Mil elne , Bo u ; Dlačić, Jasmina; Snoj, Bo is; Selinšek, Aleksand a
A icle
Impo ance o inno a ion esou ces o ma ke
o ien a ion: Financial pe o mance link : media ing ole o
p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion
Naše gospoda s o / Ou Economy
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Facul y o Economics and Business, Uni e si y o Ma ibo
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Mil elne , Bo u ; Dlačić, Jasmina; Snoj, Bo is; Selinšek, Aleksand a (2019) :
Impo ance o inno a ion esou ces o ma ke o ien a ion: Financial pe o mance link : media ing
ole o p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion, Naše gospoda s o / Ou Economy, ISSN 2385-8052, Sciendo,
Wa saw, Vol. 65, Iss. 4, pp. 1-13,
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1
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO
OUR ECONOMY
pp. 1–13
ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER
Ci a ion: Mil elne , B., Dlačić, J., Snoj,
B., & Selinšek, A. (2019). Impo ance
o inno a ion esou ces o ma ke
o ien a ion – inancial pe o mance
link: Media ing ole o p oac i e ma ke
o ien a ion. Naše gospoda s o/Ou
Economy, 65(4), 1–13. DOI: 10.2478/
ngoe-2019-0015
DOI: 10.2478/ngoe-2019-0015
UDK: 339.138:005.591.6:658.155
JEL: M2, M3
RECEIVED: AUGUST 2019
REVISED: SEPTEMBER 2019
ACCEPTED: OCTOBER 2019
Vol. 65 No. 4 2019
Impo ance o Inno a ion Resou ces
o Ma ke O ien a ion – Financial
Pe o mance Link: Media ing Role o
P oac i e Ma ke O ien a ion
Bo u Mil elne
Uni e si y o Ma ibo , Facul y o Economics and Business, Slo enia
[email p o ec ed]
Jasmina Dlačić
Uni e si y o Rijeka, Facul y o Economics and Business, C oa ia
[email p o ec ed]
Bo is Snoj
Re i ed Full P o esso a he Uni e si y o Ma ibo , Facul y o Economics and
Business, Slo enia
[email p o ec ed]
Aleksand a Selinšek
Uni e si y o Ma ibo , Facul y o Economics and Business, Slo enia
[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
The pu pose o his pape is o explo e he ela ionship be ween ma ke
o ien a ion, inno a ion esou ces and companies’ inancial pe o mance. Focus is
pu on he media o ole o p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO) in he ela ionship
be ween eac i e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO), inno a ion esou ces and inancial
pe o mance in he con ex o Cen al and Eas e n Eu opean (CEE) coun ies.
Resea ch builds on eliable scales. Fou hund ed and i een usable ques ionnai es
we e collec ed om companies in Slo enia wi h mo e han 20 employees. The
esul s show a s ong and posi i e ela ionship be ween RMO and PMO. The
impac o RMO on inno a i eness as an elemen o o ganisa ional cul u e is bo h
posi i e and s onge han he impac o PMO. PMO p o ed o ha e a signi ican
posi i e in luence on he capaci y o inno a e. While inno a i eness alone does
no di ec ly in luence inancial pe o mance, he esul s do con i m he posi i e
impac o an o ganisa ional capaci y o inno a e on inancial pe o mance. The
inding o ou pape is ha when PMO was included as a media o be ween
RMO and he capaci y o inno a e, he esul was ha his indi ec impac p o ed
o be one o he s onges in he model. Also, i p o es ha in CEE coun ies,
i is impo an o s ess he in luence o ma ke and ma ke o ien a ion in
building inno a ion esou ces and consequen ly inancial pe o mance. The
limi a ion o he cu en s udy is ha we conside ed he ela ionship only among
ew ma ke ing esou ces and o ganisa ional pe o mance. In u u e esea ch,
addi ional measu es o ma ke pe o mance may be in oduced as media o s
be ween inno a ion esou ces and inancial pe o mance.
