Business Performance Relationship Research Articles

Changing Face of Human Resource Management: A Strategic Partner in Business

Various approaches and models of strategic human resource management have been developed within the framework of strategic HRM. Like many theories of organization, none are complete. Rather being right or wrong each approach points to different aspect of the process needed to develop effective strategic human resource functions. The issue of fitting HR practices to business strategy has become increasingly relevant over few years. Therefore, in the present study we have made efforts to highlight various issues that are relevant to the strategic HRM in the changing scenario of business environment. The present paper has been divided into six parts. In the first and second part, the changes occurring in the business environment and its implications for human resource functionaries have been discussed respectively. In the third part we have highlighted the changing role of human resource management. In the fourth part the historical background of strategic human resource management, its role in addressing the challenges of changing business scenario and determinants of strategic fit have been presented. In the fifth part the relationship of strategic human resource management and business performance has been reviewed and at last conclusions have been drawn that what needs to be done on the part of the HR functionaries and the organization itself to enhance the strategic fit between the various HR practices and the overall organizational strategic plan.

The effects of entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and marketing subunit influence on firm performance

The study investigates how an organization’s entrepreneurial orientation moderates the interplay between market orientation and marketing subunit influence on firm performance. The hypothesized model predicts that the positive interaction between market orientation and marketing subunit influence has a weaker effect on firm performance under conditions of high entrepreneurial orientation. The regression and supplementary analyses provide support for most predictions and, most importantly, for a negative three-way interaction effect: At higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation, the positive moderating effect of marketing subunit influence on the market orientation–business performance relationship is reduced. The authors discuss the managerial and theoretical implications of their findings and provide a number of directions for further research.

Moderating Effect of Balanced Scorecard Measures Usage on Strategy‐performance Relationship: An Empirical Study of Manufacturing Firms

This paper empirically examined the role of the balanced scorecard (BSC) measures usage as a potential moderator of the business strategy and performance relationship. Samples were taken from 120 manufacturing firms. Results of this study provide evidence that partially support the moderating effects of the BSC measures usage on the strength of the relationship between business strategy and firm performance.

A market orientation in supply chain management

Despite the logical association between market orientation (MO) and the supply chain management concepts of supply chain orientation (SCO) and supply chain management (SCM), and the potential mediating role of SCO and SCM in the MO-firm business performance (PERF) relationship, there have been few, if any, attempts to investigate MO in a supply chain context. Thus, this study tests the relationships between MO, SCO, SCM, and PERF. Results indicate MO has a strong, positive impact on SCO and SCM. Interestingly, SCO was found to have the largest direct influence on PERF, followed by MO, followed by SCM. Managers should realize that SCO is critical to fulfilling customer requirements, i.e., a firm’s efforts to work with supply chain partners will not pay off if the firm is not supply chain-oriented. Although overshadowed by SCO, MO is still a foundation for managing the supply chain and has a positive impact on PERF. Equally important, the fact that the contribution of SCM to firm performance is overshadowed by MO and SCO does not mean SCM is irrelevant in corporate strategy. Managerial and future research implications of these findings are discussed.

Marketing in Asia‐Pacific logistics companies: a discriminant analysis between marketing orientation and performance

The marketing literature has emphasised the importance of marketing orientation as a means of achieving organisational objectives. A number of studies that have examined the marketing orientation and business performance relationship have found mixed results culminating in inconclusive evidence. This paper examines the marketing practices and investigates the marketing strategy‐business performance relationship across logistics companies in the Asia‐Pacific region. The exploratory analysis suggests a positive relationship between market segmentation and performance. Differentiation and market orientation do not seem to be significantly associated with improved performance, although cross‐functional customer focus shows a significant relationship. Further discriminant analysis of the significant predictor variables suggests that two variables, viz. market segmentation and positioning, and cross‐functional customer focus are useful in differentiating between high and low performers. Managerial and further research implications for this increasingly important industry in the Asia‐Pacific region are discussed.

Challenges of the “green imperative”: a natural resource-based approach to the environmental orientation–business performance relationship

Drawing on the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm, the authors test a model of the impact of the higher order construct of natural environmental orientation (NEO) on firm performance. Based on the literature in this area, the authors define NEO as comprising three components: entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and commitment to the natural environment. The study uses data from 140 Australian manufacturing firms. The findings reveal that the higher order construct of NEO is positively and significantly related to profit after tax and market share; however, it is negatively related to sales growth. The study's practical and academic implications are discussed, along with limitations and future research directions.

Marketing Mix Factors as Moderators of the Corporate Entrepreneurship - Business Performance Relationship - A Multistage, Multivariate Analysis

This study establishes a strong link between firms’ corporate entrepreneurship (CE) behavior and business performance. It also examines whether the implementation of the marketing mix factors of promotion, product quality, and pricing moderate this relationship. Using moderated multiple regression techniques, these factors are not general moderators of the CE - performance relationship. Using robust regression and other advanced statistical techniques, however, the research finds that for certain groups, such as large industrial or consumer marketers, individual marketing mix factors do moderate this relationship. In addition, the research shows that the CE - business performance correlation is strong with medium size firms and even stronger with large firms.

The relationship of strategy, fit, productivity, and business performance in a services setting

AbstractIn their review of the operations strategy literature, Anderson et al. [Anderson, J.C., Cleveland, G., Schroeder, R.G., 1989. Operations strategy: a literature review. J. Operations Manage., 8(2): 133‐158] contend that the hypothesis that a company will perform better if it links its operations strategy to the business strategy is intuitively appealing, but lacks empirical verification. In light of this contention, this research attempts to: (1) define and measure the concept of fit as it applies to operations strategy; (2) show how fit leads to better performance; and (3) investigate the interrelationships between fit, business strategy, productivity, and performance. These objectives are investigated through field‐based research within a wholesale distribution service setting. Utilizing the classificatory framework of Venkatraman [Venkatraman, N., 1989. The concept of fit in strategy research: toward verbal and statistical correspondence. Acad. Manage. Rev., 14(3): 423‐444], fit is defined as the degree to which operational elements match the business strategy. This precise definition closely resembles the concept of ‘external fit’ that began with the work of Skinner [Skinner, W., 1969. Manufacturing–missing link in corporate strategy. Harvard Bus. Rev., 47(3): 136‐145]. A conceptual model of business performance is used with productivity as a mediating variable between the independent variables of business strategy and external fit and the dependent variable of business performance. Path analysis is used to analyze the effect of external fit on performance and to investigate the interrelationships between fit, business strategy, productivity, and performance. The results show that external fit has a significant positive and direct effect on business performance. When coupled with the nonsignificant direct effects of the strategy variables, this suggests that the fit of the operational elements with the strategy is of greater importance than the particular choice of strategy. Although all three business strategies (low cost, a combination of low cost and high customer service, and high customer service) had no significant direct effects on performance, a high customer service strategy did have a significant positive effect on the intervening productivity variable. Finally, the particular design of the research and the findings suggest that much of the conceptual work in operations strategy may be applicable to service operations as well as manufacturing.

Linking market orientation and company performance: preliminary evidence on Kohli and Jaworski's framework

Marketing continues to provide a focus for empirical research; not only to define its nature and scope, but also its impact on an organization's performance. While there is little precise agreement regarding the definition and manifestation of marketing, the consensus view is that marketing emphasizes customer's needs and their satisfaction. In a recent article, Kohli and Jaworski (1990) operationalize the marketing concept and put forward certain propositions that link elements of a market orientation, contextual factors and business performance. This paper examines a number of these propositions empirically, concluding that the market orientation — business performance relationship is situation-specific subject to various moderating influences.