Peren Özturan and Amir Grinstein
In a world where corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a meaningful trend valued by firm stakeholders, it is still not clear how the marketing department integrates…
Abstract
Purpose
In a world where corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a meaningful trend valued by firm stakeholders, it is still not clear how the marketing department integrates corporate-level social responsibility strategy into its departmental activities i.e. socially responsible marketing activities (SRMA) and whether such activities can benefit the department. Using legitimacy as the underlying theoretical explanation, this paper aims to study two instrumental returns from SRMA at the marketing department level, i.e. marketing department’s performance – impact outside the firm on multiple marketing-related outcomes and influence within the firm – the power of the marketing department compared to other departments.
Design/methodology/approach
Three studies were performed. Study 1 is a survey that offers a validated measure of SRMA and examines its relationship with the focal outcome variables. Study 2 is also a survey that investigates the mediating role of the marketing department’s legitimacy and the moderating role of customers’ interest in social responsibility and uses actual sales data of firms. Study 3 is an experiment that examines the main findings in a controlled setting using participants other than marketing executives i.e. chief executive officers.
Findings
Study 1 shows that SRMA is different than the closely related variable socially responsible business strategy and is positively related to the marketing department’s performance and influence within the firm. Study 2 complements these findings by demonstrating these impacts are mediated by the marketing department’s legitimacy and strengthened with higher customers’ interest in social responsibility. Study 3 sets the causality between the focal variables and the mediating role of legitimacy.
Research limitations/implications
This work extends the study of firm-level CSR to the department- and implementation-level, in the context of marketing departments. It reveals the underlying mechanism driving the positive impact of SRMA, i.e. legitimacy, and identifies a moderating condition, i.e. customers’ interest in social responsibility. It further extends research on the role of the marketing department and its contribution to firm performance.
Practical implications
Marketers can benefit from the reported findings by understanding when and how CSR-related, domain-specific activities that feature the traditional responsibilities of marketing, including market research, customer relationship management and the product, promotions, price and place (4Ps) may be reshaped to include a broader set of stakeholders and a socially responsible angle and thereby generate more legitimacy and impact – inside and outside the firm.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel perspective on how marketing departments evaluate CSR in their daily activities where such engagement vests increasing returns to the marketing department and underpins the successful implementation of CSR.
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Rohit Deshpandé, Amir Grinstein, Sang-Hoon Kim and Elie Ofek
There is a lack of research on the link between the personal disposition of an entrepreneurial firm's founder, the firm's strategic orientation and its performance outcomes. Also…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a lack of research on the link between the personal disposition of an entrepreneurial firm's founder, the firm's strategic orientation and its performance outcomes. Also, there is a lack of cross-national research on entrepreneurial firms’ strategic orientations. This paper seeks to address these gaps by exploring the differences in strategic orientation choices and their performance outcomes for American and Japanese entrepreneurial firms, focusing on founders’ achievement motivation as a key personal disposition.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among 397 Japanese founders and 189 American ones.
Findings
This paper's key counterintuitive finding is that Japanese and American founders of entrepreneurial firms are more similar than is often suggested. The paper first finds that in both Japan and the US, achievement motivation is positively related to customer orientation and cost orientation while not being related to technological orientation. Second, it is found that the adoption of customer orientation is positively related to the profitability of both Japanese and American entrepreneurial firms, although the effect is stronger in the US. It is also found that the adoption of technology orientation is negatively related to the profitability of both Japanese and American firms, although the effect is less negative in Japan. Finally, it is found that the adoption of cost orientation does not have an impact on the profitability of either Japanese or American entrepreneurial firms.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to examine how founders of entrepreneurial firms use their personal disposition to shape the strategic orientation of their firm.
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Arieh Goldman and Amir Grinstein
Market orientation (MO) is at the center of the marketing discipline and has been the focus of one of the longest and richest research efforts in the field. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Market orientation (MO) is at the center of the marketing discipline and has been the focus of one of the longest and richest research efforts in the field. This paper aims to study the development of the MO research area and changes in its nature, and the implications these have for MO research in particular as well as for the marketing discipline as a whole.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is guided by sociology of science research and studies of the history of the marketing discipline. It is based on a review of all MO articles and references in the period 1957‐2005.
Findings
The findings reveal three periods in the development of MO research: 1950s‐late 1970s, late 1970s‐early 1990s, and early 1990s until today. In terms of diffusion over time, MO research has diffused from marketing mostly to management, from generalist to specialist journals, from higher to lower quality journals, and from the USA only to Europe. Over time more scholars have become involved in MO research and the number of co‐authored MO articles has increased. The paper also finds that the MO research knowledge base and impact continue to be limited to marketing and management.
