Dublin Core
Title
Assessing the roles of foreign knowledge acquisition and absorptive capacity in the relationship between market orientation, innovativeness and performance
Creator
Robert Ebo Hinson
Description
The effects of market orientation (MO) have received much attention from researchers (Ozkaya et al., 2015). Narver and Slater (1990) identified three dimensions of MO: customer orientation (CuO), competitor orientation (CoO) and inter-functional coordination. In particular, studies have shown that good customer knowledge management can create a valuable competitive advantage for firms (Garcia-Murillo and Annabi, 2002). According to the need for firms to manage customer knowledge to drive performance, we therefore focus on the customer and CoOs, both of which focus on the firm’s external information-gathering activities (Narver and Slater, 1990; Ozkaya et al., 2015). However, although gathering and sharing customer knowledge is important, employees must apply this knowledge to effect a transformation in the firm (Ozkaya et al., 2015). Therefore, alongside customer knowledge – i.e. knowledge about, for and from customers – the present study also examines employee absorptive capacity (AC).
Knowledge has been recognized as a vital resource that can be managed to increase a firm’s competitive advantage and innovation and improve its performance. The value of the acquisition and sharing of knowledge on customers and competitors across the functional units of an organization is fundamental to MO theory. MO has been found to affect business performance in varied environments (Kohli et al., 1993; Narver and Slater, 1990). Nonetheless, despite an increased research interest in knowledge management, MO, innovation and performance, their interrelationships are not well understood in the literature (Migdadi et al., 2017).
Recent literature has demonstrated the importance of foreign knowledge acquisition for firm performance (Elhachemi, 2022; Rakthin et al., 2016). These studies suggest that AC can influence the relationship between external knowledge acquisition and a firm’s innovativeness and performance, but they have examined the AC of market knowledge only in relation to foreign partners and not to knowledge of customers and competitors (Elhachemi, 2022). Rakthin et al. (2016) investigated the mediation of customer acquisition and retention in the effects of AC on firm performance but did not consider competitor intelligence in the knowledge acquisition and dissemination process. There is thus inadequate evidence in the literature for understanding the relationship between foreign knowledge acquisition, AC and firm performance.
The present study addresses these gaps in the literature by examining the effect of MO (measured as customer and CoO) on foreign business knowledge (FBK) acquisition and then on firm innovativeness and performance. For this purpose, it determines the effect of MO on firm innovativeness and performance and tests the moderating role of AC in the link between FBK acquisition, firm innovativeness and performance.
To address these objectives, we collected data from enterprises in Ghana that export their products to foreign markets. Knowledge acquisition from foreign markets has benefitted SMEs in a range of developing economies, such as China (Lin et al., 2020), Ghana (Sarsah et al., 2020) and Algeria (Elhachemi, 2022). However, studies on the impact of the acquired knowledge have been inadequate. Similarly, the effect of MO on the performance of Ghanaian firms has been rarely studied. Our study thus contributes to researchers’ and practitioners’ understandings of how MO drives foreign knowledge acquisition by firms and the consequent effects on their performance and innovativeness.
The remainder of the paper provides the theoretical background, hypotheses development, methodology and results of the present study, before providing a discussion including limitations and recommendations for future studies.
Knowledge has been recognized as a vital resource that can be managed to increase a firm’s competitive advantage and innovation and improve its performance. The value of the acquisition and sharing of knowledge on customers and competitors across the functional units of an organization is fundamental to MO theory. MO has been found to affect business performance in varied environments (Kohli et al., 1993; Narver and Slater, 1990). Nonetheless, despite an increased research interest in knowledge management, MO, innovation and performance, their interrelationships are not well understood in the literature (Migdadi et al., 2017).
Recent literature has demonstrated the importance of foreign knowledge acquisition for firm performance (Elhachemi, 2022; Rakthin et al., 2016). These studies suggest that AC can influence the relationship between external knowledge acquisition and a firm’s innovativeness and performance, but they have examined the AC of market knowledge only in relation to foreign partners and not to knowledge of customers and competitors (Elhachemi, 2022). Rakthin et al. (2016) investigated the mediation of customer acquisition and retention in the effects of AC on firm performance but did not consider competitor intelligence in the knowledge acquisition and dissemination process. There is thus inadequate evidence in the literature for understanding the relationship between foreign knowledge acquisition, AC and firm performance.
The present study addresses these gaps in the literature by examining the effect of MO (measured as customer and CoO) on foreign business knowledge (FBK) acquisition and then on firm innovativeness and performance. For this purpose, it determines the effect of MO on firm innovativeness and performance and tests the moderating role of AC in the link between FBK acquisition, firm innovativeness and performance.
To address these objectives, we collected data from enterprises in Ghana that export their products to foreign markets. Knowledge acquisition from foreign markets has benefitted SMEs in a range of developing economies, such as China (Lin et al., 2020), Ghana (Sarsah et al., 2020) and Algeria (Elhachemi, 2022). However, studies on the impact of the acquired knowledge have been inadequate. Similarly, the effect of MO on the performance of Ghanaian firms has been rarely studied. Our study thus contributes to researchers’ and practitioners’ understandings of how MO drives foreign knowledge acquisition by firms and the consequent effects on their performance and innovativeness.
The remainder of the paper provides the theoretical background, hypotheses development, methodology and results of the present study, before providing a discussion including limitations and recommendations for future studies.
Publisher
Emerald Publishing Limited
Date
2022
Source
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/mrr-10-2021-0726/full/html
Language
English