Moderating Effects Of Competitive Intensity Research Articles

Nexus between Competitive Business Strategy and Firm Performance: Moderating Effect of Competitive Intensity

ABSTRACT Business strategy literature argues that firm survival and growth in any competitive environment depend on the adaptation of suitable competitive business strategies. Despite the growing interest in strategic management within the fish farming industry, there is a notable lack of empirical evidence exploring how the competitive environment influences companies’ business strategy and performance. This paper examines the direct effect of competitive strategy and the moderating effect of competitive intensity on business strategy-performance relationship. Using hierarchical regression to analyze 306 samples gathered from fish farming firms of south-Benin, empirical evidence shows that competitive strategy including cost-leadership, and both product quality and marketing differentiation strategies impact positively firm financial performance. This research highlights the relative importance of product quality differentiation strategy. In addition, findings indicate that competitive intensity structure contribute to firm success. Surprisingly, findings show that competitive intensity does not significantly moderate the effect of cost-leadership and product differentiation strategies. Besides, the effect of marketing strategy on firm performance becomes more negative under high competition in the domestic market. Study recommends that firms should gain organizational economic outcomes by pursuing cost-leadership strategy and product differentiation strategy whatever competitive intensity states in the domestic market of fish farming.

How Do Goal Orientations Affect Organizational Agility? The Mediating Effects of Ambidextrous Operational Capabilities

Organizational agility is critical to the firms’ survival and prospects in today's complex environment. Although the firms’ goal orientations regulate their efforts in response to market changes and influence organizational agility, existing studies remain inconclusive on the effects of goal orientations on organizational agility and leave the underlying mechanisms of such effects unclear. In this article, we draw upon the orientation–action—outcome framework to look inside the black box of how two types of goal orientations (i.e., learning and performance goal orientation) affect organizational agility by examining the mediating effects of ambidextrous operational capabilities. We also investigate the moderating effects of competitive intensity on the mediating effects of ambidextrous operational capabilities. Using archival data and two-wave multirespondent survey data from 387 top managers of 129 firms, the results reveal important findings. First, the total impact of learning goal orientation on organizational agility is insignificant, but that of performance goal orientation is significant. Second, mass customization and innovative ambidexterity significantly mediate the indirect impacts of learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation on organizational agility. Third, competitive intensity does not influence the indirect effects of learning goal orientation, whereas it weakens the indirect effects of performance goal orientation. We also conducted the fsQCA, the results of which reinforced and refined the findings of mediation and moderated-mediation analysis. These results provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms through which goal orientations contribute to agility and the boundary condition of these mechanisms as well as various configurations associated with high/low agility.

The moderating effect of competitive intensity on foresight capability and product innovation of SMEs in Indonesia

This study aims to understand the performance of SME’s product innovation by relating it to the foresight concept of SME owners or managers and the moderating effect of competitive intensity. It employs a quantitative research method by using a survey. This paper studies SMEs from the West Java Province of Indonesia in three industrial sectors: food, fashion, and handicrafts. These industrial sectors were chosen because they are the most competitive, and their consumers change rapidly. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, 190 were returned, and 187 were used for data processing. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that networking, time horizon, and analysis can affect product innovation performance (p < 0.05). Furthermore, competition intensity does not affect the relationship between analysis and product innovation performance, although there is a relationship between networking and time horizon. The results of this study provide insight for Indonesian SMEs, especially in West Java. Foresight skills trained by SMEs will make them accustomed to facing high-level competition, especially in the time horizon dimension. However, on the other hand, the high intensity of competition can reduce their networking to collaborate with various related parties.

Effect of CEO transformational leadership on organizational ethical culture and firm performance: the moderating effect of competitive intensity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to adopt the upper echelon theory to analyze the effect of chief executive officer (CEO) transformational leadership on organizational ethical culture and its subsequent impact on firm performance. The study also integrates the knowledge from the structure–conduct–performance paradigm to test whether the high degree of competitive intensity that firms experience could weaken the effect of organizational ethical culture on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Online survey data were obtained from firms in Thailand that were randomly selected from the directory provided by the Department of Business Development (n = 200). Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings Organizational ethical culture significantly meditates the effect of CEO transformational leadership on firm performance. Moreover, the moderating effect analysis illustrates that the positive effect of organizational ethical culture on firm performance tends to be lower when firms have a high level of competitive intensity in the market. Originality/value Overall, this study adds new knowledge to the literature by showing that, although ethical culture created by transformational leaders can lead to high firm performance, the market environment in terms of competitive intensity could mitigate this benefit.

