Linking intangible resources and export performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albertina Paula Monteiro ◽  
Ana Maria Soares ◽  
Orlando Lima Rua

Purpose This research draws upon the resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities view’s premise that a firm’s resources and capabilities determine competitive advantage. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model entailing simultaneously the impact of intangible resources; and dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation on export performance. Design/methodology/approach Therefore, the authors developed a study based on a survey of 265 Portuguese exporting companies. Data were submitted to a multivariate statistical analysis and a linear regression model was applied in order to predict the influence of the intangible resources on export performance. The structural equations model was used for this purpose. Findings The results show that export performance is directly impacted by dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation. However, intangible resources do not have a significant direct impact on entrepreneurial orientation; they do have an indirect effect through the mediation of dynamic capabilities. These findings highlight the catalyst role of dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial orientation, leveraging the role of intangible resources as antecedents of export performance. These findings are valuable inputs for exporting managers and public entities. Originality/value While previous authors have attempted to analyse certain aspects of this process (linkage between intangible resources and export performance), this research developed a framework that combines these ones with entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic capabilities.

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 733-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Colla ◽  
Maria Eugenia Ruiz-Molina ◽  
Catherine Chastenet De Gery ◽  
Maryline Schultz ◽  
Martine Deparis ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of participative franchising on performance from the franchisee perspective. In particular, the paper analyses the impact of the franchisee autonomy – in human resource management and marketing decisions – affective commitment to the network and network innovativeness on the franchisee relative performance. Design/methodology/approach A survey answered by 226 franchisees in France allowed to estimate a structural equations model through partial least squares regression analysis to test the hypothesised relations between autonomy, affective commitment, innovativeness and performance. Findings According to the authors’ findings, franchisee’s autonomy in commercial policies, mediated by to franchisor’s ability to innovate and acknowledge innovations stemming from the franchisees, and the affective commitment to the network, emerge as strong determinants of the franchisee’s performance. Research limitations/implications The results confirm the conclusions of other research, but extend and integrate them, providing evidence that the role of participative franchising should not be neglected. Practical implications The results obtained provide evidence about the importance of bidirectional communication instruments in the relations between franchisor and franchisee, and participation tools for the identification, recognition and support to the innovative successful practices developed by franchisees to be quickly implemented by other franchisees in the network. Originality/value This paper looks at franchisee autonomy, affective commitment and innovativeness as potential determinants of franchisee’s performance, being the latter an underexplored topic.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Hamdoun ◽  
Mohamed Akli Achabou ◽  
Sihem Dekhili

Purpose This paper aims to examine the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance in the context of developing countries. More specifically, the mediating role of a firm’s competitive advantage and intangible resources, namely, human capital and reputation are studied. Design/methodology/approach The study considered a sample of 100 Tunisian firms. The analysis makes use of the structural equation modelling method to explore the relationship between CSR and financial performance, by including mediator variables. Findings The results confirm that CSR has no significant direct effect on financial performance. In particular, they indicate that the social dimension of CSR has a negative impact on performance. However, CSR does have a positive impact on competitive advantage via the two intangible resources considered, human capital and company reputation. Research limitations/implications The research fills a gap that occurred in the previous literature. In effect, previous studies focussed only on the direct link between CSR and financial performance. In addition, it enriches the limited literature on CSR strategies in the context of developing countries. However, further studies should explore the opposite relationship, i.e. the impact of financial performance on CSR strategy. In addition, the authors believe that amongst other potential research avenues, it would be interesting to study the moderating role of the activity sector. Practical implications From a practical point of view, this study suggests new applications with respect to the link between CSR and financial performance. To enhance their company’s financial performance, managers need to ensure that intangible resources are managed efficiently. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by examining how a firm’s intangible resources mediate between CSR and competitive advantage and how competitive advantage mediates between intangible resources and financial performance. Second originality is related to the study of the link between CSR and the financial performance of business organisations in the context of a developing country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1511-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Jou Chen

