Supportiveness of Organizational Climate in Chinese Firms - Essay Example

The main purpose of the study is to augment the current understanding of the factors associated with the success of various new products launched by Chinese manufacturers both in the local and global markets. For the quantitative strand, the research questions focused on the following hypotheses: (1) A firm’s market orientation is associated positively with its new product performance; (2) The supportiveness of a firm’s organization climate is associated positively with its market orientation; and (3) The supportiveness of a firm’s organizational climate is associated positively with its new product performance (Wei & Morgan 378, 379).

The study adopted a mixed-methodology called sequential exploratory mixed-methods research design. As explained in Hesse-Biber, in this type of mixed-methods design, “the qualitative component is primary and is used to generate theory or specific theoretical constructs” (71). In this study, the qualitative strand was utilized in theory development and the quantitative strand was used in the testing of three hypotheses. Nineteen managers from 11 companies were personally interviewed during the qualitative strand using purposive sampling; while in the quantitative strand, 290 Chinese firms emerged from purposive sampling but only 127 firms participated in the survey administered on-site by way of questionnaires. Multi-item scales were used to measure the constructs, namely: new product performance, market orientation and supportiveness of the organizational climate, as well as firm characteristics. Methods of data analyses used in the study include extrapolation approach, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and goodness of fit statistics.

It was observed that the Wei and Morgan study somehow followed the management-research question research hierarchy, although not completely, as delineated in Cooper and Schindler (56). The first five of the six-level hierarchy, management dilemma, management question, research questions, investigative questions and measurement questions were tackled but not the management decision, since neither Wei nor Morgan were connected in any one of the firms included in the study.

Findings from the qualitative showed that firm behaviors and employee perceptions are consistent with the prevailing market orientation and supportiveness of the organizational climate. Both are also viewed as important drivers of new product performance in Chinese firms. Meanwhile, findings from the quantitative strand confirmed a positive direct association between market orientation and the firm’s new product performance. Supportiveness of the organizational climate wields an indirect positive effect on new product performance as a consequence of the former’s impact on market orientation.

Limitations observed even by the authors in their own study were outcomes of the so-called trade-off decision in the chosen research design. The main limitation of the study is that the findings can not be generalizable to the totality of Chinese firms since random sampling is not financially feasible and practicable because China is a huge country. Another limitation is the dependence on cross-sectional data in the hypothesis testing. This suggests that the direction of the association between supportiveness of organizational climate and market orientation can not be confirmed empirically. The third limitation which is characteristic of researches based on respondent perceptions is the existence of a potential bias in the observed associations.

On the other hand, implications of the findings take on the critical role played by supportiveness of organizational climate in verifying a company’s market orientation, which should also explain differences in the new product success of Chinese firms. Firms should also look at the cultural context in market information processing behaviors that facilitate the achievement of excellent new product performance. The important role of organizational climate on a firm’s market orientation also affects its new product performance.

Four recommendations were forwarded by the authors to foster a climate of mutual support among personnel in a firm: (1) consideration of potential employee characteristics signifying empathy and social interaction skills during the hiring process; (2) fostering of both informal and social interaction between managers and employees; (3) participation in sensitivity training of all personnel; and (4) identification, appraisal and awarding of incentives to manager and employee practices which illustrate support for other personnel in the firm.

This study supported evidence-based practice in its attempt to verify the benefits of enhancing new product performance by improving the flow and utilization of market intelligence, as practiced by some managers even before the conduct of the research. Moreover, theory development from existing knowledge in the area, accompanied by an empirical study to test the theories is a demonstration of evidence-based management practice

As shown in this study, a mixed-methods research design presents a powerful approach in tackling business dilemmas towards the crafting of a suitable business decision. It was evident from the article that mixed-methods research harnesses the greatest benefits of both quantitative and qualitative designs. A mixed-methods design may be an excellent choice for a dissertation study, but the methods of analysis like extrapolation, confirmatory analysis and structural equation modeling may be too complex for the dissertation I have in mind. Perhaps, a mixed-methods approach for a business dissertation research at my academic level should use simpler statistical techniques such as analysis of variance, post-hoc or multiple comparisons analysis, or regression analysis in the quantitative strand, and content analysis in the qualitative strand.