The mediating role of marketing capability: evidence from Korean companies
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 31 August 2012
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shift the research focus from singular investigations of strategic orientations (i.e. learning, technology, market, customer, and competitor) to a broadened exploration of how various combinations of orientations link to firm performance. Further, the paper reveals the mediating role of marketing capability between strategic orientations and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Mail and e‐mail surveys were received from 198 Korean executives among the nation's Top 500 firms (across various industries). Generally, multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the various hypotheses.
Findings
Data confirm that each strategic orientation has distinct paths through marketing capability (single or multiple, and mediating) that significantly impact firm performance.
Practical implications
Fostering marketing capability, including marketing planning and implementation ability, will have a direct positive impact on firm performance. In addition, companies should understand how differently their cultural resources and orientations affect firm performance.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to argue that a deployment mechanism, marketing capability, is needed between strategic orientations and business performance. The paper further contributes by extending geographic generalizability to Asian countries (since the majority of extant research on organizational orientations and capabilities comes from western countries).
Keywords
Citation
Shin, S. and Damon Aiken, K. (2012), "The mediating role of marketing capability: evidence from Korean companies", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 658-677. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555851211259070
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited