Extending the Environment-Strategy-Performance Framework: The Roles of Multinational Corporation Network Strength, Market Responsiveness, and Product Innovation

The purpose of this study is to extend the traditional environment strategy performance framework by including network theory to examine when a foreign firm can use its multinational corporation (MNC) network strength to buffer market turbulence and technological turbulence and when the foreign firm can deploy it to support the influences of marketing strategic postures (i.e., market responsiveness and product innovation) on firm performance. The author tests the hypotheses on data collected from 140 foreign firms in China. Although prior research has demonstrated that firms often use multiple strategies and resources to cope with environmental forces, the findings illustrate that different environmental segments have unequal bearings on market responsiveness, product innovation, and MNC network strength. In addition, despite the direct positive influences of individual marketing strategic postures and MNC network strength on firm performance, their combined effects are mixed. The author concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for research and practice.