Strategic capabilities, niche strategy orientation and performance: a four-nation assessment

Abstract

This paper examines how strategic capabilities influence the niche strategy-performance link in Turkey, Mexico, China and the USA. Results suggest substantial differences across nations, industries and performance measures. The pursuit of a niche strategy orientation was a positive predictor of performance in all instances in which it was significant. In general, both management and technology capabilities were important drivers of performance, but results varied markedly across industries and nations and along return on assets (ROA) and sales growth as performance measures. Both technology and management capabilities were significant predictors of ROA in manufacturing and service industries in the USA, but no more than one category was significant in any of the final regression models for other nations.