Keywo ds: p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion, esponsi e ma ke o ien a ion,
inno a i eness, capaci y o inno a e, inancial pe o mance
2
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY Vol. 65 No. 4 / Decembe 2019
In oduc ion
As his ansi ion p ocess is s ill happening on coun y
le el, many companies in Cen al and Eas e n Eu opean
(CEE) coun ies s ill lack expe ience in o eign ma ke s
and a e, in compa ison wi h de eloped coun ies, e en
mo e a ec ed by he challenges o he new ma ke condi-
ions. Howe e , some o hem seem o ha e a g ea e abili y
o wi hs and he challenges o ope a ing unde he new
economic condi ions. Hence, p esen esea ch explo es one
o he possible easons o he be e pe o mance o such
companies om he esou ce-based pe spec i e, which is
based on he p emise ha companies can use a e esou ces
and capabili ies o manage u bulen economic condi ions,
pe o m be e (e.g. Ba ney, 1991; G ewal & Tansuhaj,
2001; Belak, 2013; V ečko & Lebe, 2013), unde s and
consume needs mo e quickly and ans o m ma ke
knowledge o adap o a changing en i onmen (B eznik,
Laho nik, & Dimo ski, 2019).
Hence, he pu pose o his s udy is o explo e he ole o
esponsi e and p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion and inno a ion
esou ces in ega d o inancial pe o mance in one o he
de eloping CEE coun ies. As such, he expe iences o a
de eloping CEE coun y can se e as a good benchma k
o o he CEE coun ies in his ansi ion p ocess. In his
p ocess, ma ke o ien a ion becomes impo an especially
when obse ed oge he wi h inno a ion esou ces and
linked o pe o mance.
Au ho s (e.g. Hu ley & Hul , 1998; Na e , Sla e , & Ma-
cLachlan, 2004; Bodlaj, Coende s, & Žabka , 2012) sugges
ha esponsi e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO), p oac i e ma ke
o ien a ion (PMO) and inno a ion esou ces could posi i e-
ly con ibu e o company pe o mance and ma ke success.
Due o he his o ical socio-economic he i age in CEE
se ings, esea ch on RMO and especially PMO in ela ion
o inno a ion esou ces and company pe o mance, wi h
a e excep ions, has been neglec ed (Bodlaj e al., 2012) o
has jus ocused on ela ing en i onmen al p oac i eness
o company pe o mance (Ma in & G bac, 1998). Also,
in de eloped economies, s udies ha ha e simul aneously
examined bo h ypes o ma ke o ien a ion in ela ion o
p oduc success as he ou come o capaci y o inno a e a e
limi ed (e.g. Na e e al., 2004; A uahene-Gima, Sla e , &
Olson, 2005; Tsai, Chou, & Kuo, 2008; Reid & de B en ani,
2010; Zhang & Duan, 2010).
To da e, esea ch conce ning he ela ionship be ween
RMO and inno a ion esou ces has p oduced mixed esul s.
Al hough he majo i y o s udies show ha he ela ionship
is posi i e (e.g. Lado & Maydeu-Oli a es, 2001; Ma suno,
Men ze , & Özsome , 2002; Bake & Sinkula, 2005), some
au ho s claim ha he impac o RMO on inno a ion success
is no di ec (e.g. Ozkaya, D oge, Hul , Calan one, & Ozkaya,
2015). O he s ha e aised doub s abou RMO’s posi i e
impac on inno a ion, sugges ing ha RMO may unde mine
inno a i eness (Be hon, Hulbe , & Pi , 1999) o i may
lead companies o sho -sigh ed new p oduc esea ch and
de elopmen (F osch, 1996). Consequen ly, RMO solely
by i sel also doesn’ p o e o be su icien p edic o o an
o ganiza ion’s inancial pe o mance.
These mixed esul s may be due o limi ed unde s anding o
ma ke o ien a ion solely as RMO and neglec ing i s PMO
pe spec i e (Na e e al., 2004). S udies (e.g. Zhang &
Duan, 2010; Wong & Tong, 2012) show ha he ela ionship
be ween o ganiza ional pe o mance and ma ke o ien a-
ion is s onge when PMO is also p esen . Howe e , in he
con ex o CEE coun ies, esea ch ega ding he in e ela-
ionship be ween RMO and PMO and hei in luences on he
inno a ion-pe o mance link is s ill sca ce. Namely, au ho s
in simila esea ch usually include PMO and RMO as p e-
decesso s o inno a ion esou ces and do no in es iga e he
PMO ole as a media o in he ela ionship be ween RMO
and he inno a ion-pe o mance link.
