Learning capacity from distributors and performanceThe mediating role of marketing strategies.

Resumen

According to the Knowledge-Based View the key to obtaining a sustainable competitive advantage is the integration of knowledge of participants. Because industry actors condition their strategic decisions to the distribution channel demands and distribution channel is a key determinant of companies’ strategy, influencing and moderating relationships in economic models, we focus our attention in the learning capacity from distributors (LCD). LCD is conceptualized as a second-order construct that arises from three first-order capacities: Knowledge acquisition, learning to collaborate, and relational capacity. The main purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and empirically contrast LCD as a second-order construct arising from three first-order capacities, and then to analyze the established relationships between LCD and implemented marketing strategies (exploitation vs. exploration), and the effect of these strategies on organizational performance, from rational goal and open system model views. Empirical results confirm the LCD as a second-order construct and the conceptualized structural model.