Marketing Management Capabilities Research Articles

The Impact of Stagflation on Small and Medium –Sized Enterprise Performance in Champasak Province, LAO PDR

This study investigates the impact of stagflation on SME performance in Champasack Province, Lao PDR. Utilizing data from 450 SME’s owners, acquired via structured questionnaires, the research employed the structural equation modeling technique for data analysis. The result showed that stagflation have positive impact and significant on marketing management capability, Consumers, and SME performance. According to Marketig management capability has a positive impact and significant on Consumers, but its negative impact and significant on SME performances, and Consumers has a positive impact and significant on SME performances. The insights derived from this research provide essential directives for SME managers striving to business survival in economic uncertenty. Therefore, Medium-sized and small-sized enterprises in ten districts of Champasack Province, Lao PDR, need to effectively develop their marketing management capability to stimulate consumer spending during periods of stagflation. This will lead to a continuous improvement in SME performance and high business survival during the period of stagflation.

The mediating role of marketing management in the relationship between online presence and product innovation among SMEs

PurposeThis study explores the mediating role of marketing management in the relationship between online presence and product innovation among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprises 205 Costa Rican SMEs collected by the Global Competitiveness Project during the first half of 2019. The data were analyzed using a two-stage modeling strategy for ordinary regression models to analyze mediation effects.FindingsMarketing management as a strategic resource or capability accounts for the relationship between online presence and product innovation performance in SMEs, meaning that online presence resources require complementary organizational capabilities in marketing management to enhance product innovation.Originality/valueThis study, grounded in the resource-based view theory, contributes to the innovation field by identifying marketing management capabilities as an intermediate strategic interaction between online presence and product innovation performance in SMEs. Thus, managers should recognize the advantages of integrating marketing management principles and tactics into online presence tools to realize the value of their products by tailoring them to their client’s needs.

The Relationship between Marketing Management Capabilities and SMEs Business Performance during COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has created a new norm for SMEs business operations in the fashion industry, despite the disruptions to the world economy and mankind. In view of these changes, it is imperative for SMEs to prioritise their marketing management capabilities in order to improve their business performance. This study upholds the theoretical lens of resource-based view theory. This study examines the relationship between marketing management capabilities and SMEs business performance using SPSS statistical package consuming minimum data of selected 283 SMEs that are involved in the fashion industry from three (3) states in East Coast Malaysia. The results of this study provide important information for SMEs to make better informed decisions in developing the right combination of marketing planning and marketing implementation capabilities to improve their business performance. Further research should also seek to synthesise findings of the above major theoretical frameworks in the context of marketing management capabilities dimensions and business performance of SMEs. The originality of this study lies in learning the geographical impacts of SMEs in the new norm of COVID-19 and challenging the applicability of the resource-based view arguments in this specific context.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF MARKETING ORIENTATION AND MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES WITH ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS OF EVENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

Event management is a thriving and growing business in many countries, including Malaysia. There are many local entrepreneurs providing various services for events relating to the music and entertainment industry. Hence, these firms need to develop competitive advantages to ensure that their entrepreneurial endeavours are successful. Marketing orientation and management capabilities are two major contributors to business performance. Therefore, in this study, the aim is to determine the level of marketing orientation, management capabilities and entrepreneurial success, as well as to determine the relationship among these variables. This descriptive and quantitative study uses 200 respondents selected using snowball sampling method from among owners and managers of event management firms in Sabah. IBM SPSS 23.0 was used to analyse data gathered from a self-administered questionnaire. Findings showed that marketing orientation and management capabilities were perceived highly but entrepreneurial success was perceived moderately. There is also a direct, significant and moderate relationship between marketing orientation and management capabilities with entrepreneurial success. This study led to the implication that event management firms need to have strong marketing orientation and management capabilities so that their success in the entrepreneurial endeavours is achieved.

PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN MANAJEMEN PEMASARAN PRODUK UNGGULAN BERBAHAN DASAR NANEAS KECAMATAN MEKARSARI BARITO KUALA PROVINSI KALIMANTAN SELATAN

Community Service Activities by providing Training in Improvement of Marketing Management Capabilities of Leading Products Based on Pineapple in Mekarsari District are expected to increase the knowledge of SMEs, managers of BUMDES and village apparatus in marketing the products produced. One marketing technique that can be used is the marketing mix which is a combination of a number of marketing tools used by the company to convince the object of marketing or the intended target market. SMEs and BUMDES can increase sales by paying attention to products, prices, places and promotions. The combination of 4P in a product marketed will be able to increase the sales volume of SMEs in Mekarsari Barito Kuala District.