This esea ch is an a emp o b idge his gap by p oposing
and es ing a concep ual model explo ing he in luence o
RMO on inancial pe o mance, by simul aneously exam-
ining he media ing ole o PMO and inno a ion esou ces.
Ou expec a ion is ha inclusion o PMO as media o in
he model will augmen he in luence o RMO on inancial
pe o mance.
Responsi e and P oac i e Ma ke O ien a ion
Ma ke o ien a ion as such has gained he a en ion o di -
e en esea che s (e.g. Na e & Sla e , 1990; Kohli &
Jawo ski, 1990; Na e e al., 2004; Augus o & Coelho,
2009; Zhang & Duan, 2010). Bu no all esea che s
app oach ma ke o ien a ion as consis ing o RMO and
PMO. The RMO pe spec i e ocuses on unde s anding and
sa is ying cus ome s’ exp essed needs, while he PMO pe -
spec i e ocuses hei la en ones. The RMO ep esen s, o
a company, a key di e en ia ing esou ce and consequen ly
in luences company pe o mance (A uahene-Gima e al.,
2005; Jawo ski & Kohli, 1993; Na e & Sla e , 1990).
Focus on RMO p o ides join o ganiza ional ocus o all
he employees ha is mani es ed in inc eased o ganiza ional
commi men and be e sa is ac ion o cus ome needs (Kohli
& Jawo ski, 1990). A s ong RMO mani es s i sel h ough
ma ke -o ien ed lea ning (Day, 1994; Kohli & Jawo ski,
1990; Sla e & Na e , 1995; Liu, Luo, & Shi, 2003). RMO
includes cus ome o ien a ion, compe i o o ien a ion, and
in e unc ional coo dina ion (Na e & Sla e , 1990) i i is
3
app oached as business philosophy; and i app oached as be-
ha iou al dimension (Kohli & Jawo ski, 1990; Deshpande &
Fa ley, 2004) i includes o ganiza ion-wide in elligence gen-
e a ion, in elligence dissemina ion ac oss depa men s, and
o ganiza ion-wide esponsi eness o ma ke in o ma ion.
Nume ous au ho s (e.g. Be hon e al., 1999; Ch is ensen
& Bowe , 1996; Na e e al., 2004; Blocke , Flin , Mye s,
& Sla e , 2011; Voola & O’Cass, 2010) ha e c i icized he
bene i s o RMO. Consequen ly, exclusi e ocus on RMO
migh lead o a decep ion ha inding new ways o sa is y
cus ome needs is less a ac i e (Cohen & Le in hal, 1990;
Le in hal & Ma ch, 1993) and companies all in a ap o
pe ec ly sa is ying exp essed needs. Bu on he long un his
can hampe company success.
Taking in o accoun all posi i e and nega i e dimensions o
RMO, some s udies sugges ha p oac i e unde s anding
and add essing o cus ome s’ la en and u u e needs may in-
luence company alue-c ea ing p ocesses (e.g. Be e land,
Fa elly, & Woodha ch, 2007; Tuli, Kohli, & Bha adwaj,
2007). Besides dealing wi h cus ome s’ exp essed needs,
PMO ocuses on disco e ing and sa is ying he la en , un-
a icula ed needs o cus ome s. Companies ha implemen
PMO ake se e al ac ions o disco e ha la en cus ome ’s
needs like obse ing cus ome beha iou , wo king wi h lead
use s, unde aking ma ke expe imen s, and cannibalising
he sales o exis ing p oduc s (Na e e al., 2004; A ua-
hene-Gima e al, 2005; Jawo ski, Kohli, & Sahay, 2000).
Thus, PMO leads o o ganiza ional commi men in p o iding
inno a ions o he ma ke (Zhang & Duan, 2010). Au ho s
(Lamo e, Be kowi z, & Fa ing on 2013) claim ha RMO
is cha ac e ized by a ma ke -d i en app oach, while PMO
is conside ed mo e esea ch-d i en and ocused on disco -
e ing unexp essed and la en cus ome needs and p o iding
p oduc s and se ices o sa is y hose needs.
