Maria Ripollés and Andreu Blesa
The purpose of this paper is to demostrate that commitment to developing knowledge sharing, coordination, adaptation and resolving potential conflict results in idiosyncratic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demostrate that commitment to developing knowledge sharing, coordination, adaptation and resolving potential conflict results in idiosyncratic relational assets for firms, which increases the benefits that international new ventures (INVs) can obtain from their networking activity.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the theoretical model, a survey was conducted among a sample of INVs. The data obtained were examined with structural equation modelling using the maximum likelihood estimation procedure in linear structural relations software.
Findings
The results showed positive effects of network entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on knowledge sharing, coordination, adaptation and resolving potential conflict, but only network coordination showed a positive effect on international performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study introduces and extends EO to the network level and shows that it contributes to INVs’ international performance through its influence on the development of coordination activities among networked firms.
Practical implications
The results provide guidance for building INVs’ networks. Entrepreneurs will find orientations about which partners could be more valuable to them.
Originality/value
Little research has addressed the study of network management activities to create a network structure. This paper reveals how firms’ volition and commitment to networking helps us to understand, in a fine-grained manner, how INVs gain benefits from their social networks. Additionally, EO at the network level is also studied, and arguments are proposed showing its relationships with the aforementioned relational activities based on the fact that entrepreneurial-oriented partners are supposed to be more active in networking.
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Maria Ripollés and Andreu Blesa
The role of entrepreneurship education in promoting entrepreneurial actions remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the logic of different types of…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of entrepreneurship education in promoting entrepreneurial actions remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the logic of different types of entrepreneurship education and the effect of learning characteristics in promoting entrepreneurial actions among student entrepreneurs in the higher education setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a quantitative approach involving the use of survey data collected via an Internet tool. The constructs of variables are measured using previously tested scales. The data were analysed using partial least squares modelling because it can handle formative and reflective constructs in the same model and is capable of testing for moderation.
Findings
The findings illustrate that voluntary entrepreneurship education generates learning outcomes in terms of students' entrepreneurial actions, which is important because without action, a venture will never be launched. This is especially so if students show a deep learning orientation, while mastery motivation showed a significant and negative moderating effect. This is not the case for compulsory entrepreneurship education.
Originality/value
Embedded in construal level theory, this paper offers knowledge that can help to advance entrepreneurship education research (1) by uncovering the role of different types of entrepreneurship education interventions, (2) by considering students' entrepreneurial actions as the dependent variable and (3) by unravelling the role of students' learning characteristics in the efficacy of entrepreneurship education interventions. By doing this, the study addresses recent repeated calls for more fine-grained research focused on how university students learn in entrepreneurship in higher education and its effects.
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J. Enrique Bigné, Andreu Blesa, Inés Küster and Luisa Andreu
This study looks at the relationships between the market orientation of the manufacturer and the sources of his or her power over the distributor. The effect these power bases…
Abstract
This study looks at the relationships between the market orientation of the manufacturer and the sources of his or her power over the distributor. The effect these power bases have on the distributor's satisfaction with the relationship is also analysed. The aricle offers the results of a study, conducted in the ceramic tile sector in Spain, aimed at measuring the market orientation of manufacturers, their power bases as perceived by their distributors, and the latter's satisfaction with the relationship. The results show that manufacturers' market orientation has a positive effect on their reward power but not on their referent power, nor on their power of coercion. However, the reward, expert and referent powers of the manufacturer have a positive effect on the distributor's satisfaction
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Andreu Blesa and Enrique Bigné
This paper seeks to examines the effect of manufacturer market orientation on distributor dependence and satisfaction with the relationship, and to analyse how this dependence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examines the effect of manufacturer market orientation on distributor dependence and satisfaction with the relationship, and to analyse how this dependence affects distributor satisfaction, with specific reference to the Spanish ceramic tile industry,
Design/methodology/approach
Two parallel sets of individual interviews with a total of 222 manufacturers and distributors were conducted by a private research institute. They yielded 179 dyads of interaction. Market orientation, dependence and satisfaction were measured by five‐point Likert scales. The data were used to test 11 hypotheses by structural equation modelling.
Findings
Analysis of the findings suggests that all aspects of manufacturers’ market orientation have a positive effect on distributors’ satisfaction, except response implementation and the influence of distributor dependence. Contrary to expectations, dependence on the manufacturer adversely affects distributor satisfaction. The conclusion is that adoption of market orientation is justified in practice by increased dependence and satisfaction among distributors, in addition to other benefits discussed in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
Although the study only focuses on one industry, and the dependence measurement scale has been limited to two items, in order to obtain an acceptable reliability level, the results are clear within those limitations and are transferable with appropriate caution to the general context.
Originality/value
This study addresses a gap in the research into the effect of market orientation on distribution channel relationships, and provides useful planning information on the market orientation dimensions that influence dependence and satisfaction in the relationships between members at different levels in a channel.
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Andreu Blesa and Maria Ripollés
The paper's objective is to demonstrate that marketing capabilities have positive effects on firms' international performance. These effects may be both direct and indirect…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's objective is to demonstrate that marketing capabilities have positive effects on firms' international performance. These effects may be both direct and indirect. Marketing capabilities foster international commitment and influence the choice of international entry mode. Through these, marketing capabilities exercise an indirect influence on international performance.
