Jinwan Cho, Insik Jeong, Eunmi Kim and Hyo Eun Cho
Recent technological turbulence stemming from Industry 4.0 provides managerial opportunities and challenges simultaneously. In this context, the purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent technological turbulence stemming from Industry 4.0 provides managerial opportunities and challenges simultaneously. In this context, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of technological opportunism on innovativeness and discover the impact of innovativeness on new products performance in international markets.
Design/methodology/approach
To empirically test the hypotheses, the authors have collected survey data from 237 Korean exporting firms and applied structural equation modeling.
Findings
Empirical results indicate that technological opportunism, which represents technology sensing and responding capability, has a positive and significant influence on both exploratory and exploitative innovativeness. Also, explorative and exploitative innovativeness have positive and significant effects on new product performance in international markets.
Practical implications
This study highlighted the importance of technology sensing and responding capabilities to capture emerging opportunities, which may arise from Industry 4.0 technologies. In addition, sensing and responding capabilities will help a firm create a culture that values innovative proclivity, and in turn, will lead to superior new product performance in international markets.
Originality/value
Despite extensive scholarly interest in Industry 4.0, previous studies have neglected to address the potential impact of Industry 4.0 within the domain of new product development and its performance. Also, there have been several calls from the literature to address the managerial and strategic issues surrounding the Industry 4.0 phenomenon. In this study, the authors attempted to fill the research gaps in Industry 4.0 research studies through empirical examination.
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Hyo Eun Cho, Jong-Ho Lee and Insik Jeong
The purpose of this study is to investigate an understudied topic—new product strategy in international markets. Specifically, this study aims to address the crucial role played…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate an understudied topic—new product strategy in international markets. Specifically, this study aims to address the crucial role played by organizational characteristics and market characteristics in determining a firm's decision of adopting either a waterfall or a sprinkler product strategy for international markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis was conducted using survey data collected from a sample of 171 Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study uses logistic regression analysis to test the relationships among organizational characteristics, market characteristics and a firm's international product strategy.
Findings
The empirical results suggest that firm characteristics, such as higher degree of internationalization, lead the firms to choose the sprinkler strategy. Moreover, this research finds that a firm's choice between the waterfall and the sprinkler strategy varies depending on market characteristics such as competitive intensity and market turbulence. The findings indicate that the sprinkler strategy is more optimal for use when firms operate under a high level of competitive intensity, whereas a waterfall strategy is more suitable for firms that encounter a high level of market turbulence in targeted foreign markets.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the international marketing literature by exploring the impact of organizational characteristics and market characteristics on a firm's new product strategy in international markets.
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Hyo Eun Cho, Insik Jeong, Eunmi Kim and Jinwan Cho
In the era of Industry 4.0, international firms are required to respond to more complex and frequent changes in the global market. This study aims to explore the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
In the era of Industry 4.0, international firms are required to respond to more complex and frequent changes in the global market. This study aims to explore the role of organizational agility as a key driver to generate superior performance in international markets in the era of technological transformation and how the degree of such impact is affected by the absorptive capacity of companies.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses the results of a survey targeting 228 Korean exporters to identify the link between organizational agility and business performance in the global market under different degrees of potential and achieved absorptive capacity in the Industry 4.0 era.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that companies with a high level of organizational agility outperform their counterparts in the global market. The data further revealed that realized absorptive capacity positively moderates the relationship between organizational agility and firm performance when it is achieved, whereas the moderating role of potential absorptive capacity is not significant.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the advancement of international business studies on organizational agility and Industry 4.0 by highlighting the implication of organizational agility on firm performance and the contingent role of absorptive capacity.
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Insik Jeong, Ruey-Jer Bryan Jean, Daekwan Kim and Saeed Samiee
Disruptive external forces can bring businesses to a standstill and make their strategic plans obsolete overnight. COVID-19 exemplifies such a disruptive force, which has caused…
Abstract
Purpose
Disruptive external forces can bring businesses to a standstill and make their strategic plans obsolete overnight. COVID-19 exemplifies such a disruptive force, which has caused worldwide havoc and ongoing disruption in many sectors of the economy, while concurrently providing great opportunities for others. The goal in this study is to examine the experiences of firms that have been impacted by a prior disruptive force, offer five theoretical lenses for framing and examining such events, and provide a set of axioms based on the research findings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative approach involving five short international marketing case studies of firms based in South Korea and Taiwan. These nations and firms were selected on the bases of their overall judicious navigation of the conditions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors gathered information about these firms through primary sources of information (personal and remote interviews as well as other communications), which the authors augmented with information from secondary sources.