Ne e heless, PMO has se e al de iciencies (Le in hal &
Ma ch, 1993), such as ocus on un amilia in o ma ion and
knowledge as well as in o ma ion o e load ela ed o la en
cus ome needs. Howe e , acco ding o Na e e al. (2004),
he po en ial ad an ages o PMO clea ly exceed i s de icien-
cies. The e o e, a challenge o companies is o de elop he
capabili y o ini ia e gene a i e lea ning p ocesses and he
associa ed elemen s in a p oac i e manne a he han as a
esponse o ex e nal o in e nal challenges (Akgun, Lynn, &
By ne, 2006; Bake & Sinkula, 2007).
Inno a i eness and Capaci y o Inno a e
Menguc and Auh (2006) di e en ia ed be ween inno a i e-
ness and inno a ion, s a ing ha inno a i eness measu es
he inclina ion o a company owa ds inno a i e beha iou ,
and is no he esul bu he means o achie ing inno a ion.
Simila ly, Hu ley and Hul (1998) in oduced wo cons uc s
o inno a ion: (a) inno a i eness, which e lec s openness
o new ideas and is an aspec o o ganisa ional cul u e, and
(b) he capaci y o inno a e, which e e s o he abili y o a
company o success ully accep and implemen new ideas,
p ocesses o p oduc s.
Hence, inno a i eness is a cul u al aspec o he c ea ion,
accep ance and in oduc ion o new ideas, p ocesses and
p oduc s. In o he wo ds, i e e s o a company’s p ocli i y,
ecep i i y, and inclina ion o adop ideas ha depa om
he usual way o app oaching business (Zal man, Duncan,
& Holbek, 1973; Hu ley & Hul , 1998) and implies a will-
ingness o o go old habi s and y un es ed ideas (Menguc
& Auh, 2006).
F om he ma ke ing poin o iew being ma ke -o ien ed
means a long- e m commi men o unde s anding cus ome
needs and a he same ime o de eloping inno a i e solu-
ions ha p oduce supe io cus ome alue (Sla e & Na e ,
1998). As such, inno a i eness could be unde s ood as
almos necessa y pa o ma ke o ien a ion.
In ou concep ualisa ion, inno a i eness includes o ganisa-
ional lea ning as he cen al mechanism by which o ganisa-
ions de elop capabili ies and adap o hei en i onmen s.
Acco ding o Cahill (1996) inno a i eness s ongly mo i-
a es he capaci y o inno a e bu only when combined wi h
esou ces and o he o ganisa ional cha ac e is ics (Hu ley &
Hul , 1998).
The de ini ion o he capaci y o inno a e unde sco es
he emphasis on wha Roge s (1983) e e ed o as he
p edi usion aspec o inno a ion, ha is, he ea ly p o-
duc ion o adop ion o inno a ion by a company (Hu ley
& Hul , 1998). As we can lea n om some au ho s (e.g.
Han, Kim, & S i as a a, 1998; Menguc & Auh, 2006), in
he p esen economic si ua ion wi h he g ow h o com-
pe i ion in ensi y and unce ain y, he company’s capaci y
o inno a e is impo an o achie ing compe i i e ad an-
age. We assume ha companies wi h a g ea e capaci y o
inno a e a e be e a de eloping and launching success ul
new p oduc s and se ices in compa ison wi h hei com-
pe i o s bu wi h he necessa y p econdi ion o RMO and
PMO exis ence.
In gene al, au ho s (e.g. Hu ley & Hul 1998; Han e al.,
1998; P ajogo & Ahmed, 2006) ag eed ha inno a i eness
and he capaci y o inno a e a e ecognized as c i ical asse s
ha gene a e alue in he ma ke place and in he s ock
ma ke and a e he e o e among he mos impo an ac o s
ha impac business pe o mance.
Bo u Mil elne , Jasmina Dlačić, Bo is Snoj, Aleksand a Selinšek: Impo ance o Inno a ion Resou ces
o Ma ke O ien a ion – Financial Pe o mance Link: Media ing Role o P oac i e Ma ke O ien a ion
4
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY Vol. 65 No. 4 / Decembe 2019
De elopmen o Hypo heses
Responsi e ma ke -o ien ed beha iou is cha ac e ised by
p oximi y, e i nemen , e i ciency and implemen a ion, which
e l ec exploi a ion (Cohen & Le in hal, 1990; Le in hal &
Ma ch, 1993), whe eas p oac i e ma ke -o ien ed beha iou
is cha ac e ised by disco e y, a ia ion, inno a ion and
isk- aking. The o me deepens exis ing compe ence, and
he la e b oadens exis ing compe ence (Tsai e al., 2007).