Purpose Developing agility and innovativeness as dynamic capabilities are important for firms to sustain their competitive advantage in today’s global economy. The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework to investigate how the supply chain agility and innovativeness are achieved through IT integration and trust in members of supply chain and how these, in turn, can enhance firms’ competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach This research employs a survey method and data are collected from senior managers working in the supply chain or IT area. The model and hypotheses are tested utilizing data from 204 usable Taiwan manufacturing firms via structural equations modeling methodology. Findings The study demonstrates that both IT integration and trust in supply chain members significantly enhance supply chain agility and innovativeness, which in turn positively affect firm’s competitive advantage. The results indicate that IT integration and trust are antecedents and major joint partnership resources for improving supply chain agility and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications Data are collected from manufacturing industry in Taiwan and single respondent from each firm, the generalizability of current findings to other industries or countries should require additional investigation. Practical implications The study suggests that a firm should focus on IT integration and trust in supply chain members to achieve supply chain agility and innovativeness. To take advantage of supply chain agility and innovativeness, through maximizing firm’s competitive advantage, firms should continually adapt to the fast changing business environment and search for creative ways to satisfy new market needs. Originality/value Given the attention paid to supply chain agility and innovativeness in terms of importance to responding to business uncertainty and competitiveness, and more recently, as important capabilities in managing supply chain management, this paper investigates how IT integration and trust can contribute to supply chain agility and innovativeness. Provide evidence regarding the impact of IT integration and trust on agility of supply chains, innovativeness and competitive advantage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-286
Author(s):  
Jorge Ferreira ◽  
Arnaldo Coelho

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of dynamic capabilities (DC) (in the view of exploration and exploitation) on competitiveness and performance, considering the mediating role the innovation capability (IC) and branding capabilities (BC)on competitive advantage and firm’s performance and the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Design/methodology/approach This investigation proposes a theoretical model tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Multi-group analysis was performed to understand the moderating role of. A questionnaire survey was developed to explore the relations between DC and innovation variable. For this study, 387 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of Portugal SME’ firms. A 90-item questionnaire which consists to study the relationships among all the variables. Findings The results show that exists a positive direct and indirect influence of DC on competitive advantage and performance variables and mediating impact the IC and BC. Research limitations/implications This study has some methodological limitations affecting its potential contributions. As a cross-sectional study that captures one image in time, its ability to identify strict causality between variables is limited. Furthermore, the results are based on log collected from a key respondent, rather than broader actual data. The results are restricted to one country, Portugal. Some variables, such as ICs, may play a different role in other countries. Future research should initially target different countries. Such research could then test the generalizability of the results. Practical implications This study has important implications for the managers. It highlights the necessity of firms to develop superior strategic orientation of all their members and to invest in better resources and consequently superior capabilities as a way of achieving high levels of firm performance. Another implication from the study is that the firms should develop their marketing programs by focusing on developing innovativeness. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of the indirect and direct impact of exploration and exploitation variables, and the mediating role of ICs and BC on the competitive advantage and performance and the moderating effect of EO.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1026-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasilis Theoharakis ◽  
Yannis Angelis ◽  
Georgios Batsakis

Purpose The importance of architectural marketing capabilities (i.e. marketing planning and implementation) in exporting ventures has been recognised. However, extant literature has not taken into account the explicit roles and required synergy between the exporter and their foreign distributor in delivering these capabilities. Drawing from the resource-based theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the complementarity of distributor implementation capability and market orientation with exporter planning capability. Design/methodology/approach The study was carried out using a survey. Data were collected from 147 Greek exporters who replied to our questionnaire and the hypotheses were tested using the full information maximum likelihood estimation procedure. Findings The results support the hypotheses about the importance of exporter planning capability on financial performance and the complementary role of distributor market orientation. Further, the authors find that the distributor’s implementation capability partially mediates the impact of the exporter’s planning capability on financial performance. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding about the complementarity of exporter and distributor capabilities. It demonstrates the crucial role of the distributor in the deployment of architectural capabilities for the export venture: the distributor’s market orientation and implementation capability have the final say in achieving higher levels of export performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Ramírez ◽  
Julio Dieguez-Soto ◽  
Montserrat Manzaneque

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: to know whether those firms that achieve greater efficiency from their intangible resources (intellectual capital) also obtain greater performance; and to analyze the moderating role of family management on that relationship in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducts an empirical study with different econometric models using a panel data sample of 6,132 paired firm-year observations from Spanish manufacturing SMEs in the period 2000–2013.FindingsThe findings suggest that intellectual capital efficiency is a key factor that allows the firm to achieve and maintain competitive advantages, obtaining greater performance. Additionally, this research also shows that the moderating role of family management can be a double-edged sword depending on the type of intangible resources.Practical implicationsThis paper may give managers an insight in how to better utilize and manage intangible resources available in their firms to improve competitive advantage and ultimately firm performance. Additionally, on the basis of the Socioemotional Wealth perspective (SEW), this article argues that family-managed firms that focus on SEW preservation can enhance the impact of structural capital efficiency on performance.Originality/valueThis paper extends the prior literature by studying the joint effects of intellectual capital efficiency, distinguishing between human capital and structural capital efficiency, and family management on performance in the context of SMEs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 13-15