The evaluation of the impact of innovation management capability to organisational performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of innovation management capability on organisational performance. Based on the resource-advantage theory, this study addresses: “To what extent do intellectual and emotional assets influence marketing management capability which loads to the organisation’s performance?”Design/methodology/approachTo understand the research objectives, the data was collected via 35 in-depth interviews with managers and academics from various multi-national companies and new empirical insights were offered.FindingsThis study recognised three components of intellectual and emotional assets (knowledge and competence; digital technology; and reputation) and their influences on business performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) limits the generalisation of this study. To scrutinise the relations documented in this study, future research should be conducted in other country settings and different sector.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the sustainability literature by developing a conceptual model that explains the development and role of innovation management in a market context with its associated sustainability management outcomes. The results are of importance to both SMEs and policymakers. Clear need to investigate further how organisations can benefit from such capabilities for greater growth is identified.

Firms’ Reputation for Innovation: Role of Marketing Capability, Innovation Capability, and Knowledge Sharing

In the current day competitive business environment, continuous innovation has become a central strategy for most firms. The ability to achieve continuous innovation has been observed to facilitate the growth and profitability of a firm. Innovation can not only lead to new customers and market segments, but it also enables firms to develop a reputation for being innovative. In today’s world of fast-changing preferences and trends, such a reputation for a firm is likely to considerably add to its brand equity and growth prospects. The current study investigates the role of knowledge sharing, innovation capability, and marketing capability in a firm’s reputation for innovation. A set of hypotheses were developed to analyse these relationships using structural equation modelling (SEM). The data were collected from seventy-five (75) senior executives spanning across five different industries in the Indian service and manufacturing sector. The findings of the study indicated that a firm’s reputation for innovation is influenced by factors like innovation capability, which in turn is an outcome of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing within the firm. Further, marketing capability plays a positively moderating role between innovation capability and the firm’s reputation for innovation. Overall, the study highlights that the innovation capability of a firm is a result of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing inside the firm. However, such innovation capability alone is not sufficient for a firm to be viewed as “innovative”. The firm must develop and use appropriate marketing and knowledge management capabilities to highlight such an innovative nature of the firm in order to be viewed as innovative in the market.

Marketing management capability: the construct and its dimensions

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate cultural/intangible assets and marketing capabilities by examining managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a retail setting. Design/methodology/approach Nineteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with UK small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) managers and entrepreneurs to identify six sub-capabilities that form marketing capability. The authors further validated the relationship between marketing sub-capabilities and its antecedent tangible and intangible assets. The qualitative approach used provided a deeper insight into the motivations, perceptions and associations of the stakeholders behind these intangible concepts, and their relationships with their customers. Findings The research identified that there is a strong relationship between tangible and intangible assets, their components and the following capabilities: corporate/brand identity management, market sensing, customer relationship, social media/communication, design/innovation management and performance management. In addition, companies need to understand clearly what tangible and intangible assets comprise these capabilities. Where performance management is one of the key internal capabilities, companies must highlight the importance of strong cultural assets that substantially contribute to a company’s performance. Originality/value Previous work on dynamic capability analysis is too generic, predominantly relating to the manufacturing sector, and/or focussing on using a single case study example. This study extends the concept of marketing capability in a retail setting by identifying six sub-capabilities and describing the relationship of each with tangible and intangible assets. Through extensive qualitative analysis, the authors provide evidence that by fully exploiting their embedded culture and other intangible components, companies can more favourably engage with their customers to attain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Unravelling managerial competencies and the profitability of small technology-oriented businesses: A case of public access venues in an emerging economy

Orientation: The tweak speed of technological changes, volatility of domestic markets, shifts in consumer behaviour and homogeneity of Internet-based services are pressurising entrepreneurs operating small technology-oriented businesses such as public access venues (PAVs) (e.g. Internet cafés) to develop a compendium of managerial competencies to deal with these challenges effectively and expeditiously. Yet rigorous research on managerial competencies of Internet café business owners or managers in emerging economies such as South Africa is conspicuously missing, raising critical questions about the perceived significance of such competencies in management and entrepreneurship literature.Research purpose: This research, therefore, examined the managerial competencies discernible among PAV or Internet café owner or managers and their implications for the profitability of their businesses.Motivation for the study: To establish the managerial competencies of PAV or Internet café business owners or managers and their effect on the profitability of their businesses.Research approach/design and method: Drawing on a quantitative approach and a survey design, a structured questionnaire was administered to 152 Internet café owners or managers to establish the influence of their managerial competencies on the profitability of their businesses.Main findings: Three assortments of managerial competencies were evident among Internet café owners or managers, namely, resource management, innovation management and market management capabilities. The results of the Pearson’s correlations revealed that managerial competencies are significantly correlated to business profitability, resource management capabilities have the highest correlation with profitability (Correlation = 0.743, p = 0.000), followed by innovation management capabilities (Correlation = 0.732, p = 0.000) and lastly marketing management capabilities (Correlation = 0.695, p = 0.000).Practical/ managerial implications: Because many businesses were very small establishments, employing less than six employees and with owners or managers who had less than 6 years of experience, it would be critical to establish if the provision of management training to owners or managers from the inception of the business would increase the growth orientation of such businesses. Because resource management capabilities have the highest correlation with firm profitability, the managerial training of small business owners or managers should concentrate more on this dimension compared to other managerial capabilities to improve their competitiveness.Contribution/value-add: Strategic interventions to improve the profitability of these small technology-oriented businesses border on scrupulously addressing and aligning their resource management, innovation management and market management capabilities.