Acco ding o A uahene-Gima e al. (2005), RMO augmen s
he impac o PMO by encou aging ealism in he company’s
a emp o o ay in o new and dis an cus ome needs. Thus,
i ensu es he e ec i eness o PMO by sa egua ding agains
undue isk- aking (see Jawo ski e al., 2000; Na e e al.,
2004; Sla e & Na e , 1998). Despi e Na e e al.’s (2004)
a gumen ha in o de o de elop and main ain a compe i-
i e ad an age, companies should inc easingly complemen
RMO wi h PMO, o da e he e is, o ou knowledge, s ill no
e idence o how RMO and PMO a e ela ed. This leads o
he i s hypo hesis:
H1: A esponsi e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO) is posi i ely
ela ed o p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO).
The e y essence o inno a i eness as a cul u al p edispo-
si ion o de eloping new p ocesses and p oduc s clea ly
indica es i s connec ion wi h RMO. Na e and Sla e
(1990) emphasised ha RMO e e s o a cul u e ha places
a high p io i y on c ea ing buye alue while also consid-
e ing o he s akeholde s and emphasising esponsi eness
o ma ke in o ma ion. Companies wi h a s ong RMO a e
likely o de ise and adap p oduc s, se ices and p ocesses
ha con inue o mee he needs o he e ol ing ma ke .
Acco dingly, i is likely ha inno a i eness na u ally l ows
ou o a ocus on being esponsi ely ma ke -o ien ed (Hul ,
Hu ley, & Knigh , 2004). Jawo ski and Kohli (1993, p.
56) ha e a gued ha ‘as a ma ke o ien a ion essen ially
in ol es doing some hing new o di e en in esponse o
ma ke condi ions, i may be iewed as a o m o inno a-
i e beha iou .’ S udies indica e ha RMO is an impo an
p edecesso o inno a i eness ega dless o he indus y in
which he company is ac i e (e.g. A uahene-Gima, 1996;
Han e al., 1998; Ngo & O’Cass, 2012; Tsai e al., 2008).
Acco ding o Deshpande and Fa ley (2004), inno a i e-
ness is he mos impo an consequence o RMO, and he
concep s should complemen each o he (Hu ley & Hul ,
1998; Han e al., 1998). Thus:
H2: Responsi e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO) is posi i ely
ela ed o inno a i eness.
A ma ke o ien a ion, whe he RMO o PMO, should be
he ounda ion o a business’s inno a ion e o s (Na e
e al. 2004). PMO enables he companies o wo k closely
wi h lead use s, which is linked o inno a i e de elopmen s
(Lilien, Mo ison, Sea ls, Sonnack, & Hippel, 2002). PMO
is by i s de i ni ion linked wi h inno a i eness, which is a
cul u al aspec o he c ea ion, accep ance, and in oduc-
ion o new ideas, p ocesses, and p oduc s. The empi ical
e idence o Na e e al. (2004) sugges s ha PMO inc eas-
es he explana o y powe o RMO well beyond ha ob ained
by RMO alone. The same s udy also e ealed ha PMO is
signi i can ly and posi i ely ela ed o inno a ion o ien a ion
as he dimension o o ganisa ional cul u e. Some esea ch
e en ound ha PMO has a g ea e impac on inno a i eness
han RMO (Li e al., 2008; Zhang & Duan, 2010). Since
PMO is an e olu iona y consequence o RMO and comple-
men s i om he pe spec i e o la en needs, i should ha e
he po en ial o media e he PMO – inno a i eness ela ion-
ship. Acco dingly, we o mula e he ollowing hypo heses:
H3: P oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO) is posi i ely
ela ed o inno a i eness.
H4: P oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO) media es he ela-
ionship be ween esponsi e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO) and
inno a i eness.
