The incompatibility of proactive market orientation and postponement strategy in product differentiation

PurposePrevious studies have found that a proactive market orientation (PMO) has a positive effect on product differentiation and innovation and that the effect is contingent on various factors. However, the influence of logistics on the positive relationship between PMO and product differentiation has received scant attention in marketing research. To fill this research gap, this paper aims to introduce the concept of postponement as a basic logistics strategy, currently used by many firms, and examine the interaction effect of PMO and postponement on new product differentiation. Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the exploration-exploitation literature, the authors considered PMO and postponement as types of exploration and exploitation, respectively. The authors hypothesized that postponement hampers the positive effect of PMO on product differentiation. The authors tested the hypotheses empirically by applying ordinary least squares regression to a sample of 187 brand managers in the Japanese apparel industry. FindingsPMO is positively related to product differentiation, although the relationship is weakened when design and production systems are postponed, that is, when postponement hinders product differentiation. Originality/valuePrevious studies have examined market orientation and postponement (logistics) separately. However, referring to the exploration-exploitation literature, the authors built a conceptual and empirical bridge between market orientation and logistics management and proposed that this configuration is important for product differentiation.