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Proactive market orientation and innovation in India: The moderating role of intrafirm causal ambiguity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2016

C. Lakshman ,
Rajeev Kumra  and
Atanu Adhikari
C. Lakshman*
Affiliation:
Department of Business Administration, Tongji University School of Economics and Management, Shanghai, China
Rajeev Kumra
Affiliation:
Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Noida Campus, Uttar Pradesh, India
Atanu Adhikari
Affiliation:
Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala, India
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

Despite the implication of organizational resources and the resource-based view of the firm, the market orientation literature has not examined associated constructs. Additionally, while it is recognized that emerging economies (e.g., India) are key drivers of economic growth, this literature has not paid sufficient attention to such markets, with few exceptions. We examine the impact of proactive market orientation on innovation capability, and performance in a sample of predominantly service firms, in a culture characterized by high power distance and low uncertainty avoidance. We contribute by conceptualizing and demonstrating the moderating impact of intrafirm causal ambiguity, drawn from resource-based theories of the firm. Based on Structural Equation Modelling analysis of responses to a survey of marketing managers, we find that intra-firm causal ambiguity moderates the proactive market orientation-innovation capability relationship, while this strategic orientation is linked to business performance through innovation. We discuss these findings, limitations, implications, and directions for future research.

Keywords

proactive market orientationintrafirm causal ambiguitynew product developmentinnovationperformance
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 116 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

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