The e has been ex ensi e esea ch conce ning he ela ion-
ship be ween RMO and new p oduc success, con i ming a
posi i e ela ionship (e.g. Lado & Maydeu-Oli a es, 2001;
Ma suno e al., 2002) be ween he concep s. As assumed,
companies wi h a g ea e capaci y o inno a e a e be e a
de eloping and launching success ul new p oduc s (P ajogo
& Ahmed, 2006). Companies wi h a s ong RMO a e mo e
likely o iden i y and espond o new p oduc oppo uni ies
han companies wi h weake ma ke o ien a ions (Bake &
Sinkula, 2005; Hooley, G eenley, Cadogan, & Fahy, 2005)
and a e also mo e likely o be he i s o ma ke wi h new
gene a ions o exis ing p oduc s and se ices (Day, 1994).
RMO may educe isks in he p oduc de elopmen p ocess
and enhance he likelihood o new p oduc success (A -
uahene-Gima e al., 2005; Jawo ski e al., 2000; Lukas &
Fe ell, 2000; Na e e al., 2004). Thus, we p opose he
ollowing:
H5: Responsi e ma ke o ien a ion (RMO) is posi i ely
ela ed o he capaci y o inno a e.
La en cus ome needs, which a e he e y essence o PMO,
a e equen ly linked o he capaci y o inno a e (Lilien e
al., 2002). Focusing on la en ma ke needs may ale he
company o new ma ke and echnology de elopmen s as
well as ideas ha challenge exis ing cause–e ec ela ion-
ships. Such an o ien a ion inc eases he company’s abili y o
add new a ian s o ma ke in o ma ion in p oduc de elop-
men , which esul s in adical p oduc s wi h unique bene i s
(Le in hal & Ma ch, 1993).

5
Some s udies, ocused on he ela ionships among RMO,
PMO and new p oduc success, con i m ha bo h RMO and
PMO ha e a posi i e e ec on new p oduc success (Na e
e al., 2004; A uahene-Gima e al., 2005; Tsai e al. 2008;
Zhang & Duan, 2010). Howe e , he esul s o h ee me-
a-analyses conce ning he ela ionship be ween an RMO
and new p oduc success a e no uni o m (Hena d & Szy-
manski, 2001). This may be because in hese s udies, PMO
and he capaci y o inno a e we e no included as media o s
o he ela ionship be ween RMO and pe o mance. This
leads o he ollowing hypo heses:
H6: P oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO) is posi i ely
ela ed o he capaci y o inno a e.
H7: P oac i e ma ke o ien a ion (PMO) media es he e-
la ionship be ween esponsi e ma ke o ien a ion and he
capaci y o inno a e.
An inno a i e o ganisa ional cul u e may s imula e he
capaci y o inno a e when o he aspec s o a ma ke -o i-
en ed cul u e a e also p esen . As al eady s a ed, combining
inno a i eness as an aspec o o ganisa ional cul u e wi h
esou ces and o he o ganisa ional cha ac e is ics, c ea es a
g ea e capaci y o inno a e. Hu ley and Hul (1998) em-
pi ically show he posi i e impac o inno a i eness on a
capaci y o inno a e, using his esul as an a gumen o
he inclusion o bo h concep s in ma ke o ien a ion-o -
ganisa ional pe o mance ela ionship models. Inno a-
i eness is expec ed o ha e a media ing powe only when
combined wi h a capaci y o inno a e. This leads o ou eigh
hypo heses.
H8: Inno a i eness is posi i ely ela ed o capaci y o
inno a e.
Inno a i eness and he capaci y o inno a e ha e he po-
en ial o sa is y he di e en o changing demands o cus-
ome s and o accommoda e unce ain ies. In hei seminal
wo k, Zal man e al. (1973) p oposed ha inno a i eness is
he medium o business success in he wake o app op ia e
in elligence ga he ing and decision making (e.g. Hu ley &
Hul , 1998). Resea ch in ma ke ing indica es ha inno a-
i eness has posi i e consequences o a ious i nancial
pe o mance ou comes (e.g. Rube a & Ki ca, 2012; Ve-
ga-Vazquez, Cossío-Sil a, & Ma ín-Ruíz, 2012). Also,
companies wi h a g ea e capaci y o inno a e can de elop
a compe i i e ad an age and achie e highe le els o pe -
o mance. Bo h inno a ion esou ces a e impe uses o com-
pe i i e ad an ages (e.g. P osenak, Mulej, & Snoj, 2008)
and impo an o ganisa ional pe o mance di e en ia ing
ac o s (e.g. Fage be g & Godinho, 2005; Da ila, Eps ein,
& Shel on, 2006).