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on strategic choices when entering a foreign market. On balance the results reveal that combining all three EO trait dimensions – innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness – creates the best probability of success when entering a product into a new foreign market by deploying either an explorative or an exploitative product marketing strategy. Although a riskier explorative strategy is the most promising option for building longer-term competitive advantage, blending this with elements of a more conservative but growth-lacking exploitative strategy can yield synergistic benefits. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaynab Dadzie ◽  
Ahmed Agyapong ◽  
Abdulai Suglo

Purpose This study aims to examine the mediating role of internationalization in the relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance, empirical study of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in a developing nation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 158 exporting SMEs based in the sub-Saharan developing economy, Ghana. The use of hierarchical regression (ordinary least square analysis) was used by the researcher to assess the suggested model of the study. Findings Largely supporting the conjectural predictions, the study indicates that EO positively and significantly influences performance; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance of export firms; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between risk-taking and performance of export firms; and finally, internationalization partially mediates the relationship between competitive aggressiveness and performance of export firms. Managers are, therefore, encouraged to strategically develop both their EO and internationalization, as the study has confirmed that EO has both a direct and indirect relationship with performance. Originality/value This study integrated a resource-based view of the firm and international entrepreneurship theory as a theoretical foundation. Theoretically, internationalization’s mediating role reveals the relevance of this construct in the linkage between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Furthermore, the study extends the entrepreneurial orientation concept to the international business literature by estimating and testing models of the mediating link between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Moreover, the study seeks to broaden the knowledge of entrepreneurial orientation and its relationship with performance in small and medium businesses. The study further extends the limited studies on performance, driven by entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization in a developing nation (Ghanaian) context. This paper besides seeks to highlight the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on performance when channeled through internationalization. The study also reveals the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to be important antecedents of internationalization, in attempts at unearthing the critical predictors of firm performance, especially those of international characteristics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-246
Author(s):  
Cristiano Pinto Klinger ◽  
Elvis Silveira-Martins ◽  
Gabriela Jurak de Castro ◽  
Carlos Ricardo Rossetto

Purpose The purpose of this study is to verify whether managers’ strategic orientation influences decision-making related to differentiation and whether these two factors impact on the performance of the firms in the Brazilian wine industry. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with representatives from 123 wineries located in the following Brazilian states: 78.86 per cent in Rio Grande do Sul; 13.01 per cent in Santa Catarina; 2.44 per cent in Paraná; 2.44 per cent in São Paulo; 1.63 per cent in Bahia; and 1.63 per cent in Pernambuco. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques, resulting in a structural equations model of the constructs. Findings The research findings show that there is a positive association between prospector orientation and differentiation. Analyst positioning was negatively associated with differentiation of winery companies. It was also possible to show that differentiation has a positive relationship with performance. Originality/value While a previous study attempted to identify wineries’ strategic orientation using other theoretical constructs, this study makes a contribution to consolidating reflections on strategic orientation focused on differentiation and performance. The results contribute to expanding the scientific debate by filling a gap in existing theory and also provide information of use to decision-makers, demonstrating, which approaches improve differentiation, and hence, performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 3364-3386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Alvarez-Torres ◽  
Gabriela Citlalli Lopez-Torres ◽  
Giovanni Schiuma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to contribute to the extant literature about the role of EO for SMEs development, and more specifically to identify implications that can inform knowledge-based initiatives of entrepreneurship universities focussing on the development and diffusion of the entrepreneurial culture and capacity. Design/methodology/approach This research paper adopts a quantitative approach to investigate a conceptual framework linking EO to SME’s performance. The central postulated hypothesis is that EO positively affects performance of SMEs. This hypothesis has been tested by using a system of partial least squares of structural equations modelling, adopting the SmartPLS® 3.0 software (Ringle et al., 2015). The empirical context analysed 170 SMEs operating in the Bajio Region (México) in the leather–footwear sector. Findings The results provide evidence that Mexican companies that manifest EO have a positive effect on their firm performance. Similarly, findings emphasise that both risk taking and innovativeness are currently the central axes of EO for the analysed companies. Accordingly, entrepreneurial universities should be engaged in the development of EO of students, academic staff and companies by focussing on knowledge-based actions that can foster the improvement of some specific features of the EO. Practical implications The results provide insights about the relationships between EO and the performance of SMEs indicating that potentials initiatives of entrepreneurship universities aiming to support the development capacity of SMEs as well as of students and academic staff should be focussed on the critical dimensions characterising EO. Originality/value This paper provides insights into the role of EO for SMEs performance. It provides three main contributions. First, derived from literature research, it proposes a working definition of EO. Second, the empirical research findings support an understanding of the relationship between EO and Mexican SMEs performance and propose a multiple and reflective dimension of EO’s model. Moreover, finally, this research provides some implications for entrepreneurship universities aiming to create and diffuse an entrepreneurial culture and capabilities by fostering the development of the EO.


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