Competitive intensity: bridging the gap between corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage

PurposeThe concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still at a growing stage in developing economies, so this research aims to examine a novel causal link between CSR (disclosure and expenditure) and competitive advantage (CA), by including competitive intensity (CI) as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThe panel data of non-financial firms were collected for eight years (2013–2020). This study used distinct proxies of CA, including adjusted firm return on assets and adjusted firm Tobin's q, and a third proxy used to discover the combined validity of the findings. The CSR disclosure was measured by developing an index, while the amount of CSR expenditure was collected from firms' annual reports.FindingsThe empirical results of Arellano–Bond estimator showed that CSR disclosure and expenditure have a positive and significant impact on CA. This relationship is also tested with CI as a moderator, the results of moderation showed that CI strengthens the relationship between studied variables.Originality/valueThis research tries to bridge the gap between CSR and CA through CI. It is also an addition to the existing literature by addressing the issue of CA generated from CSR activities. This study also explores the area of CA with three different types of proxies with the moderating effect of CI.

Adaptive marketing capabilities, market orientation, and international performance: the moderation effect of competitive intensity

Purpose It is well established in marketing literature that international performance is positively affected by marketing capabilities, whether static or dynamic. However, recent theoretical development proposed adaptive marketing capabilities (AMC) as a set of capabilities able to close the marketing gap. Given the relative newness of this construct, empirical studies are still scarce. Therefore, drawing from a resource-based view perspective, this study aims to analyse the relationships among market orientation (MO), AMC and firms’ international performance, as well as the moderating effects of competitive intensity. Design/methodology/approach The authors have used survey-based research with 335 internationalised Portuguese business-to-business small and medium sized enterprises (B2B SMEs) during June 2020. The authors analysed responses through structural equation modelling and path analysis. Findings Results revealed positive relationships between AMC and international performance and between MO and AMC. Furthermore, results were robust to the competitive environment. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study contributes to international marketing literature by analysing MO as an antecedent of AMC, which has never been done before. Furthermore, it analyses the simultaneous effects of MO and AMC on international performance, as well as the moderation of competitive intensity. Also, the study’s results inform managers and marketeers of internationalised firms about the advantages of adopting a market-oriented behaviour and the development of AMC, whether in more or less competitive environments.

Relationships among knowledge-oriented leadership, customer knowledge management, innovation quality and firm performance in SMEs

Drawing upon the literature on knowledge management, leadership, and innovation, this study investigates the possible associations among customer knowledge management, knowledge-oriented leadership, innovation quality, and firm performance in 283 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. The mediating roles of customer knowledge management and knowledge-oriented leadership among these relationships are highlighted in the SMEs, wherein human resources and invested capital are limited. Therefore, the findings contribute to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence to support that customer knowledge management mediates in the relationship between knowledge-oriented leadership and innovation quality. In addition, innovation quality mediates the relationship between customer knowledge management and firm performance. Furthermore, the result supports the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between customer knowledge management and innovation quality. Finally, the theoretical implications for academics and managerial implications for SMEs’ managers are discussed.

Operational coordination and mass customization capability: the double-edged sword effect of customer need diversity

PurposeThis study aims to explore how operational coordination affects mass customization capability (MCC) via organizational agility, the double-edged sword effect of customer need diversity and the moderating effect of competitive intensity based on dynamic capabilities perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the research hypotheses using hierarchical regression analysis by collecting data from 277 Chinese firms.FindingsThe results reveal that organizational agility partially mediates the impacts of operational coordination on product-oriented and service-oriented MCC. Customer need diversity is positively related to operational coordination, whereas negatively moderates the relationship between operational coordination and organizational agility. Moreover, competitive intensity negatively moderates the relationship between organizational agility and service-oriented MCC.Research limitations/implicationsThis study mainly used perceptual scales to measure organizational agility. There is a need to measure agility through Agility Index which consists of features' combination that enables agility.Practical implicationsManagers would thus do well to integrate business activities with supply chain partners and strive to foster an agile organization. Additionally, managers should take the leadership to assess the customer need and invest time and resources to respond to it when needed even though the response may be difficult.Originality/valueAlthough the importance of MCC in meeting personalized customer needs has been recognized, whether and how customer need diversity affects MCC remains unclear. This study provides a framework to study the relationships between customer need diversity and MCC, which deepens our understanding of how to enhance MCC to respond to diverse customer needs.

