THE EFFECTS OF THE FIRMS STRATEGIC MARKETING ORIENTATION ON VALUE COCREATION AND RELATIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The advanced information technology leads to network age, making existing competitive advantages such as differentiation and cost leadership powerless in B2B context. The competitiveness of individual firm plays a significant role in enhancing the competitive advantage of a business network that a firm belongs to. The competitiveness of a business network depends on value co-creation, the interaction among firms in a network. Value co-creation has desirable and risky aspects. The increases in profits, brand reputation, and time and cost efficiency, client and supplier learning, etc. are positive aspects. But role conflicts, role ambiguity, and tension, etc. are negative outcomes.How can the industrial firm succeed in value co-creation with its partners in B2B context? The study focuses on the firm’s strategic marketing orientations as an antecedent of value co-creation. Strategic marketing orientations as the values and beliefs of the firm affect the collaboration with other firms during value co-creation. Previous literature assumes that a firm pursues one single strategic orientation.However, the study assumes that an industrial firm has entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, long-term orientation, and relationship orientation. The study mostly focused on the relationships among those strategic marketing orientations. Based on these inter-relationships, the study proposed a set of value co-creation activity criteria such as information seeking, information sharing, personal interaction, responsible behavior, feedback, helping, advocacy, tolerance. Value co-creation has been evaluated by relationship performance such as trust and commitment.The study examined the relationships between strategic marketing orientations and value co-creation. Data was collected from 159 Korean manufacturers in B2B context and analyzed through structural equation modeling.The study provides evidence that entrepreneurial orientation affects market orientation positively and market orientation has positive effects on long-term orientation and relationship orientation, and long-term orientation and relationship orientation influence value co-creation directly. Value co-creation has a positive effect on relationship performance.The results of the study provide valuable implications to the mangers of industrial firms in B2B context. To succeed the value co-creation, the firm first has to look at the difference between strategic marketing orientations that the value co-creation partners pursue. In terms of selecting value co-creation partner, industrial firm with long-term orientation and relationship orientation will be more effective. Six activities of interactions during value co-creation play an important role in enhancing trust and commitment.The study contributes to the value co-creation literature by identifying strategic marketing orientations as independent variable influencing the value co-creation in B2B context. The study has several limitations that call for future research.