Conce ning he ac ha i nancial indica o s a e he
ul ima e judge o o ganisa ional pe o mance and, om
an economic poin o iew, also e l ec he alues o all
o he non- i nancial indica o s (such as ma ke pe o mance
indica o s, in e nal o ganisa ional pe o mance indica o s,
and b oade social pe o mance indica o s), hey ep esen
he ou come o ou concep ual model. This leads o ou
i nal hypo hesis.
H9: Inno a i eness and capaci y o inno a e a e posi i ely
ela ed o fi nancial pe o mance.
Figu e 1. Concep ual model
Reponsi e ma ke
o ien a ion
Inno a i eness
Capaci y o
inno a e
P oac i e ma ke
o ien a ion
Financial
pe o mance
H8
H9
H9
H5
H2
H1
H3
H6
H4
H7
Bo u Mil elne , Jasmina Dlačić, Bo is Snoj, Aleksand a Selinšek: Impo ance o Inno a ion Resou ces
o Ma ke O ien a ion – Financial Pe o mance Link: Media ing Role o P oac i e Ma ke O ien a ion
6
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY Vol. 65 No. 4 / Decembe 2019
Me hodology
Measu emen Ins umen De elopmen
The measu emen ins umen o he e i ica ion o he
empi ical model was de eloped in h ee phases. In he i s
phase, i ems o he ques ionnai e ega ding PMO and RMO,
inno a i eness and capaci y o inno a e we e conside ed and
adop ed acco ding o he ele an li e a u e. Fo he measu e-
men o PMO, we used he Na e e al. (2004) scale. RMO
was measu ed using he wel e i ems adap ed om Na e
and Sla e ’s (1990) 7-poin a ing scale. P e ious s udies
indica ed some po en ial p oblems wi h cons uc alidi y;
he e o e, some addi ional i ems we e added o ensu e a
highe consis ency o he scale. In he inal ques ionnai e,
ou i ems assessing he cus ome sa is ac ion measu emen
(2), a e sales se ice, and cus ome sa is ac ion objec i es
se ing we e used o measu ing cus ome o ien a ion. An
addi ional ou i ems ela ed o compe i o esponse, sales-
pe son compe i o in o ma ion sha ing, manage s discussing
compe i o s a egies and a ge ing oppo uni ies o com-
pe i i e ad an age we e used o assess compe i o o ien a-
ion. I ems ela ed o sha ing in o ma ion among unc ions,
unc ions con ibu ing o cus ome ’s alue, unc ional in-
eg a ion o s a egy and in e unc ional in o ma ion we e
used o e alua ing in e unc ional o ien a ion cons uc o
ma ke o ien a ion. The scales o he measu emen o inno-
a i eness and capaci y o inno a e we e de eloped using
i ems om he scales o Hu ley and Hul (1998) and Calan-
one, Ca usgil, and Zhao (2002).
Following ha , in-dep h in e iews we e conduc ed wi h
senio ma ke ing execu i es in se en een companies in
Slo enia. The ques ionnai e was hen examined in he hi d
phase by expe judges (academics in he ield o ma ke ing
and inance) o asses o con en alidi y. Final ques ionnai e
consis ed o measu emen scales o PMO (se en i ems),
RMO ( i e i ems), inno a i eness ( i e i ems), and capaci y
o inno a e ( wo i ems). All i ems we e measu ed on he
7-poin Like scale ( om 1 ‘s ongly disag ee’ o 7 ‘s ongly
ag ee’). Financial pe o mance was inally measu ed on he
7-poin scale om ‘much wo se’ o ‘much be e ’ in com-
pa ison wi h hei key compe i o s o e he pas h ee yea s.
Ma ke and echnological u bulence we e ea ed as con ol
a iables. They we e assessed on he 7-poin Like scale
adop ed om Na e e al. (2004).
