Recently, attention has increasingly been paid to the heterogeneity of firm performance. Some firms seem to extensively outperform their rivals not only in terms of productivity but also regarding sales, returns on investment, etc. Importantly, the chasm between the superstar firms, most successful group of firms in an industry, and their peers has been widening especially in the 21st century (Van Reenen, 2018).Superstar firms’ impacts on economies have gained a great deal of attention in the economics and policy literature. Understanding what helps firms become superstars can guide policy and management but requires further research and input from the management literature. This paper brings the topic of superstar firms to the management literature, develops a theory, and offers an empirical view of the drivers of superstar firms.

A secure digital platform (SDP) can provide B2B marketers with confidence to use communications technology (CT) and engage in information sharing that facilitates resource utilization. Interlinked digital platforms constitute the company’s ecosystem and barriers in the form of a lack of skills and knowledge in relation to governance and compliance can be overcome through organizational intervention that is external to an individual’s capability of control. A framework for an SDP was developed by utilizing network theory and data were collected via an online survey and analysed (n=207) using SEM, AMOS. Organizational intervention through an SDP can help B2B marketers to increase the organization’s resource capability through improved interaction. It can also help individuals to become pro-actively compliant and be less at risk from various threats (e.g., fake news) as the organization provides a safer digital environment.

This research paper examines the role of adaptive capability and absorptive capability in the development of digital marketing capability that, in turn, influences the firm performance. The results reveal that both adaptive and absorptive capabilities have a positive influence on digital marketing capability that positively contributes to customer relationship, new product and financial performance of the firm. The adoption of new digital technologies such as smart products, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning will change markets, competitive landscapes, business models and consumer behaviors, new thinking about marketing capabilities becoming critical to succeed in today complex environment (Day, 2011; Kannan & Li, 2017). To remain competitive and survive, organizations have to develop new marketing capabilities to harness the potential of these technologies in supporting marketing functions and processes (Trainor, Rapp, Beitelspacher & Schillewaert, 2011). Despite the rapid diffusion of digital technologies in business practice, only few previous researches was focused on theoretical and empirical aspects of marketing capabilities needed in digital-empowered environment. To fill this knowledge gap, we develop the digital marketing capability construct, and explore its antecedents and consequences on performance.

The purpose of this study is to assess the role of marketing to the area of strategic alliances. We suggest that marketing capability – the ability to deploy resources to serve customers better- is a key determinant that facilitates value creation in strategic alliances. Specifically, we investigate the interaction effects of marketing capability on performance of strategic alliance experience and types of strategic alliances (introducing three types: SI-SF alliance, AI-SF alliance and AI-DF alliance), and whether these interaction effects are moderated by high vs. low technological industry. This study analyzed the panel data from 39 international firms and their 2,158 alliances during the period 1994 - 2014, 21 firms from computer industry (high-tech industry) and 18 firms from food industry (low-tech industry), respectively. The results indicate that the contribution of marketing capability on the relationships between alliance experience, types of strategic alliances and firm value varies with environmental contexts. First, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the effect of strategic alliance experience on firm value is greater than those of firms with low marketing capability. Also, the strength of its interaction effect is lower in high-tech industry than low-tech industry. Second, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the effects of three different types of strategic alliances on firm value are greater than those of firms with low marketing capability. However, their interaction effects to firm value were significant only in high-tech industry. Specifically, when a firm has strong marketing capability, the stock market reacts most favorably to the AI-DF alliance than those of SI-SF alliance and AI-SF alliance in high-tech industry. In contrast, even a firm has strong marketing capability, the stock market reacts favorably only to AI-SF alliance in low-tech industry. In sum, our research suggests that the interactive performance impact of marketing capability to the strategic alliance experience and the types of strategic alliances can be obtained in particular environmental contexts.

This work aims to deepen how to cope with marketing challenges of XXI century, characterized by turbulent and dynamic environments. Specifically, it explores the theoretical underpinnings to develop an Agile Marketing Capability’s framework and propositions. This study performs an in-depth literature review on IT and Dynamic Marketing Capabilities to provide the features, components, functions and types of an Agile Marketing Capability. Given the extreme innovativeness of this topic in marketing realm, it represents a first attempt to understanding the Agile Marketing Capability, which requires further theoretical and empirical contributions and refinements. The framework and propositions of this research may be useful for managers and decision makers to figure out the advantages of the Agile Marketing Capabilities’ employment in current marketplaces.

This study intended to exploratively depict both the influence of Environmental Turbulence, Market Orientation, and Learning Orientation of IT companies on Marketing Capability which is one of the organizational performance, and the moderating effects of Learning Orientation and Environmental Turbulence of IT companies on the relationship between Market Orientation and Marketing Capability as well as the relationship between Learning Orientation and Marketing Capability based on respective interactions among related variables. Through this study, several factors contributing to the enhancement of organizational performance such as competitor orientation, shared vision, and open-mindedness were highlighted as major ones, with the fact that competitive intensity, market and technological turbulence of environmental turbulence dimension make effects on organizational performance through interaction effect.

