Abstract
۱٫ Introduction and literature gaps
۲٫ Theoretical background and hypotheses
۳٫ Research methodology
۴٫ Analysis and results
۵٫ Structural model and results
۶٫ Discussion and conclusions
۷٫ Further research and limitations
Acknowledgements
References
Abstract
Few studies have examined marketing capabilities as a source of competitive advantage in the international entrepreneurship (IE) field. Empirical evidence in the international new ventures (INVs) literature that considers the strategic interplay of marketing capabilities in developing new markets overseas is scant. Building upon the resource based view, this study develops a model of the relationships among marketing capabilities—competitive strategy—export venture performance. The sample used in this study includes INVs from an emerging country (Mexico) and provides a unique research setting for shedding additional light on these relationships. The findings suggest marketing communication mediates the relationship between marketing capabilities and competitive strategy. Moreover, this study reveals the moderating effect of technological turbulence, which strengths two relationships, one between marketing capabilities and marketing communication, and the other, between marketing communication and competitive strategy. The study findings have important implications for research on IE and new venture decision-making.
Introduction and literature gaps
As global trading has become increasingly important, the central role of high tech small and medium firms taking advantage of international trading opportunities is crucial for the understanding of the antecedents of performance (Zhou, Aiqi, & Barnes, 2012). International new ventures (INVs) are small and medium high-tech firms that from inception seek to gain substantial competitive advantage from the use of resources and deployment of capabilities for the international sale of outputs (Oviatt & McDougall, 1994). Rennie (1993) was the first to identify and label this new breed of firms that respond to environmental changes through rapid internationalization. The study of INVs in emerging countries like Mexico is still incipient given the difficulty of accessing information of small and medium firms, the main reason why many studies limit their analysis to multinational corporations (Brenes, Montoya, & Ciravegna, 2014). Mexico is an important world player among Latin America, even after the recent economic 2008 downturn where Mexico’s firms were the only manufacturing powerhouse that remained in the region (Aguilera, Ciravegna, Cuervo-Cazurra, & Gonzalez-Perez, 2017). However, the international entrepreneurship (IE) literature has long neglected studies in this region (Cuervo-Cazurra & Ramamurti, 2014). The present study aims to help fill this gap. INVs are young firms vulnerable to impediments related to resource limitations. Although studies suggest that marketing capabilities play a major role in explaining INVs’ performance (Efrat & Shoham, 2012; Evers, Andersson, & Hannibal, 2012), the interaction understanding between marketing capabilities and other factors to meet the competitive demands remains limited. Marketing capabilities are created to gain competitive advantage, they are characterized by its ability to develop and deliver superior value to customers by combining its available resources (Day, 2011).