The Impact of Marketing Research Activity on SME Export Performance: Evidence from the UK
The Impact of Marketing Research Activity on SME Export Performance: Evidence from the UK
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营销研究活动对中小企业出口绩效的影响：来自英国的证据
DOI：
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发表时间：
1999
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
N. Tzokas
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. Hart;N. Tzokas
人们越来越相信信息的价值可以通过减少不确定性来提高决策水平，这使人们越来越一致地认为，今天的商业实体的增长甚至生存将取决于它们处理和处理信息的策略(Deshpande和Zaltman 1982；Turner 1991；Glazer 1991)。同样，在营销文献中，尽管有一些成功的营销决策是基于直觉和敏锐的，但经常有人提出，基于营销研究信息的决策是整体商业成功的重要因素(Kohli和Jaworski 1990；Narver和Slate 1990)。尽管如此，大多数研究营销信息的性质及其与企业绩效关系的研究都涉及到国内市场和国内营销之间的关系。然而，在国际营销中，有人认为，将业务扩展到一个环境条件陌生的陌生市场所带来的不确定性增加了对营销信息的需求(Terpstra 1967；Johanson和Vahlne 1977；Douglas和Craig 1983)。尽管人们一致认为，在国内和国际环境下，营销信息都是企业成功的核心，但令人惊讶的是，很少有实证研究专门研究国际领域的营销研究与公司业绩之间的联系。最近的一些开创性著作已经开始探索在国际和出口营销中围绕营销信息的收集、使用和影响的特殊问题；大多数研究涉及出口商使用的出口信息的来源、研究活动的组织、所采用的数据收集方法以及影响出口信息使用的因素(Hart、Webb和Jones 1994；Crick、Jones和Hart 1994；Diamantopoulos和HornCastle 1997)。然而，关于出口企业的营销信息收集行为与其绩效之间关系的实证研究还存在空白。考虑到开始收集详细的营销信息或做出错误决策的财务影响，实证研究中的这种差距有点令人惊讶。本文所描述的研究探讨了这种信息收集行为与出口绩效之间的关系。此外，这项研究侧重于中小型企业(SME)，以前的研究已经确定了一些阻碍营销研究活动的因素(McDaniel和Parasuraman 1986；Fann and Smeltzer 1989；Kagan，Lau和Nusgart 1990；Peridis 1992)。这类研究还表明，“学者和市场营销专业人员都可以通过提供和传播确立市场研究价值的证据来帮助小企业”(Callahan和Cassar，1995，第8页)。营销信息对出口成功的贡献几项实证研究得出的结论是，营销研究确实是公司成功公式中的一个重要因素。例如，Hooley和Lynch(1985)提供的证据表明，市场研究的使用水平与公司效率正相关，而Hart(1987)和Baker，Hart，and Black(1988)报告说，更成功的公司进行市场研究，与不太成功的公司形成鲜明对比。针对小企业，道林格(1984,1985)发现环境信息的使用与小企业的财务绩效之间存在正相关关系。尽管这些研究似乎支持营销研究和绩效之间的联系，但一些研究人员认为，寻找直接关系是过度简化了信息在公司内部如何使用的问题(Piercy 1983,1985)。具体地说，对信息的使用及其对公司绩效的最终影响的调查被认为受到了许多组织因素的干扰，如权力和政治、组织结构和互动，以及高级管理因素(1)(Deshpande和Zaltman 1982)。…
Belief in the value of information for enhancing decisions by reducing uncertainty has increasingly led to the consensus that the growth and even survival of today's business entities will depend on their strategies for handling and processing information (Deshpande and Zaltman 1982; Turner 1991; Glazer 1991). Equally, in marketing literature, although there are examples of successful marketing decisions being taken on the basis of intuition and acumen, it is frequently proposed that decisions based on marketing research information are an important factor in overall business success (Kohli and Jaworski 1990; Narver and Slater 1990). That said, most of the research that investigates the nature of marketing information and its relationship to business performance has involved the relation between domestic markets and domestic marketing. However, in international marketing, it has been argued that the increased uncertainty posed by extending business to an unfamiliar market with unfamiliar environmental conditions intensifies the need for marketing information (Terpstra 1967; Johanson and Vahlne 1977; Douglas and Craig 1983). Despite the agreement that marketing information is central to business success in both domestic and international contexts, there have been surprisingly few empirical studies that specifically examine the link between marketing research and company performance in the international domain. A number of recent seminal works have begun to explore the special issues surrounding the collection, use, and effects of marketing information in international and export marketing; the majority of studies pertain to the sources of export information used by exporters, the organization of research activities, the data collection methods employed, and the factors affecting the use of export information (Hart, Webb, and Jones 1994; Crick, Jones, and Hart 1994; Diamantopoulos and Horncastle 1997). Yet there remains a gap in empirical research examining the relationship between the marketing information-collecting behavior of exporting firms and their performance. Given the financial implications of embarking upon the collection of detailed marketing information or of making erroneous decisions, this gap in empirical research is somewhat surprising. The research described in this article explores the relationship between such information gathering behavior and export performance. Further, this study focuses on small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), for which previous research has identified a number of factors that impede marketing research activity (McDaniel and Parasuraman 1986; Fann and Smeltzer 1989; Kagan, Lau, and Nusgart 1990; Peridis 1992). Such research has also suggested that "academics and marketing professionals alike can aid small businesses by providing and disseminating evidence establishing the value of market research" (Callahan and Cassar 1995, p.8). The Contribution of Marketing Information to Export Success Several empirical studies have concluded that marketing research is indeed an important element in companies' success formulae. For example, Hooley and Lynch (1985) give evidence that the level of use of marketing research is positively related to company effectiveness, while Hart (1987) and Baker, Hart, and Black (1988) report that more successful companies carry out marketing research, in sharp contrast to less successful companies. Focusing on small firms, Dolinger (1984, 1985) found a positive relationship between the use of environmental information and small firm financial performance. Despite these studies which appear to support the link between marketing research and performance, a number of researchers argue that to look for a direct relationship is to over-simplify the issue of how information is used within companies (Piercy 1983, 1985). Specifically, the investigation of the use of information and its eventual impact on company performance is argued to be confounded by a host of organizational factors such as power and politics, organizational structure and interactions, as well as senior management factors(1) (Deshpande and Zaltman 1982). …