مطالعات مدیریت راهبردی (Mar 2024)
The antecedents of differentiation strategies in active export companies
Abstract
IntroductionBy developing policies and strategies, the government can support the application of differentiation strategies among export companies. Additionally, gaining knowledge about customers and distribution channels may provide a basis for identifying products and services that may be unique to the industry. As such, the differentiation strategy is likely to provide a means to develop or adapt products to satisfy the specific needs of buyers in foreign markets. Small and medium-sized exporting firms face external obligations, being small and new. Because of these commitments, small and medium-sized companies must formulate and use appropriate strategies and guidelines to sustain performance when operating abroad. In addition to the different obligations faced by small and medium-sized exporting companies, globalization is associated with more intense competition. How can companies, especially small and medium-sized companies and global start-ups, which typically face significant resource constraints, compete in such environments? The solution is that they should differentiate themselves from competitors. Differentiation strategy refers to creating and marketing a product that is considered relatively unique in the entire industry. In other words, companies can differentiate their offerings based on brand image, product design, advanced technology, product features, customer service, and other dimensions. Differentiation by creating brand loyalty and less price sensitivity keeps the company away from competitor's aggressive move. Companies use their expertise to invent products and product approaches that differentiate them from competitors. SMEs typically do not have the economies of scale to pursue cost leadership approaches, and foreign markets may include multiple competitors. While the concentration strategy is often suitable for small and medium-sized companies, it is difficult to use in international business because of the diversity that companies face in different foreign markets. Differentiation strategy is closely related to innovation, and organizational learning is considered an important introduction to innovation and provides the knowledge needed to develop differentiated products. The company may need to conduct basic market research to understand distinct customer needs. In addition, gaining knowledge about customers and distribution channels can provide a basis for identifying products and services that may be unique to the industry. The need to pay more attention to environmental activities in business matters has increased. Considering the fact that carrying out sustainable activities, especially in manufacturing companies, requires the expenditure of very large financial resources, and according to studies carried out on manufacturing companies, it can be concluded that most of these companies suffer from a lack of resources. They suffer financially. to deal with environmental and sustainable activities. On the other hand, the cost of production is increasingly high, the power production process is weak and inefficient, the distribution infrastructure is largely weak, and most importantly, regulatory standards are almost non-existent, giving most companies the opportunity to ease their environmental situation. The insurance these companies want is that if they truly go green, they will pay off both financially and environmentally. The green innovation environment also improves competitive advantage and reduces uncertainty. Another important issue that should be considered is the inability of companies to use their financial resources properly, which alone can be an important reason for the failure of companies to gain a competitive advantage. In this research, the antecedents of differentiation strategies in active export companies in the city of Urmia were explained. The current research falls under the category of co relational research in terms of its practical purpose and descriptive survey data collection method. Also, this research was conducted in the field.MethodologyThe statistical population of the present study consists of active export companies of the city of Urmia. The sample size was selected from Morgan's table, 185 companies using the available sampling method. The data collection instrument is a standard questionnaire (Gerbing and Anderson, 1988, Nunnally, 1978) based on the Likert scale, which includes a 7-point Likert scale. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used for the reliability of the questionnaire. The data analysis was carried out using the structural equation method with the help of SPSS and SmartPLS software's.Results and DiscussionThe results of the present research showed that the antecedents of the differentiation strategy (including: entrepreneurial orientation, international learning orientation, international growth orientation) have a positive and significant effect on the differentiation strategy. Conclusion According to the research findings, future researchers are advised to collect evidence from listed companies to generate valuable information. As a result, a comparative study between unlisted and listed manufacturing companies will contribute to the validity of the results. Second, the current research design was tested using cross-sectional data that present threats of common method bias, so future researchers should use longitudinal data as well as in-depth interviews to reduce the social desirability of the results. In addition, future researchers are advised to collect data from companies in other provinces to obtain richer results. Third, in this research, the effect of financial resources on green business environment was determined by the mediating role of competitive business environment, however, sustainability and environmental practices in companies may be affected by other factors.
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