Digital technology and marketing management capability: achieving growth in SMEs

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities to gain more insight into the factors related to small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) growth in the UK. Based on the resource-advantage theory, this research addresses the question “to what extent does digital technology influence marketing capability which leads to companies’ growth?”Design/methodology/approachData were gathered through 21 in-depth interviews with managers from different multinational organizations and six focus groups with employees.FindingsThe study identifies the two key components of digital technology as information quality and service convenience. In addition, the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities perform the significant role of facilitator of a company’s growth.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus on UK SMEs limits the generalizability of the results. Further studies should be conducted in other sectors and country settings to examine the associations identified in the current study.Originality/valueThis study identifies the main impacts of digital technology on intellectual/physical assets. While managers and employees have specified that marketing capability is significant for organizations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to a company’s growth, competence and core competence, particularly in an SME’s setting.

The interplay between key marketing and supply chain management capabilities: the role of integrative mechanisms

PurposeThis paper aims to identify key marketing and supply chain management-related (supply chain management – SCM) capabilities and explore the nature of the linkages between these specific capabilities as shaped by the integrative mechanisms adopted by firms.Design/methodology/approachBased on the findings from dyadic interviews with 26 marketing and SCM executives from business-to-business firms, the authors develop an empirically grounded conceptual framework.FindingsThe authors identify innovativeness and market learning capability as key marketing capabilities and supply chain agility and relational capability as key SCM capabilities. The authors find that relationships between these strategic marketing and SCM capabilities follow a specific pattern. The authors also find that the application of unique integrative mechanisms can cultivate the potential tandem between marketing and SCM capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study informs theory with regard to two key areas: relationships among key marketing and SCM capabilities and integrative mechanisms that shape the underlying mechanisms of capability relationships.Practical implicationsApplication of organizational dynamics to key marketing and SCM provides a more nuanced understanding of the linkages among such capabilities. A better understanding and application of integrative mechanisms may help managers to develop better tools and means to bundle their key marketing and SCM capabilities effectively.Originality/valueThe qualitative and exploratory nature of the paper will be of significant interest to managers who would like to achieve greater synergy between marketing and SCM capabilities.

When Products and Brands Trade Hands: A Framework for Acquisition Success

This research examines the influence of a firm’s focus on either products or brands in an acquisition announcement on investor reactions and value creation for the acquiring firm. We conduct an event study of product and brand acquisitions in multiple business-to-consumer industries over a 30-year period (1980–2012). We find that value creation from such acquisitions depends on target resource strength and resource fit (relatedness between the acquirer’s and target’s product offerings). Further, the acquirer’s marketing management capability and product line diversification affect the ability of the firm to engage in resource transfer following the acquisition.

Food SMEs Face Increasing Competition in the EU Market: Marketing Management Capability Is a Tool for Becoming a Price Maker

ABSTRACTThe price‐making ability of food small and medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is important for their market survival. Since pricing is a part of marketing activities, by developing specific marketing capabilities, firms can improve their ability to make pricing decisions. This paper aims at evaluating the relationship between marketing capabilities and a firm's price‐making ability. A survey was conducted based on a sample of 371 food SMEs in the EU. We applied an Ordinal Regression Model to evaluate the determinants of a firm's price‐making ability. The analysis results revealed a certain ability of SMEs to set prices. Market analysis and marketing strategy planning capabilities are positively related to the price‐making ability of a firm, while firm size is not. Supply chain relationships play a crucial role in price‐making due to the strong constraint presented by the presence of vertical competition between food SMEs and supermarkets. (L25, L66, M31)

The limiting & facilitating factors for export through Textile, Chemical & Pharmaceutical SMEs: In Indian perspective