Findings
The results indicate that external forces can bring both opportunities and threats to firms' international marketing strategies. The authors found that two strategies help firms cope with managerial issues associated with both the demand and the supply sides in successful firms in these nations: (1) leveraging opportunities presented by the pandemic through the successive introductions of new product and (2) the expansion of both the domestic and international markets.
Research implications
The research provides five theoretical lenses to articulate the impact of disruptive external forces on international marketing strategies.
Practical implications
The research offers thirteen demand and supply side axioms for marketing managers involved in international business (e.g. exporters, importers, MNCs) to cope with disruptive external forces, like COVID-19.
Social implications
Disruptive external forces, such as the pandemic, have enormous impact on firms and consumers alike. This research aims to limit the negative impact of future disruptions by engaging in contingency planning and added resilience, through which firms may continue to function and, to a large extent, consumers are able to acquire the necessary goods and services to maintain their quality of life.
Originality/value
The authors attribute the quicker response of these firms to their agility in managing the market impacts related to COVID-19 and to their prior conditioning in their respective geopolitical spheres. The authors summarize the findings in a set of nine supply side and a set of four demand side axioms.
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Provides an overview of the special issue of the EuropeanJournal of Marketing on “Export marketing”. Five basicquestions to be answered in the export marketing area are…
Abstract
Provides an overview of the special issue of the European Journal of Marketing on “Export marketing”. Five basic questions to be answered in the export marketing area are identified. The articles in this special issue should provide a significant stimulus to further conceptual thinking addressed at these export decisions. Discusses policy implications. Developments in policy models await parallel developments in models of export decisions and processes.
Sharon O’Donnell and Insik Jeong
Examines the relationship between global standardization and performance within the global industry context. For firms competing in global industries that emphasize high‐tech…
Abstract
Examines the relationship between global standardization and performance within the global industry context. For firms competing in global industries that emphasize high‐tech, industrial products, global standardization was found to be positively related to organizational performance. In addition, considers the moderating effect of managerial characteristics on the global standardization‐performance relationship. Results indicate that the subsidiary manager’s marketing experience strengthened the global standardization‐performance relationship, but the manager’s international experience did not have a moderating effect. In summary, results show that global standardization can be an effective strategic option when implemented consistently with organizational contingencies.
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Does multinational expansion affect product innovation performance? If so, does such a relationship between international diversification and performance vary depending upon the…
Abstract
Does multinational expansion affect product innovation performance? If so, does such a relationship between international diversification and performance vary depending upon the size of the firm? Focusing on the learning and experiential advantages associated with international diversification, we attempt to find answers to these critical questions from a cross‐national perspective. Based on a survey of 179 US and 250 Chinese firms, we find that international markets are important for both US and Chinese firms, but to a greater extent among US firms. The results also indicate that new product performance can vary significantly depending upon international diversity. While US firms can generally expect better new product performance with a growing level of international diversification, Chinese firms may experience deteriorating performance after a certain threshold level. Finally, the firm size effects appear to be significant among Chinese firms, but not in the US sample.
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For decades, export performance has generated interest amongresearchers and public policy makers. However, despite extensiveinvestigations, export marketing is still lacking…
Abstract
For decades, export performance has generated interest among researchers and public policy makers. However, despite extensive investigations, export marketing is still lacking in theoretically‐grounded conclusions. Attempts to overcome this limitation by presenting a new theory‐based framework of export performance by integrating the literature in exporting, entrepreneurship and organization theory. On the basis of two entrepreneurship‐based strategic postures, export performance is conceptualized as a function of fit among firms′ strategic orientation, environment and export channel structure. From a contingency perspective, argues that exporting firms need to match or align their strategic orientation with their external environment and export channel structure to achieve superior export performance. Briefly discusses future research directions and managerial implications.
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Dennis N. Bristow and Brad Kleindl
This paper presents the results of a multimethod research study, which incorporates survey and experimental methodologies, designed to further explore the underpinnings of…
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a multimethod research study, which incorporates survey and experimental methodologies, designed to further explore the underpinnings of cultural differences in consumer responses to advertising messages. The study was designed to measure and assess differences in the self‐esteem and susceptibility to social influence of Japanese and United States college‐aged consumers. In general, it was hypothesized that Japanese consumers would have lower self‐esteem and higher susceptibility to social influence than would their US counterparts. The study provided evidence to support those hypotheses.
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
A selection of appropriate strategies is crucial to the chances of firms successfully launching new products into international markets. Consideration of different organizational and environmental factors can help ascertain whether to introduce offerings to different key markets in a sequential manner or take an alternative approach and target them all simultaneously.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.