Research limitations/implications
While the study involves a large effort to collect longitudinal data on MO publication activity, its main limitation is its descriptive nature.
Originality/value
Unlike previous research in marketing that has typically studied articles, authors and reference data to gain insight into the intellectual developments of specific marketing journals, here the authors use these sources for studying the structure and evolution of a specific and important research area such as MO. Also, the study is based on rich and longitudinal data, enabling a variety of longitudinal analyses. The link between the MO area and the marketing discipline is of value, showing how the development of MO mirrors key developments in the marketing discipline at large and is influenced by many of the same forces that shape the discipline.
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Itzhak Gnizy, William E. Baker and Amir Grinstein
Although small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a significant portion of international trade, little is known about the role of strategic orientation culture in…
Abstract
Purpose
Although small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a significant portion of international trade, little is known about the role of strategic orientation culture in improving their foreign launch success. Three orientations – market, entrepreneurial, and learning are all related to organizational learning priorities and reflect a higher order dynamic capability (DC), proactive learning culture (PLC). The authors assert that PLC is particularly important to SMEs whose lack of market power and resources render them vulnerable in risky foreign market launch. Marketing program adaptation and local integration are examined as behavioral mediators of the impact of PLC on foreign market launch success. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The DC framework guides the study. The authors employ a model with a higher order PLC, two mediating behaviors, and firm foreign market launch success to report on an empirical study of US SMEs that operate in foreign markets. The authors used hierarchical regression analysis and extensive post hoc analyses/robustness checks.
Findings
Consistent with the DC framework, SMEs’ foreign launch success is driven by higher and lower order behaviors. The impact of the higher order PLC construct was mediated by two lower order behaviors, marketing program adaptation and local integration. Notably, PLC's influence is stronger than the influence of any subset of its one/two/three first order components.
Practical implications
SMEs need to pay attention to an array of organizational learning processes that combine to engender a PLC, which help optimize the deployment of more tangible, lower order behaviors required for foreign launch success.
Originality/value
Introducing PLC as a DC that enables firms to proactively develop market-oriented, innovative capabilities using a knowledge-based approach. The elements of PLC reflect a more complete view of the role of learning in driving the assembly of lower order behaviors in foreign market launch, which requires both a market-oriented approach and the ability to innovate under conditions of uncertainty. While each element of PLC is valuable, the higher level impact of all three facilitates a more effective culture for those firms, which choose to enter new markets.
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One of the strongest convictions in marketing is that market orientation contributes to firms' performance substantially more than alternative strategic orientations such as…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the strongest convictions in marketing is that market orientation contributes to firms' performance substantially more than alternative strategic orientations such as innovation and entrepreneurial orientations. Still, some studies show that alternative orientations can also substantially affect the performance of firms, and furthermore, that firms that combine market orientation with alternative orientations are likely to perform even better than firms adopting only market orientation. Also, the nature of the relationship between market orientation and other strategic orientations is not clear. The purpose of this paper is to deal with these discrepancies in the marketing literature. It highlights the importance of the study of the relationship between market orientation and alternative strategic orientations, examines the effect of market orientation on different orientations, and identifies the orientations that are more likely to be combined with market orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a meta‐analysis procedure to synthesize empirical results on the relationship between market orientation and innovation, learning, entrepreneurial, and employee orientations.
Findings
Findings suggest that market orientation is strongly correlated with learning, entrepreneurial, and employee orientations, and that it has a moderate positive relationship with innovation orientation.
Research limitations/implications
Research on market orientation should shift its focus, moving from the study of the direct effect of market orientation on business performance to the study of the various combinations of strategic orientations that firms can pursue in different situations, studying how the more successful market‐oriented firms balance between market orientation and other strategic orientations.
Originality/value
This is the first meta‐analysis to examine the relationships between market orientation and alternative strategic orientations.
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Amir Grinstein and Arieh Goldman
Managers often face a number of dilemmas with respect to their stakeholders: Who are the most salient ones? How many should they target? How to allocate attention/efforts among…
Abstract
Purpose
Managers often face a number of dilemmas with respect to their stakeholders: Who are the most salient ones? How many should they target? How to allocate attention/efforts among them? Based on stakeholders and market orientation research this paper aims to address these dilemmas.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a survey of managers in a cross‐industry sample of 115 firms. The authors first identify a specific group of salient stakeholders – those providing the firm with revenues and financial support. The article then studies the conditions under which firms should adopt a key approach to stakeholders' management – a “generalist” stakeholder strategy, that is, deal with a larger number of revenue and funding producing stakeholder types, and/or more evenly spread attention/efforts among them.