Design/methodology/approach
First, based on arguments from the dynamic capabilities perspective, the dynamic theory of strategy and the transaction‐cost theory, the effects of marketing capabilities on international performance are discussed. A survey was carried out on Spanish and Belgian international firms to test the model. SEM was used to analyse the relationships established in the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show coincidences between the samples in relation to the positive influences of companies' marketing capabilities on economic international performance, international commitment and international entry modes. Moreover, there is also a positive and significant influence of high direct investment entry modes on international economic performance. However, there are differences in other relationships.
Practical implications
The results inform on the kind of entry modes that can be selected, based on firm marketing capabilities, and which of them provide better international results.
Originality/value
This paper confirms that marketing capabilities are at the core of the company's international decisions. Specifically, it demonstrates that marketing capabilities influence both the international commitment of the company and the selection of the appropriate international mode of entry.
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Enrique Bigne and Andreu Blesa
This paper studies the relationships between the manufacturer's market orientation behaviours and the distributor's trust in the relationship and satisfaction with it. It also…
Abstract
This paper studies the relationships between the manufacturer's market orientation behaviours and the distributor's trust in the relationship and satisfaction with it. It also analyses the effect of the distributor's trust on his/her satisfaction. Following a review of the literature, three alternative models of relationships between trust and satisfaction are compared. For this purpose the article presents the results of a study of the Spanish ceramic industry. These establish that the effect of the manufacturer's market orientation on the distributor's trust and on its satisfaction with the relationship is different depending on which dimension is considered. The model that best fits the data shows that trust improves the distributor's satisfaction with the relationship.
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Olli Kuivalainen, Sanna Sundqvist, Sami Saarenketo and Rod McNaughton
The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual frameworks and concepts with which the research on internationalization patterns of small and medium‐sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual frameworks and concepts with which the research on internationalization patterns of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) should be conducted.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive overview of concepts and a conceptual framework to study internationalization patterns of SMEs is offered.
Findings
The complexities of existing definitions and methodologies for researching internationalization patterns are highlighted, and a synthesis of the issues is provided. An integrative model of internationalization pathways, and their antecedents and outcomes is presented.
Research limitations/implications
It is recommended that future research focuses especially on the time dimension of internationalization patterns. Future research can contribute to the literature by adopting a longitudinal approach with larger samples and more detailed cases to capture the dynamics of internationalization.
Practical implications
Practitioners might map their positions, and look for challenges and opportunities with regard to their chosen internationalization pattern. They can also benchmark other firms’ pathways and fine‐tune their own approach to internationalization.
Originality/value
The paper integrates a large body of research in an important research area in international marketing. It also provides guidance on how to conduct future research in the area, and introduces the content of this special issue of the International Marketing Review.
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Ana Isabel Polo Peña, Dolores María Frías Jamilena and José Alberto Castañeda García
The purpose of this paper is to validate market orientation (MO) and business results scales in an area of significant interest for the literature: namely, service firms of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to validate market orientation (MO) and business results scales in an area of significant interest for the literature: namely, service firms of a small and micro‐scale in a market sharing many similarities with Latin America (cultural, social and economic), specifically the Spanish rural tourism market.
Design/methodology/approach
On the basis of a literature review covering works specializing in MO and its impact on the service sector, and in the characteristics of small‐ and micro‐sized service firms (SMSF), a qualitative and a quantitative study are carried out in Spain, at a national level.
Findings
The results validate the scales and identify that MO comprises the following dimensions: information‐gathering, dissemination of information, and response to the market. The validated business results scale includes economic/financial results and others of a more personal nature linked to the entrepreneur business owner.
Practical implications
The work provides knowledge regarding the activities undertaken by SMSF in the area of MO. Professionals from the small‐ and micro‐sized service sector can use this knowledge to plan and design market‐focussed actions that will lead to improved business performance.
Originality/value
The work validates MO and business results scales that have been widely studied throughout the literature but that leave a significant gap in the case of SMSF operating in Latin American countries. The business base in these countries comprises a large percentage of such small‐scale operations.
Objetivo
El objetivo de este trabajo es validar las escalas de orientación al mercado y de consecución de resultados empresariales en un ámbito de interés para la literatura como es el de las empresas de servicios de tamaño pequeño y micro en contexto próximos al de Iberoamérica, como es el sector del turismo rural en el ámbito español.
Metodología
A partir de la revisión de la literatura especializada en orientación al mercado, su impacto en el sector servicios y en las características de las empresas de servicios pequeñas y micro, se lleva a cabo un estudio cualitativo y un estudio cuantitativo a nivel nacional en España.
Resultados
Los resultados alcanzados permiten validar las escalas e identificar que la orientación al mercado queda integrada por las dimensiones de captación de información, diseminación de la información y respuesta hacia el mercado. Por otra parte, los resultados empresariales incluyen resultados económico‐financieros y otros de carácter personal vinculados al empresario.
Implicaciones prácticas
Este trabajo aporta un mayor conocimiento en relación con las actividades que las empresas de servicios pequeñas y micro pueden llevar a cabo para orientarse al mercado. Este conocimiento puede ser utilizado por los profesionales del sector al planear y diseñar las acciones de mercado de sus empresas, conduciendo a un mayor desempeño de la actividad empresarial.
Originalidad
La orientación al mercado y sus efectos en empresas de servicios pequeñas y micro en un contexto próximo al iberoamericano como es el de España difiere con respecto a otros ámbitos de aplicación más generales. El conjunto de aspectos considerados en este trabajo, permiten llevar a cabo una adecuada aplicación empírica en esta área donde en la revisión de la literatura aparece una carencia de trabajos empíricos.