The global diffusions of free trade agreements have encouraged an increasing number of companies to participate in foreign markets. However, export firms fall behind big data-based customers in international export markets. The gap between the needs of export markets and the capabilities of export companies is broadening. Marketing capabilities are export firms’ ability to understand what target customers want and develop tactical marketing actions and allocate available resources, and achieve export performance (Day 1994; Vorhies and Morgan, 2003). Export firms have to enhance marketing capabilities to narrow the gap (Day, 2011). This study investigates marketing capabilities, export marketing strategies, and their relationships with export performance of the export companies in an industrial complex in South Korea. This study tries to find how marketing variables impact the performance of export firms through the relationships among them. Marketing literature examined that the suitability between marketing capabilities and export marketing strategy is important because of its impact on export performance. Export marketing literature reviewed that export firms’ characteristics such as international experience, firm size, firm age, and export intensity, firm level of market orientation are considered positively related to export performance. Especially for inexperienced and small and medium-sized firms, which have limited marketing resources to achieve successful export performance, the right choice of export marketing, export marketing strategy, and export performance is indispensable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics on the interactive linkages within marketing capability, export marketing strategy, and export performance. Our first focus in this study is the relationships between marketing capabilities and export strategies and both export marketing strategy and export performance. We discuss their relationships with each other and with export firms’ performance. We develop testable hypotheses as shown in Fig.1. The final samples we used are 104 manufactured export firms in S. Korea. Next, as a result of testing, based on the relationships of having positive effects, we identify the moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics. Our research model proposes that marketing capabilities affect export marketing strategies and ‘specialized marketing capabilities’. These affect the overall export performance. We therefore hypothesize that H1: Marketing organizational capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H2: Marketing human resource capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H3: Marketing financial capability is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H4: Marketing infrastructure is positively related to (a) export marketing strategy and (b) specialized export marketing capability. H5: Export marketing strategy is positively related to (a) specialized export marketing capability and (b) export performance. H6: Specialized export marketing capability is positively related to export performance. The results of our PLS-SEM analyses are as follows. Our results support H1b, linking marketing organizational capability and specialized export marketing capability. Marketing infrastructure was found to be positively related to both export marketing strategy and specialized export marketing capability, supporting H4a and H4b, respectively. We also observed that export marketing strategy a positive link with specialized export marketing capability and export performance, supporting H5a and H5b, respectively. However, no support is found for H2, H3, and H6. Moderating Effects of Export firms’ Characteristic Factors We tested how export firms’ characteristics moderate the relationships described in our research model (Hypotheses1-6) We used the moderate factors such as export product (final product vs. parts), customer (domestic vs. overseas, company (manufacturer vs. vendor), employment size (less than 100 person, 100 to300, more than 300), sales(less than $46 million, $46 million to $182 million, more than $182 million), export intensity (less than 50% vs. more than 50%) The moderating effects of export firms’ characteristics on the relationships within our research model are discussed (see Figure 1). Four of 30 moderating hypotheses for export firms’ characteristics were supported. The more number of employees and Greater sales volume strengthened the relationships between marketing infrastructures and export marketing strategies. Higher foreign customer strengthened the relationships between marketing infrastructure and specialized export marketing capability. Greater final products strengthened the relationships between export marketing strategies and export performance. However, the relationships between marketing organizational capability and specialized export marketing capability and between export marketing strategy and specialized export marketing capability were not significantly changed with export firms’ characteristic factors. There are no moderating effects on the types of firm and the types of export intensity. The results of this research suggest that the export companies should consider the choice of export marketing strategies the most important factor to achieve high export performance. This study indicates that policy makers for export companies in S. Korea should develop export assistant programs based on export firms’ characteristic factors such as the number of employee, sales volume, the type of customer, and the type of export product. Following limitations of this research should be noted. First, in addition to the manufacturing industry, more researches should be done in other industries. The findings of this study will ensure more validation. Second, to assess the export performance of export firms, this study uses the subjective opinion of respondent about the degree of export performance because of the difficulties of obtaining financial data. The objective financial data should be used to ensure more objectiveness for this research. Third, this study relies on survey data related to the export companies within an industrial complex area in S. Korea. It should be extended to other regions.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, China’s foreign trade industry has been greatly impacted, and the survival of Chinese export enterprises in the post-epidemic era has become more difficult, and the surge in Sino-US trade frictions has further aggravated the difficult status quo of China’s export industry. This paper studies the relationship between marketing ability and export performance through literature research and mathematical analysis, aiming to help Chinese export enterprises get rid of the current situation of downturn, improve market competitiveness, and put forward feasible guidance strategies for improving the export performance of Chinese enterprises.