Earnings pressure and innovation: The effects of CEO power and competitive intensity

Research on the impact of stock analysts on firms is on the rise. Among various effects from stock analysts, their earnings forecasts are regarded as one of the critical external pressures on corporate behaviors/outcomes, including a firm’s innovation investment. To enrich the literature, this study further explores additional contingency factors not yet covered in the existing studies of earnings pressure-innovation investment relationship. The empirical findings indicate that the negative relationship between earnings pressure and innovation can be separately reduced and enhanced by the moderating effects of CEO power and competitive intensity; and the configurational effect reveals that CEO power can mitigate the negative moderating effect of competitive intensity on the earnings pressure-innovation investment relationship.

The Influence of Dynamic and Adaptive Marketing Capabilities on the Performance of Portuguese SMEs in the B2B International Market

The present investigation aims study the sustainability of the business model of the Portuguese SMEs operating in the B2B International market analyzing the influence of dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities in their international marketing performance. It will also analyze the moderating effects of Competitive Intensity within this international scenario. A quantitative study was developed, using a questionnaire as a research method. In total, 335 valid responses were collected from Portuguese SMEs in June 2020. To test the hypotheses, multiple hierarchical regressions were performed. As for the analyzes involving Competitive Intensity environments, namely low and high intensity, dummies were developed to evaluate the different effects produced by the capacities in the International Marketing Performance. This study shows the positive impact of the dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities on the international marketing performance of the surveyed companies, essentially from the product development management, supply chain management, vigilant market learning and open marketing. when in a low competitive intensity environment only dynamic marketing capabilities had a positive effect on performance, but in a high, competitive, intensity environment both dynamic marketing capabilities and adaptive marketing capabilities showed positive effects in relation to performance. This study innovates by bringing international marketing, through two marketing capacities, from the perspective of SMEs that perform B2B activities.

Impact of Managerial Responses on Product Sales: Examining the Moderating Role of Competitive Intensity and Market Position

Online review platforms have become very popular in recent years, generating massive numbers of online reviews and thus enticing numerous enterprises to respond to reviews. Although the economic impact (e.g., sales impact) of managerial responses is well recognized, it is unclear whether such an impact is moderated by competitive intensity and market position. This study examines the moderating effects of competitive intensity and market position in the relationship between managerial responses and sales. Using a panel dataset from one of the largest restaurant review platforms in China, this research found that the influence of the volume of managerial responses to positive word-of-mouth (WOM) on sales declined with increasing competitive intensity and decreasing market position. Moreover, we found the volume and degree of personalization of managerial responses to negative WOM to be more important for enterprises with a low market position versus those with a high market position. Our results provide insights into the effectiveness of managerial responses in different environments. We also offer managerial implications to service providers on response strategies.

Engagement Capability, Innovation Intensity and Firm Performance: The Role of Competitive Intensity

ABSTRACT This study assesses how service firms’ engagement capability enhances their value creation advantages. We analyze how the development of engagement capability helps service firms to create innovation advantages and enhance firm performance. The study also evaluates the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between engagement capability and firm performance. We collected data from the service sectors from an emerging African economy, Ghana. The validity and the reliability of the constructs were confirmed through a confirmatory factor analysis. We then assessed our hypothesized relationships through robust standard error hierarchical regression. The results show that developing and deploying customer engagement capability by firms produces positive effects on both innovation intensity and firm performance. The study also finds that competitive intensity as a market condition serves as a boundary condition and therefore moderate the relationship between customer engagement and firm performance. A useful implication from this study is that, inasmuch as service firms must encourage customer engagement and participation in the value creation process, firms must also be mindful of their capacity to meet the engagement requirements for effective value co-creation of the market conditions under which they currently operate.

Does Competitive Intensity Moderate the Relationships between Sustainable Capabilities and Sustainable Organizational Performance in New Ventures?

Competitive intensity presents challenges to new ventures. Capabilities may lead to sustainable new venture performance. Yet, few studies have explored how competitive intensity moderates the effects of capabilities on sustainable new venture performance. Based on capability-based view, this study develops a research model to investigate how new ventures translate capabilities (marketing, technology, market-linking, and information technology capabilities) to achieve sustainability of new venture growth and performance under the different levels of competitive intensity. Using data collected from 146 U.S. new ventures, this study uses ordinary least squares regression analysis to test the research model and employs “pick-a-point” approach to examine how capabilities affect sustainable new venture performance at different levels of competitive intensity. The empirical results suggest that increasing competitive intensity decreases, not increases, the positive effects of marketing capabilities on performance. When competitive intensity is very high, the positive effects of marketing capabilities on performance become insignificant. In contrast, the positive effects of market-linking capabilities on performance increase, not decrease, as competitive intensity increases. For technology and information technology capabilities, there are no moderating effects of competitive intensity. The theoretical and managerial implications are suggested for sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainable development of new enterprises.

Exploring the impact of product service quality on buyer commitment and loyalty in B TO B relationships

ABSTRACTPurpose: The purpose of this study is to understand and empirically test causal relationships among components of product service quality and commitment and buyer loyalty in business-to-business (B to B) relationships.Methodology/approach: Data were collected through a web-based survey from 314 buyers of B to B manufacturers in Korea.Findings: Product quality enhances all three types of commitment in B to B relationships, service quality is positively associated with affective commitment, and support quality has a significantly positive effect on affective and normative commitment. Also, the moderating effects of competitive intensity are significant. If competitive intensity is low in the buyer’s market, product quality and service quality play important roles in deriving buyer commitment; however, if competitive intensity is high, support quality is effective in maintaining long-term committed relationships with buyers.Research implications: To fully consider product service quality in this study, we established support quality, product quality, and service quality as discrete components of product service quality.Practical implications: Previous quality-related works have focused on products and services with little research about support activities, and the literature is lacking empirical analyses of support activities. However, this study elucidates the importance of operational and technical support activities in B to B relationships. Specifically, in a fiercely competitive market, a high-quality consumer support strategy is shown to be highly effective in maintaining long-term committed relationships with buyers.Originality/value/contribution: We analyzed the relationships among components of product service quality and commitment and buyer loyalty in B to B transactions. Our detailed results will help firms develop context-specific quality management strategies at the product service level in order to strengthen customer loyalty.

Orientasi Kewirausahaan pada Kinerja Usaha Kecil dan Menengah (UKM) Sumatera Barat: Analisis Peran Moderasi dari Intensitas Persaingan, Turbulensi Pasar dan Teknologi

. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) include innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking on performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in West Sumatra moderated by competitive intensity, market, and technological turbulence. The population of the study was all managers or owners of leading products/services of SMEs in West Sumatra. Further, samples were taken by using nonprobabilities sampling method i.e. purposive sampling. The sample size used in the analysis of 400 samples. Data were analyzed by using moderated regression analysis (MRA). The findings show that EO includes innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking have a significant effect on SMEs performance in West Sumatra. However, the moderating effect of competitive intensity, market and technological turbulence on the relationship between EO and SMEs performance were not supported. Managerial implications of the findings are then discussed.

The Effect of Exhibitors' Brand Equity on Visitors' Purchase Decision: Moderating Role of Exhibition's Competitive Intensity

This study explores the effect of exhibitors' brand equity on visitors' purchase intention, purchase postponement, and switching intention in an international industrial fair, as well as examines the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the above relationships. This study surveyed visitors of the famous International Woodworking Machine Fair in Jakarta, Indonesia. Of the 200 surveys distributed, 138 valid questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 69.00%. Analytical results show that higher exhibitors' brand equity is associated with visitors' higher purchase intention, more prevalent purchase postponement, and stronger switching intention. Also, in a high competitive intensity environment, the level of visitors' purchase postponement and switching intention of high brand equity products is similar. In a low competitive intensity exhibition, visitors are unlikely to postpone purchase of low brand equity products but are more likely to postpone purchase of high brand equity products. Lastly, in a low competitive intensity environment, visitors are less inclined to switch low brand equity suppliers but more likely to switch high brand equity suppliers. According to the research results, recommendations and limitations of this study are proposed.

