Adaptive marketing capability and product innovations: the role of market ambidexterity and transformational leadership (evidence from Pakistani manufacturing industry)

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to offer and validate an integrated marketing capability-product innovations framework. Particularly, it aims to examine the role of adaptive marketing capability in enabling market ambidexterity and incremental as well as radical product innovation. Also it intends to investigate the moderating role of transformational leadership between adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity.Design/methodology/approachManufacturing firms in Pakistan, an emerging economy, are taken as the context for this study. A designed survey questionnaire is used for data collection. Partial least square technique is employed to empirically validate and test the hypothesized model with a sample of 192 manufacturing firms. Particularly, the two-stage approach in SmartPLS is used to validate measurement models, and structural equation modeling technique is used to test the proposed hypothesis.FindingsThe findings not only confirm that adaptive marketing capability is instrumental to both incremental and radical product innovations but also reveal that adaptive marketing capability serves an important antecedent to market ambidexterity shedding new lights on its mediating role in the relationship of adaptive marketing capability with incremental and radical product innovations. Moreover, the results find that the effectiveness of adaptive marketing capability to support market ambidexterity may involve a possible trade-off between exploitation and exploration when the leaders exhibit a low or high level of transformational leadership behavior.Originality/valueThis study contributes to outside-in strategic perspective and contextual ambidexterity literature by revealing the role of adaptive marketing capability as an important enabler of market ambidexterity which, in turn, allows the firm to simultaneously introduce incremental and radical product innovations. In this way, this study advances the current understanding of the antecedents and consequences of contextual ambidexterity. Also, this study provides insight into the types of capabilities needed for the firm's contextual and employees' behavioral adaptation to simultaneously manage exploitation and exploration within the same business unit which was lacking in the previous literature. Further, this study also offers a novel understanding of the conditional role of transformational leadership between adaptive marketing capability and market ambidexterity.

Firma Performansı Bakımından Adaptif Pazarlama Yetenekleri ve Pazarlama Çevikliği Üzerine Teorik Bir Tartışma

“…Even though certain concepts of marketing capabilities, namely static, dynamic, and adaptive marketing capabilities have been examined in various studies (see for example; Guo, et al, 2018;Day, 2011;Ali, et al, 2021), there is a limited number of studies in the literature that investigate marketing agility (Kalaignaman, et al, 2021;Khan, 2020). Therefore, one of the major purposes of this study is to contribute to the marketing agility literature by discussion AMCs and MA simultaneously.…”

“…Firms that adapt to outside-in strategy can perform exploitation and exploration activities in a complementary manner, meaning that, they can execute contextual ambidexterity. Research demonstrates that AMCs strengthen the contextual ambidexterity of the firms by exploring and exploiting the market opportunities which are identified through vigilant market learning, adaptive market experimentation and open marketing mechanism (Ali et al, 2021).…”

“…Firms adapt to volatile market dynamics by means of AMCs and thereby comprehend current and future expectations of customers. Consequently, they can meet market needs through incremental and radical product innovations (Ali et al, 2021). Firms that adapt to outside-in strategy can perform exploitation and exploration activities in a complementary manner, meaning that, they can execute contextual ambidexterity.…”

“…Firms adapt to volatile market dynamics by means of AMCs and thereby comprehend current and future expectations of customers. Consequently, they can meet market needs through incremental and radical product innovations (Ali et 2021). Contextual ambidexterity indicates management of exploitative and explorative activities simultaneously.…”

Will Internet Market Newness Improve Performance? An Empirical Study on the Internet Market Innovation of Offline Retailers in China

“…To traditional offline retail enterprises, the main bottleneck in the transformation is the huge gap between the marketing capability of traditional enterprises and the ability needed by the rapidly developing Internet market [21,47]. In the past two decades, the opening of markets has brought about competition between new and old entrants to the global market, because the barriers to entering some previously closed markets have been broken [48].…”