Proactive Market Research Articles

PAZAR ODAKLILIK BİLEŞENLERİNİN FİRMA PERFORMANSINA ETKİLERİ: ANKARA’DA FAALİYET GÖSTEREN STARTUPLAR ÜZERİNE BİR UYGULAMA

Startups are the key actors of today’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. They are technology-based firms purposing to grow up rapidly and become scalable in the global market. The main failure of startups is mostly not to pay attention to market intelligence and customer orientation. Thus they are probably having bankruptcy at short notice. Recently, startups are very popular worldwide and subject to research mostly in the United States of America and other developed countries. Yet academic studies on startups are very rare in developing countries like Turkey. In this empirical study, the dimensions of market orientation and firm performance of 141 startups operating in Ankara are investigated. The analysis is based on the effects of responsive market orientation and proactive market orientation on financial performance, market performance and innovative performance. It is aimed to obtain results for managerial implications and to contribute to the literature.

PAZAR ODAKLILIK BİLEŞENLERİNİN FİRMA PERFORMANSINA ETKİLERİ: ANKARA’DA FAALİYET GÖSTEREN STARTUPLAR ÜZERİNE BİR UYGULAMA

Girişimcilik ekosisteminin yapıtaşı startuplar, hızlı büyüme göstererek küresel pazara hâkim olmayı hedefleyen teknolojik girişimlerdir. Startupların başarısızlık nedenlerinin başında ise bulundukları pazarı iyi analiz edememe ve hedef müşteriye odaklanamama gelmektedir. Pazarlama faaliyetlerini yerine getirmeyen startuplar kısa sürede firma faaliyetlerine son verebilmektedir. Günümüzde startuplar üzerine birçok araştırma yapılmaktadır. Çalışmalar çoğunlukla Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve diğer gelişmiş ülkelerde gerçekleşmektedir. Türkiye gibi gelişmekte olan ülkelerde araştırma sayısı oldukça azdır. Bu çalışmada Ankara’da faaliyet gösteren 141 startup’ın duyarlı pazar odaklılık ve proaktif pazar odaklılık yaklaşımlarının finansal performans, pazar performansı ve yenilik performansına etkileri incelenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular ile ekosisteme fayda sağlayacak sonuçların ortaya konması ve literatüre katkı sağlanması amaçlanmaktadır.

PROACTIVE AND RESPONSIVE MARKET ORIENTATION ON MARKETING EXPLORATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

While market orientation is long evident to be a key contributor to firm performance (Narver & Slater, 1990; Jaworski & Kohli, 1993), firms now increasingly find that proactive market orientation (Narver, Slater & Maclachlan, 2004) may be more appropriate for the rapidly changing market. Not only can it contribute to new product development success, it is proposed that it can enhance the ability to market which is labeled marketing exploration (Kyriakopoulos & Moorman, 2004). In this study, we posited proactive market orientation together with the original market orientation named here responsive market orientation as essential to developing a firm’s marketing exploration capability. As marketing competences reside in the everyday routines and practice related to the marketing function, marketing exploration enables one to update the ability to perform various marketing tasks which is essential capability of the firm to get ahead of the competition. Entrepreneurial orientation is also introduced as a mediating factor between the above relationships with the argument that such posture is related to a firm’s propensity to innovate, take risk and be proactive (Lumpkin & Dess, 1996) which is related to a proactive market orientation. A survey was carried out in China and results show that proactive market orientation is positively related to marketing exploration while responsive market orientation has positive impact on marketing exploration only through entrepreneurial orientation. Marketing exploration in turn positively impact firm performance. Results of this study contribute theoretically in revitalizing the market orientation literature which has been research for almost three decades. While leading customers with a proactive market orientation is getting more salient in this rapidly changing market environment, the original market orientation cannot be ignored. Both orientations are essential to enhance firms’ ability to renew their marketing skills and routines. This is definitely more important than just coming up with new products/services as it enables firms to update its marketing knowledge and skills so is crucial to long term performance.

The Characteristics of Purpose-built Office: Occupants' perception

Report from Asia Pacific Colliers had suggested that continued proactive marketing efforts and tenancy offerings could maintain the local office market performance. Therefore, the characteristics of PBO are significant factors that need to be studied. The aim of this paper is to examine the occupiers' perceptions and needs as well as the importance of the characteristics that applied in PBO. Hence, this paper identified the issues that could provide ideas to the property market participants in improving PBO's market and building performance via investigating the perception of occupants in order to determine the factors that affect office market property performance.

THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROACTIVE MARKET ORIENTATION CAPABILITY IN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND SERVICE INNOVATION

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this article is to verify the mediating effect of a proactive market orientation capability in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and service innovation in micro and small companies in the food-away from home sector. We analyzed the mediating effect of a marketing capability (proactive market capability) because, according to Morgan et al. (2009), a capability is an ability developed from a strategic orientation, and capabilities and orientations together contribute to organizational performance. Originality/Value: The article verifies the mediating effect of a specific marketing capability, the proactive market orientation (PMO) in the proposed relationship. Most studies on market orientation (OM) treat the construct as a business strategic orientation, but few studies investigate market orientation based on the perspective of dynamic capabilities (Hou, 2008). Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was carried out using a non-probabilistic sampling technique for convenience with 168 establishments. The research was carried out in micro and small companies of the food-way from home sector of Curitiba PR, and the respondents were the managers and owners of the establishments. Findings: The results indicate the existence of the mediating effect of PMO in the relationship between EO and service innovation.

PASTA: A State-Space Representation for In-Line Estimation of Time-Varying Parameters of Market Response Models

This article presents a state-space representation known as parameters as states (PASTA) for linear market response models with time-varying parameters. The PASTA representation enables (a) conversion of the problem of estimating the time-varying effectiveness of marketing interventions from a maximum likelihood–based, offline estimation to a Bayesian, update-based, in-line estimation; (b) development of a computationally efficient approach to estimating and tracking time-varying parameters; and (c) early estimates of the effectiveness of marketing interventions and changes in that effectiveness. These characteristics are important in today’s digital marketing world, in which data availability, the size of the marketer’s decision space, the computational complexity of the estimation problem, market dynamics, and significance of proactive marketing are factors of increased in importance. We also present a Kalman filter–based estimation approach that can be used in conjunction with PASTA and establish the stability, observability, and optimality of the estimator. Using computational studies to supplement theoretical results and compare parameter estimates obtained from PASTA with those using ordinary least squares and recursive least squares, we show that PASTA-based estimation reduces the impact of collinearity, autocorrelation, and measurement errors on the quality of the estimates.

Dynamic marketing capabilities view on creating market change

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the indirect relationship between dynamic capabilities (DCs) and organizational outcomes through matching and creating market change. In addition, the research aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role of marketing in DCs and to extend beyond a simplistic discussion of DCs by studying proactive market orientation and value innovation as specific DCs.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 270 senior executives. After ensuring reliability and validity, the hypotheses were examined by applying structural equation modeling and Monte Carlo simulation.FindingsThe findings indicate that dynamic marketing capabilities (DMCs) are critical in the reconfiguration of operational marketing capabilities, which in turn lead to enhanced organizational performance. The results also suggest that organizations with enhanced DMCs are able to initiate market disruption and achieve superior performance by out-competing their rivals.Practical implicationsThe research provides guidelines for managers wanting to exploit their DMCs by showing that organizations can match the environment, create market turbulence or combine both strategies to fully exploit their DMCs. This study also provides managers with actionable tools that are specific, robust and easily applied.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to incorporate induced market turbulence into the DC literature and conceptualize, develop and validate scales to measure it. The study provides empirical evidence for the claim that operational marketing capabilities are necessary to utilize the benefits of DMCs.

The Effect of Proactive Market Orientation on Company Performance: The Case of Medium and Large Manufacturing Companies in Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of proactive market orientations on companies' performances to come up with possible managerial and theoretical insights as to how manufacturing companies become proactive in formulating and implementing their marketing strategies of these days. Quantitative research approach with explanatory research design was employed. The variables used in the research were formulated based on the extant literature review which includes proactive customer orientations, proactive competitors' orientations, and market-based innovations as determinant variables and the companies' performances as an outcome variable. Textile and leather companies become the center of attention for this study because being proactive is the demand of the competition for such industries as fashion dictates the needs of customers and the dynamism of the competition in general. Simple random sampling technique was applied and a total of 76 qualified questionnaires were used for the data analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for data analysis and SPSS version 22 was used for the purpose. Based on the result, all of the three independent variables are found to significantly affect the dependent variable while proactive customer orientation is the strongest predictor among the three predictor variables. Hence, the managerial implication is implied for the companies that while being proactive is essential in general, being proactive in understanding the current needs of customers and predicting the changes in those needs in the future is particularly important in order for those companies to remain relevant and sustainable in the market.

Mainstreaming Residential Prosumers in Energy Sector

With the evolution of Solar PV technology, old paradigm of consumers being passive recipients is changing fast. Distributed generation with the help of end-users can be instrumental in realizing goals of making the energy sector more decentralized, decarbonized and democratized. Against the backdrop, residential prosumers have occupied central role in the transition debate. If adequately empowered, they can prove the change agents for facilitating integration of renewables and building a more sustainable future. However, if policy instruments fail to correspond to the needs of the newly evolving role of consumers as proactive market actors, it would stifle their participation in market. In the case of Pakistan, flawed energy pricing, provision of net-metering facility by limited DISCOs along with cumbersome procedures of availing the facility, and barring of small-scale prosumers from net-metering facilities and financial schemes indicates few major barriers in the way of PV infrastructure dissemination. A strong need exists for addressing the weaknesses in the current policy tools for mainstreaming active engagement of residential prosumers in the energy sector. A prosumer is a person who consumes as well as produces a product. On the given lines, energy prosumer refers to those customers who self-generate energy for wholly or partially meeting their own energy needs. They are energy producers and consumers at the same time, resulting in a two way or bi-directional flow of energy.

Marketing Myopia in Brazilian Public Universities: An Empirical Study Involving Academicians

The objective of this study was to understand the role of marketing, from research to commercialization of technologies in Brazilian public universities. To that end, an online survey was conducted, involving 236 academicians associated with in Brazilian public universities. The data obtained were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics. The results revealed the low utilization of proactive market analyses in Brazilian public universities, as well as the limited integration of marketing through interaction with companies. The strategic orientation prevalent in BPUs was geared to technology, at the expense of relationships with society and the market. An entrepreneurial orientation was not observed. The actions to promote or encourage the transfer of Brazilian public universities technologies to the market proved timid. Finally, there were several obstacles to the implementation of marketing in Brazilian public universities, characterizing the so called marketing myopia.

Market orientation, competence-based marketing capability and firm development

Purpose - The topic of competence-based marketing has attracted much attention from business scholars, further exploration of competence-based marketing capability is especially important. The main purpose of this study is to address and investigate the relationship between market orientation and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers’ competence-based marketing capability, along with the impact of competence-based marketing capability on product-linked development and relation-linked development. Methodology - Based on a sample of 119 Taiwan's OEM suppliers, we used Smart PLS 2.0 to perform SEM and to evaluate both the quality of the measurement model and the interrelationships of the constructs. Findings - Empirical testing of 119 OEM suppliers suggests that a proactive market orientation has a positive influence on the development of competence-based marketing capabilities. Furthermore, the development of competence-based marketing capability leads OEM suppliers to engage in product-linked and relationship-linked development. Conclusion - The topic of competence marketing has attracted much attention from business scholars; however, no empirical studies have measured companies’ capabilities in competence marketing. Therefore, the framework of this study followed linkages developed from the resource-based view (strategic orientation → organizational capabilities → organizational performance) for the purpose of exploring the antecedents and effects of CBMC.

A Study on the Factors Contributing to Small Church Libraries’ Revitalization

본 연구는 교회의 작은도서관의 현황과 특성을 파악하고 운영 활성화 방안을 제안하기 위함이다. 교회도서관 현황은 매우 열악한 수준이었으며, 교회도서관 운영 활성화 요인 분석 결과, 보유 장서수가 운영활성화 수준에 가장 큰 영향을 미치고 있었다. 규모, 인력, 이용현황에 대한 군집 분석 결과, 극소수의 도서관만이 우수한 수준을 보였다. 따라서 교회도서관의 운영 활성화 방안으로 첫째, 교회도서관의 운영 목적과 목표를 뚜렷이 정하고, 안정된 운영예산과 운영을 책임질 수 있는 전담 인력과 직원을 확보해야 한다. 둘째, 교회시설을 활용하여 도서관의 특성에 맞는 프로그램 개발, 독서의 질을 높일 수 있는 양질의 지식콘텐츠를 서비스해야 한다. 셋째, 도서관 협력 네트워크를 활용한 타도서관과의 상호대차, 순회사서 시스템을 활용할 수 있어야 하고, 적극적인 마케팅 활동으로 지역주민들이나 교인들에게 홍보해야 한다. 또한 목회자와 책임운영자는 헌신과 봉사의 마음으로 지역사회에 서비스해야한다.In order to explore the exact current status and features of small church libraries and suggest implications on how to facilitate their operations, this study has analyzed general conditions of their current operations. Firstly, all aspects of facilities, books, and people of small church libraries, the three elements of libraries, have turned out to be under poor conditions compared to small regular libraries. Secondly, out of all factors that encourage the use of church libraries, the number of retained books in libraries appears to be most influential. Thirdly, it is shown in the results of an analysis on each category group that most church libraries are under poor conditions and only few of them are excellent in terms of the current status of their sizes, labor forces, and users. Based upon these findings, this study suggests implications on facilitating church library operations as follows. First of all, it is highly crucial to have full-time workers and professional staffs who can set aims or purposes of church libraries and be in charge of stable management of budget and library operations. Secondly, it is also important to develop programs suitable for each library’s features and knowledge contents to improve the quality of reading experience. Thirdly, through utilizing library cooperative networks, interlibrary loan or librarian rotation systems should be available. Also, through proactive marketing activities, libraries should be promoted to local communities or church members. Lastly, the most significant part for facilitating church library operations is passions of pastors and chief operators in charge. They need to be willing to contribute to their local communities with their dedications and commitments.