The SMEs are playing a strategic role in economic growth and development of the country through their contribution to the creation of wealth, employment and income generation. The Textile & Chemical Industries are the leading segment in the SME sector. For the Indian economy textiles & chemical segments plays a major role. These segment of SMEs are exposed to the competitive pressures either directly from the market place or indirectly passed on from their higher ups in the chain. However, with SMEs dynamism, flexibility and innovative drive they are increasingly focusing on improved production methods, penetrative marketing strategies and management capabilities to continue and build up their operations. The Textiles exports consists of Fabrics, Ready-made garments, Cotton textiles, Textiles made from man-made fiber, Wool and Woolen goods, Silk, Handicrafts etc. Out of which man-made textiles and silk are showing the highest growth rate. The Indian Chemical Industry comprises both small and large-scale units. The fiscal concessions granted to the small-scale sector in mid-eighties led to establishment of a large number of units in the Small Scale Industries (SSI) sector. Currently, the Indian Chemical industry is in the midst of a phase of major restructuring and consolidation. With the shift in emphasis on product innovation, brand building and environmental friendliness, this industry is increasingly moving towards greater customer orientation. Even though India enjoys an abundant supply of basic raw materials, it will have to build upon technical services and marketing capabilities to face global competition and increase its share of exports. With the initiation of planned economy from 1951 and Government of India's subsequent industrial policy earmarked a special role for small-scale industries and medium scale industries in the Indian economy. Currently Textile & Chemical SMEs are facing the challenge of increased competition on account of new open markets. In such a context the ability to export is becoming a critical factor in the development and long term survival of many SMEs.

Market orientation and marketing management of traditional food producers in the EU

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the market orientation and the marketing management capabilities of SMEs that produce traditional food products, by identifying their critical points in marketing activities.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework of this analysis relates to market orientation approach. Marketing management capability was evaluated through a questionnaire using proxies to study the different stages of marketing management. The survey involved 150 firms of which 118 are SMEs producing traditional food products, located in Hungary, Belgium, and Italy. The data were collected by a self‐administered internet survey and were analysed using multivariate analyses.FindingsCluster analysis resulted in four clusters with different marketing management capabilities. Most of the SMEs in the sample lack marketing management capabilities, even if a considerable proportion of the firms considered report good marketing capabilities that lead to a market orientation. The weakest step of market orientation is the dissemination of generated intelligence. Indeed, SMEs lack marketing organisational activities, namely in planning and implementation of marketing strategy. Moreover, SMEs with better performance check that their objectives are reached but do not compare their strategy with that of competitors. Hence, they could miss opportunities to keep up to date with market development.Originality/valueThis paper provides interesting insights about the marketing capabilities of food SMEs, which usually find it difficult to stay in the market beside large firms. Moreover, there are not many contributions in the literature about the application of market orientation approach on traditional food producers.

Small Business Marketing Capability in the Food Sector: The Cases of Belgium, Hungary and Italy

The purpose of thie paper is to assess the marketing management capabilities of SMEs producing traditional food products in the EU through thge development of a self-evaluation tool. SMEs represent the greater part of European food firms and they find it very difficult to adapt to market changes, and to compete with big enterprises. In this context, marketing management capabilities play a key role in good SME performance in the market. The self-evaluation tool is developed in the innovative form of an interactive questionnaire published on the web. At the moment, the sample is composed by 60 traditional food producers located in three member states (Belgium, Italy, and Hungary) belonging to different sectors (cheese, beer, dry ham, sausage and white pepper). The data were analysed with cluster analysis. The results of the survey revealed that most of the firms analysed show weaknesses in marketing management capabilities. Nevertheless, cluster analysis pointed out a group of firms (22% of the sample) with high performances in all the stages of marketing management process, which can be defined market oriented in terms of MARKOR approach. Most firms showed difficulties in analysing the competitive environment in which they operate, and in controlling the achievement of the marketing objectives. Moreover, the survey showed that, generally, micro sized firms perform worse than small and medium enterprises. Nevertheless, in some cases micro firms achieved high performances revealing that the firm size is not a so insuperable constraint to reach good results in marketing.

European traditional food producers and marketing capabilities: An application of the marketing management process

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the marketing management capabilities of SMEs producing traditional food products, in order to analyse the market orientation of SMEs in the food industry. Following the theoretical approach of Market Orientation, our analysis is based on an assessment of the marketing management process. The methodology refers to a survey developed through a questionnaire published on the web, and a sample of 371 firms based in Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary was used in the analysis. Cluster analysis was applied to find the different levels of market orientation of the firms. The results revealed a certain lack of appropriate skills in marketing management in the firms of the sample, confirming the evidence found in economic literature concerning SMEs. Nevertheless, cluster analysis outlined a group of firms with good marketing capabilities and market oriented, and these represent a great part of the sample (40%). With regard to the stages of the marketing management process, the most problematic are those of planning and implementation, and control and evaluation, highlighting the difficulties SMEs encounter in carrying out coordinated marketing; which appears to be generally characterised by poor organisational capacity.