Leveraging domestic and foreign learning to develop marketing capabilities

Abstract

This study explores the role of different learning sources in the process of capability building of Chinese firms (CFs) approaching international markets. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on the case study of the company "Goodbaby". The primary data sources are two semi-structured interviews with one of the firm's managers, which have been triangulated with point of sales (POSs) visits, interviews with industry experts, and secondary data such as corporate records, patent and trademark data, industry reports and news articles. Findings Both the home-country and foreign markets act as sources of learning to support the development of CFs' marketing capabilities. Learning at home is triggered by the complexity of the national market and the exposure to foreign entrants. Foreign learning is stimulated by the relationships with leading foreign partners and the exposure to advanced final markets. Moreover, each learning source has a positive effect on the development of CFs' marketing capabilities in both the market contexts in which they compete, i.e. the home-market and international markets. Practical implications CFs' managers should be simultaneously receptive to the domestic and foreign contexts, as both may support the development of marketing capabilities. CFs' managers should recognize the learning opportunities embedded in each of these contexts, and identify the markets where these can be effectively redeployed. Originality/value We distinguish between different sources of learning in the context of CFs' internationalization, and explore their triggering factors and their role in the development of an underinvestigated type of capabilities, i.e. the marketing capabilities.

Experiential learning for Chinese companies to complete cross-border acquisitions: the case of Chinese acquirers

“…Our sample diverges from learning effects observed in other contexts by indicating that foreign and domestic acquisition experiences tend to have opposite effects on Chinese CBA capabilities. For example, Checchinato et al (2017) found that Chinese companies can leverage learning from both domestic and foreign market experience to support marketing capabilities in domestic and international markets. However, experiential learning is more ambiguous in complex M&As than it is in normal commercial activities.…”

Commercialization of Innovations Through Internationalization: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Considering the fact that authors from the different countries cooperate with each other, in order to obtain unambiguous results, we applied the lead author's affiliation as a determinant for the articles being discussed. The majority of the studies included in our analysis have been conducted on the USA (Engel and del-Palacio 2009, DeFillippi 2015, Bagchi-Sen and Scully 2004, Sahaym et al 2012, Cunningham and Link 2015, Pett and Wolff 2009, Hegde and Shapira 2007, Snow et al 2011, Acworth 2008, Levina and Vaast 2008, Rodriguez et al 2013, Vasudeva 2009, Wu et al 2016, followed by Italy (Archibugi and Coco 2001, Archibugi and Coco 2005, Cerrato and Piva 2015, Checchinato et al 2017, Colombo et al 2016, Dell' era and Verganti 2009, Di Matteo et al 2015, Fabrizi et al 2016, Geisler and Turchetti 2015, Greco et al 2016, Johnson and Filippini 2010. Paradoxically, a lot of articles on a given subject were written by the authors from Italy, although most of them do not describe the situation in this country, but refer to others, such as the USA, Japan, China and the whole of Europe.…”

How does home government influence the internationalization of emerging market firms? The mediating role of strategic intents to internationalize

“…Government ownership, on the other hand, has a direct impact on internationalization. Thus, it is important to consider that strategic choices are not only influenced by firm-specific resources, but also can be the response to the institutional framework in which the firm is embedded (Checchinato et al, 2017;Kittilaksanawong, 2017;Wang et al, 2012). At the same time, government policies may not be able to exert a direct effect on firm behaviors, but only indirectly through the influence on strategic intents or motives.…”