ORGANIZATIONAL RENEWAL CAPABILITY AND FIRM SUSTAINABILITY

ABSTRACT Currently business is globalized highly competitive, and turbulence. A moreover, business operations are under a dynamic environment. Therefore, organizational renewal capability is an important issue for businesses to continue in competitiveness and sustainability under the above conditions. Organizational renewal capability has been viewed as one key component that influences firm sustainability. Drawing on the dynamic capability and contingency theory that explain the relationships of the model, the purpose of this paper is to present the relationships among five dimensions of organizational renewal capability (dynamic organizational learning, continuous organizational development orientation, proactive knowledge improvement awareness, flexible business practice concentration, and aggressive idea generation commitment), organizational value creation, organizational innovation effectiveness, organizational excellence efficiency, organizational competitiveness, firm sustainability; and the moderating effect of competitive intensity. Moreover, the interesting discussions are theoretical and managerial contributions, and the conclusion is a suggestion for future research. Keywords Organizational Renewal Capability, Dynamic Organizational Learning, Continuous Organizational Development Orientation, Proactive Knowledge Improvement Awareness, Flexible Business Practice Concentration, Aggressive Idea Generation Commitment, Organizational Value Creation, Organizational Innovation Effectiveness, Organizational Excellence Efficiency, Organizational Competitiveness, Firm Sustainability, Competitive Intensity

Opening the Black Box of Upper Echelons in China: TMT Attributes and Strategic Flexibility

Many scholars have suggested that strategic flexibility is a critical firm capability to survive in today's competitive arena. The decision to take strategic actions to make the firm more strategically flexible typically originates in the top management team (TMT). As the principal decision‐making unit of the firm, TMT members' information acquisition and processing capabilities and subsequent interpretation of environmental changes critically influence the decision to make the firm more strategically flexible to achieve a better fit with its market environment.Therefore, in order to understand how firms can adapt to environmental changes, scholars must study the sociopsychological processes of interaction among members of the TMT. This study examines the relationships between TMT's sociopsychological attributes (shared vision, social integration, and political ties) and strategic flexibility, which is decomposed into organizational flexibility and technological flexibility. The study further investigates how the level of competitive intensity can moderate the relationships. All the hypotheses are tested using structural equation models based on the survey data from 227 firms in China.The results show that organizational flexibility mediates the impact of TMT's social integration and political ties on technological flexibility. Surprisingly, a TMT's shared vision for the firm neither impedes nor facilitates the firm's effort in attaining the desired degree of organizational flexibility. However, TMT's shared vision does have a positive and direct impact on technological flexibility. Moreover, intense competition amplifies the positive impact of TMT social integration on the degree of organizational flexibility, but there is no significant moderating effect of competitive intensity on the relationship between a TMT's political ties and organizational flexibility. The results extend previous research by highlighting the importance of TMTs' sociopsychological attributes in driving technological flexibility, through the mediating impact of organizational flexibility.

Do service firms benefit from diversification? the moderating effect of competitive intensity and firm size

Despite much ado about the effectiveness of ‘product' diversification, there is very limited knowledge about the impact of ‘service' diversification on firm performance. By taking a resource-based perspective, this study explores the service diversificationperformance relationship. Results show a consistent inverse U-shaped relationship between service diversification and firm performance, with the slope positive at low and moderate levels of service diversification but negative at high levels of service diversification. Moreover, results show that competitive intensity negatively moderates the relationship between service diversification and performance, while the moderating effect of firm's size is not significant. Hypotheses are tested with data on 52 Italian facility management firms over the 2000-2009 time period.

Behind organizational slack and firm performance in China: The moderating roles of ownership and competitive intensity

Extensive studies of the organizational slack–performance relationship offer mixed findings in developed economies while little research attends to transition economies. Replicating and extending earlier work by Tan and Peng (2003), this study examines the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance in China and focuses on the moderating effects of firm ownership and competitive intensity. Empirical findings based on longitudinal data from 60,945 firms during 1998–2002 suggest that the impact of organizational slack on performance is stronger for private enterprises than for SOEs and foreign-invested enterprises. Furthermore, industry competitive intensity positively moderates the effect of organizational slack on performance. In a three-way interaction effect, the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the organizational slack–performance relationship is weaker in SOEs than in private enterprises and foreign invested enterprises.