCATI & COMPETITIVITÀ" 2/2016, pp 143-167, DOI: 10.3280/MC2016-002008