دانلود رایگان ترجمه مقاله بازاریابی کارآفرینانه سرمایه گذاری های بین المللی جدید تجارت به تجارت (نشریه الزویر 2017)

بازاریابی کارآفرینانه سرمایه گذاری های بین المللی جدید تجارت به تجارت با تکنولوژی پیشرفته: دیدگاهی در مورد فرایند تصمیم گیری

Entrepreneurial marketing of international high-tech business-to-business new ventures: A decision-making process perspective

Abstract

Knowledge of how entrepreneurial marketing is conducted in industrial markets is currently rather weak. This study explores the marketing decision-making process of entrepreneurs undertaking entrepreneurial marketing in international new ventures (INVs) operating in high-tech business-to-business markets. A qualitative study conducted with entrepreneurs from four case firms reveals that due to the iterative, incremental, and co-creative nature of the process, marketing decision making in high-tech business-to-business INVs that is more effectual than causal results in more entrepreneurial marketing. A novel finding is that entrepreneurs alternate causal and effectual marketing forms as a result of their ambidextrous entrepreneurialism, and variations in the internal uncertainty, technological uncertainty, and any market turbulence faced by the firm. We develop a dynamic model presenting the alternation between effectual and causal processes, and the feedback loop of entrepreneurial marketing. The research offers implications for the management of organizations operating under conditions of uncertainty on how their decision-making processes can optimize entrepreneurial marketing, how to create new markets, and how to reduce the perceived uncertainty in industrial markets.

1 Introduction

As a marketing stream at the interface of marketing and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial marketing is especially important to support the rapid growth of resource-constrained firms in dynamic industrial markets (Bjerke & Hultman, 2002; Carson, Cromie, McGowan, & Hill, 1995; Hills, Hultman, & Miles, 2008). For such firms, marketing becomes an entrepreneurial process requiring a creative approach, for example, involving leveraging the resources of others through partnerships (Morris, Schindehutte, & LaForge, 2002). International new ventures (INVs) are firms with early and rapid growth in international markets (Coviello, 2006; Shrader, Oviatt, & McDougall, 2000) and are usually affected by the liability of smallness, newness and foreignness (Zahra, 2005). An INV is “a business organization that, from inception, seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sale of outputs in multiple countries” (Oviatt & McDougall, 1994, p. 49). Here entrepreneurial marketing as employed by INVs is defined as the proactive creation of market opportunities in international markets in order to acquire and retain customers through innovative approaches to risk management, resource leveraging, and value cocreation (Hallbäck & Gabrielsson, 2013; Morris et al., 2002; Webster & Lusch, 2013). Despite the importance of entrepreneurial marketing for INVs operating in high-tech industrial markets, the decision-making process that precedes such marketing is not well understood. The situation is not helped by existing literature often reporting on traditional marketing decision tools that may not be appropriate for the entrepreneurial marketing undertaken by high-tech INVs (see, e.g., Hughes & Morgan, 2007; Leeflang & Wittink, 2000).

A wealth of literature illustrates how marketing decisions are made in firms, and such research generally suggests that a marketing decision maker first recognizes an existing marketing environment, then reacts to it by developing several alternatives, and finally evaluates the alternatives to determine those likely to yield the greatest long-term profit (Curren, Folkes, & Steckel, 1992; Hirsch, 1960). Moreover, modifications of marketing decisions are based on predicted changes in environmental conditions (Leeflang & Wittink, 2000; O’Dell, 1966; Roberts, 1957). Such decision-making mechanisms can be used to develop a clear strategic direction for high-tech firms (Hughes & Morgan, 2007). Hence, the fundamental assumption of research on marketing decision making is that marketing decisions are carefully planned to contribute toward achieving organizational goals; however, that is not necessarily the case with marketing decision making in high-tech business-tobusiness INVs. That is because the marketing decisions of such firms are influenced by operating in an uncertain environment. First, decision making is complicated by their resources being more constrained than those of established international firms, and particularly those of multinational corporations (MNCs) (Laanti, Gabrielsson, & Gabrielsson, 2007; Zahra, 2005). Second, INVs operate in rapidly changing international markets and therefore need to take account of the prevailing environmental uncertainty and performance ambiguity inherent in international marketing activities (Helm & Gritsch, 2014; Katsikeas, 2006). Third, high-tech environments are characterized by market and technological uncertainty, and also competitive volatility (Fink, James, & Hatten, 2008; Jia, Cai, & Xu, 2014; Mohr, Sengupta, & Slater, 2009). Finally, operating in a business-to-business market involves more complex decision making on products and solutions than is required of firms in the consumer market (Ulaga & Sharma, 2001). Therefore, owing to the high levels of uncertainty in the high-tech business-tobusiness industry, changes in the business environment can be unpredictable, and market goals can be unspecified or unknown (Gabrielsson & Gabrielsson, 2013). Furthermore, the marketing decisions made by the firm can influence the existing market, rather than the decisions being shaped by the changes in the market (Read, Dew, Sarasvathy, Song, & Wiltbank, 2009). In addition, existing work on marketing decision making has often overlooked the role of the marketing decision maker (Wierenga, 2011). Entrepreneurs in INVs (INV entrepreneurs) are the key decision makers in the firm, and it is crucial to understand that the processes they adopt can propel the firm toward entrepreneurial marketing behavior. It is also important to explore how international high-tech business-to-business new ventures can undertake entrepreneurial marketing when facing various forms and levels of uncertainty.