Findings
The findings suggest that a generalist stakeholder strategy has a positive effect on firms' performance among resource‐rich firms and among firms who face dissimilar (“unrelated”) stakeholders. Also, degree of environmental volatility was not found to moderate the relationship between a generalist stakeholder strategy and firms' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes to the marketing and stakeholder literatures by identifying and studying a group of important stakeholders beyond final consumers – those providing the firm with revenues and financial support, and by studying the conditions under which firms benefit from one key approach to stakeholders – a “generalist” stakeholder strategy. The study's limitations characterize most cross‐sectional survey research (e.g. single informants, subjective performance assessments). However, substantial efforts were made to ensure the validity and robustness of the findings.
Practical implications
The study offers managers insight into the organizational and environmental conditions under which firms should adopt a generalist stakeholder strategy.
Originality/value
This is one of the few papers that integrate into the marketing literature the study of stakeholders. Specifically, it introduces the concept of a generalist stakeholder strategy.
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Mike Lee, Dominique Roux, Helene Cherrier and Bernard Cova
Leonidas C. Leonidou, Constantinos N. Leonidou and Olga Kvasova
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that focuses on the cultural drivers and trust outcomes of consumer perceptions on issues pertaining to the unethical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that focuses on the cultural drivers and trust outcomes of consumer perceptions on issues pertaining to the unethical marketing behavior of firms. It specifically investigates: the role of cultural orientation in forming consumer ethical ideology; the link between the consumer's ethical ideology and his/her perceptions regarding the unethical marketing behavior of firms; the effect of perceived unethical marketing behavior on trust in firms; and the moderating role of gender, age, and education of the consumer.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is based on a quantitative survey conducted among 387 Cypriot consumers aged 18 and above, using stratified random sampling procedures. The items comprising the constructs used were derived from multiple literature sources and these were measured on a seven‐point Likert scale. Data were gathered through personal, face‐to‐face interviews conducted at central locations in all major towns of Cyprus. To test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs of the model, structural equation modeling was employed.
Findings
The study confirmed that both power distance and uncertainty avoidance are important in forming idealistic attitudes, while both individualism and masculinity lead to an egoistic attitude. Idealism was observed to have a positive association with perceived marketing unethicality, while egoism was found to negatively affect consumer perceptions of unethical marketing behavior by firms. It was also revealed that perceived unethical marketing behavior decreases consumer trust. The study also revealed that the link between idealism and perceived marketing unethicality is stronger among male and older individuals, while consumer's level of education had no moderating impact on this link. Finally, none of the consumer demographics examined (i.e. gender, age, and education) moderated the association between egoism and perceived unethical marketing behavior.
Originality/value
The originality of the study lies in the fact that: it puts together in a single model both antecedents and outcomes of the marketing unethicality of firms, as this is perceived by the individual consumer; concurrently examines the role of cultural orientation and ethical ideology of the consumer in forming ethical attitudes and responses; focuses on the instrumental role of cultural characteristics on consumer ethical perceptions from the perspective of the individual, rather than the society as a whole; places emphasis on unethical issues taking place across all elements of the marketing mix; and provides useful examination of the effects of unethical marketing practices on consumer trust.
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Cristiana R. Lages, Gregor Pfajfar and Aviv SHOHAM
The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for the lack of research attention paid to the Middle East (ME) and Africa regions. In particular, this study seeks to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for the lack of research attention paid to the Middle East (ME) and Africa regions. In particular, this study seeks to identify the reasons for and implications of the paucity of ME- and Africa-based studies in high-quality international journals in the marketing field with a specific focus on the challenges in conducting and publishing research on these regions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature on the ME and Africa regions to identify papers published in 23 high-quality marketing, international business, and advertising journals. This search resulted in 301 articles, among which 125 articles were based on primary or secondary data collected from a local source in those regions. The authors of these 125 articles constitute the Delphi study sample. These academics provided input in an effort to reach a consensus regarding the two proposed models of academic research in both regions.
Findings
This paper differs from previous studies, where academic freedom emerged as the most important inhibitor to conducting and publishing research. The most frequently mentioned challenges in conducting research in Africa were access to data, data collection issues, diversity of the region, and lack of research support infrastructure. For the ME, the most often described challenges included validity and reliability of data, language barriers, data collection issues, and availability of a network of researchers. Editors’ and reviewers’ low interest and limited knowledge were ranked high in both regions. South Africa, Israel, and Turkey emerged as outliers, in which research barriers were less challenging than in the rest of the two regions. The authors attribute this difference to the high incidence of US-trained or US-based scholars originating from these countries.
Originality/value
To the best of the knowledge, no marketing studies have discussed the problems of publishing in high-quality international journals of marketing, international business, and advertising for either region. Thus, most of the issues the authors discuss in this paper offer new insightful results while supplementing previous research on the challenges of conducting and publishing research on specific world regions.