The use of asset specific investments to increase customer dependence: A study of OEM suppliers

Making asset specific investments without sufficient economic safeguards is usually seen as a poor managerial practice according to transaction cost economics. However, in practice, many suppliers still invest in asset specificity to satisfy their major customers' requirements, who do not make sufficient investment commitments. The objective of this study is to explore how suppliers that make asset-specific investments maintain long-term relationships with their customers and even make their customers reliant on them. Empirical analysis of data from a sample of Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers shows a significant positive indirect effect of asset specificity on the dependence of customers on suppliers, mediated through joint learning capacity. In addition, a positive link between a proactive market orientation and the degree of customer dependence on the supplier was found. This investigation finds evidence that joint learning capacity and proactive market orientation play critical roles in linking asset specificity to customer dependence.

Market orientation, innovation commercialization capability and firm performance relationships: the moderating role of supply chain influence

PurposeThe study aims to explore supply chain influence (SCI) on the linkages among market orientation, innovation capabilities and firm performance (FP), using the resource-based view as a theoretical backdrop.DesignSurvey data from 182 top managers who are involved in strategy formulation and innovative direction of their companies was collected and analyzed using moderated multiple regression analysis.FindingsResults revealed a moderating role of the SCI in that the proactive market orientation (PMO) and FP relationship is stronger when SCI is high, and innovation commercialization capability (ICC) and FP relationship is stronger when SCI is low.Practical implicationsFirms pursuing high PMO strategy must collaborate with supply chain function to achieve the full effect of PMO. Additionally, as supply chain is critical to meeting customers’ needs, these firms should allow supply chain to exert greater influence to enjoy the positive effects of PMO in addition to ensuring full integration into marketing strategy implementation. Also, firms with high ICC need to limit SCI to maximize the benefit of ICC on FP, just as innovation management needs to be cognizant of other functional areas.Originality/valueThe study investigates the potential moderating role of SCI on the relationships among market orientation, ICC and FP. The study fills a gap in the understanding of the nature and role of supply chain in the marketing–supply chain interaction, and the impact on FP.

Adoption and impact of marketing performance assessment systems among travel agencies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess whether travel agencies that implement comprehensive marketing performance assessment systems (MPASs) enjoy superior overall performance. Drawing on the knowledge-based view, the authors propose and test a model demonstrating that the relationship between MPASs and overall performance is fully mediated by the depth of market-related knowledge absorbed by the travel agency.Design/methodology/approachA survey was administered to a sample of Italian travel agencies; 171 complete questionnaires were received. The suggested relationships were assessed using a covariance-based structural equation modeling approach, including the estimation of both the measurement model and the structural model.FindingsThe findings indicate that the implementation of sophisticated MPASs has a significant and positive effect on performance and that this relationship is fully mediated by the depth of market-related knowledge absorbed by the travel agency. In addition, the results highlight that the number of marketing metrics monitored by the travel agency has no effect on its performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe specific features of the travel agency sector in Italy include a remarkable level of fragmentation. The cross-sectional design does not permit an assessment of the medium-term effects of the adoption of an MPAS.Practical implicationsTravel agencies selecting proactive marketing strategies can particularly benefit from the adoption of sophisticated MPASs. Suggestions are provided to assist managers in designing their MPAS.Originality/valueThis study enriches the field’s knowledge about marketing performance measurement and proactive marketing strategies, and indicates that the implementation of well-designed MPASs improves a firm’s overall performance. It also explains the knowledge-related processes that produce this positive effect.

The role of horizontal and vertical new product alliances in responsive and proactive market orientations and performance of industrial manufacturing firms

This study examines different roles of new product alliance partners in enhancing responsive market orientation (RMO) and proactive market orientation (PMO) of industrial manufacturing firms in the context of learning in business-to-business (B2B) relationships. A survey of 146 firms shows that horizontal new product alliances with competitors provide access to similar industrial knowledge and know-how and thus help improve a manufacturing firm's RMO through exploitative learning. Although vertical new product alliances with suppliers may grant access to similar domains of knowledge, the findings of this study do not provide any support for their effect on a manufacturing firm's RMO. In contrast, the study shows that vertical new product alliances with research institutions provide access to a broader knowledge base and greater know-how with higher levels of non-redundancy and thus help improve a PMO through explorative learning. In addition, the results suggest that both RMO and PMO developed in different types of new product alliances enable a manufacturing firm to improve its new product performance and eventually its overall performance.

Market, entrepreneurial, and technology orientations: impact on innovation and firm performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of market, technology, and entrepreneurial orientations (EOs) on both innovation and firm performance. It analyzes the mediating effects of incremental and radical innovation within the context of entrepreneurial firms in Turkey, an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyses the impact of strategic orientations on firm performance through innovation with a sample of 818 small and medium enterprises in Turkey. To test the proposed model, LISREL is used.FindingsProactive market orientation (MO) and technology orientation (TO) lead to radical innovation, while responsive MO strongly affects incremental innovation. EO impacts performance directly and indirectly via both incremental and radical innovation.Practical implicationsFinding suggests that senior management of firms, especially in emerging economies should encourage marketing managers to focus on key trends of markets, both existing and emerging. These marketing managers should find and work with lead users to improve radical product development. This means that those managing marketing need to be well schooled in technology, and they should also possess a proactive MO.Originality/valueThe present study employs a two-part view of the MO construct (responsive and proactive MO). This conceptualization provides a greater degree of precision in the use of the MO concept which was rarely employed in prior studies. Moreover, this paper views strategic orientations as drivers of innovation and examines how radical and incremental innovation mediate the effects of MO, EO and TO on firm performance. Finally, this is one of the few studies to look at all of these factors simultaneously and to include the two-part view of MO.

A visual context-based market analysis of mobile application services

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of a user-centric service map to facilitate the visual exploration and monitoring of user context information for proactive market analysis. Design/methodology/approach The paper supports a context-based market analysis by developing a user-centric service map which comprehensively visualizes a variety of contexts, users, and services. Empirical data were gathered from service descriptions and reviews of 100 mobile application services in the Apple App Store’s lifestyle and healthcare and fitness categories. Findings The user-centric service map supports the analysis of the context information from using various mobile app services, and can therefore be effectively applied for market-segment analysis and user-value analysis. Practical implications The user-centric service map involves implications in terms of multi-disciplinary proactive market orientation and data-driven strategy development, allowing firms to respond to changing market conditions in the mobile business promptly and even preemptively. Originality/value The initiative uncovering of latent needs through examining context of use have been an important focus of prior work, but little attempt has been presented in the way of frameworks for converting abundant context data into strategic information. The paper provides new methods and procedures to establish and interpret service maps using flexible visual features.

A Manager-Customer Empirical Investigation Of The Subjective Performance Of Proactive Market-Oriented Consumer Goods Companies: Testing A Double-Mediation Model

This study investigates the mediating role of perceived branded product leadership and perceived customer value in the relationship between of proactive market orientation on performance (corporate reputation) in a consumer goods setting. A manager-customer approach is adopted: data was collected from 146 managers from 55 companies, and 425 customers that purchased their branded products. Results show that companies that practice a high level of proactive market orientation are perceived as leaders, which leads to higher levels of customer perceived value of their branded products and enhanced reputation. This research adds to the existing literature in considering customers’ perceptual assessments.

Proactive market orientation and innovation in India: The moderating role of intrafirm causal ambiguity

AbstractDespite the implication of organizational resources and the resource-based view of the firm, the market orientation literature has not examined associated constructs. Additionally, while it is recognized that emerging economies (e.g., India) are key drivers of economic growth, this literature has not paid sufficient attention to such markets, with few exceptions. We examine the impact of proactive market orientation on innovation capability, and performance in a sample of predominantly service firms, in a culture characterized by high power distance and low uncertainty avoidance. We contribute by conceptualizing and demonstrating the moderating impact of intrafirm causal ambiguity, drawn from resource-based theories of the firm. Based on Structural Equation Modelling analysis of responses to a survey of marketing managers, we find that intra-firm causal ambiguity moderates the proactive market orientation-innovation capability relationship, while this strategic orientation is linked to business performance through innovation. We discuss these findings, limitations, implications, and directions for future research.