Sampling F ame and Da a Collec ion
In e e y company, a esponden om a ele an posi ion
was iden i ied in o de o educe he sys ema ic e o . The
endency was owa ds he in o man wi h mos knowledge
abou he esea ch opic. Senio ma ke ing and inancial
execu i es in he posi ion o CEO o a membe o he
Boa d o Di ec o s seem o be gene ally eliable in hei
e alua ions o o ganisa ional ac i i ies and pe o mance
(e.g., Venka aman & Ramanujan, 1986). The ques ion-
nai e was mailed o 3,000 andomly selec ed companies in
Slo enia wi h mo e han 20 employees. In o al, 464 usable
ques ionnai es we e ecei ed, ep esen ing a esponse a e
o 15.4%. Analysis o esponses p o ed o be b oadly ep-
esen a i e in e ms o indus y classi ica ion and company
size.
Non-Response Bias and Common Me hod Bias
Non- esponse bias was es ed wi h he - es . We compa ed
he mean alues o ea ly and la e esponden s. T- es esul s
showed ha he e we e no s a is ically signi ican di e -
ences be ween ea ly and la e esponden s. Since da a o
dependen and independen a iables we e collec ed by he
same me hod, we addi ionally es ed o common me hod
bias wi h he Ha man one- ac o es (Podsako & O gan,
1986). The esul s o he ac o analysis showed a six- ac o
solu ion accoun ing o 66.2% o he o al a iance, meaning
ha he chance o common me hod bias is a he low, since
a single ac o did no eme ge, and Fac o 1 did no explain
mos o he a iance.
Cons uc Reliabili y and Validi y
In o de o assu e con e gen and disc iminan alidi y
and eliabili y o he measu es, he dimensionali y o he
single cons uc s (PMO, RMO, inno a i eness, capaci y
o inno a e, and inancial pe o mance) was i s assessed.
Explo a o y ac o analysis (EFA) o RMO esul ed in a
h ee- ac o solu ion consis ing o cus ome o ien a ion,
compe i o o ien a ion and in e unc ional coo dina ion.
Fou i ems we e omi ed since hey did no load signi ican -
ly on hei unde lying ac o . Con i ma o y ac o analyses
(CFA) o he RMO e ealed he same s uc u e. The
measu emen model o RMO was i s concep ualised as a
unidimensional s uc u e a he han as a mul i-dimension-
al s uc u e. The indices o he h ee- ac o model we e
be e , indica ing ha a h ee- ac o model is mo e alid.
Composi e eliabili y indica o s and a e age a iance ex-
ac ed we e as ollows: cus ome o ien a ion (CR=0.77;
AVE=0.53), compe i o o ien a ion (CR=0.78; AVE=0.55)
and in e unc ional coo dina ion (CR=0.79; AVE=0.56).
In o de o gain as pa simonious a s uc u e as possible,
RMO was modelled as a second o de cons uc and hen
included in he measu emen and s uc u al model. The e-
o e, single indica o s mean alues we e calcula ed o
he second-o de indica o s. Final cons uc s en e ing he
s uc u al model (as shown in Table 1) consis ed o h ee
7
indica o s o RMO, i e indica o s o PMO, h ee i ems
o inno a i eness, wo i ems o capaci y o inno a e and
h ee i ems o inancial pe o mance.
Fac o loadings, componen eliabili y and a e age a iance
ex ac ed o he inal measu emen model a e p esen ed in
Table 1. The eliabili y coe icien o he scale anges om
.64 o .92, which is highe ha he ecommended alue o
0.6. Con e gen alidi y was assessed wi h he a e age
a iance ex ac ed coe icien . Acco ding o Fo nell and
La cke (1981), con e gen alidi y is es ablished i he
a iance ex ac ed alue exceeds .50 o a ac o . The CFA
esul s show ha in all he cases, wi h he excep ion o RMO,
his c i e ion was me . Also, all i ems loaded signi ican ly on
hei ac o s and we e highe han .50.
In he nex s ep, we es ed he disc iminan alidi y, o es ab-
lish whe he he measu es o concep ually dis inc cons uc s
di e . This was assessed wi h Fo nell and La cke ’s (1981)
es o see i he a iance ex ac ed es ima es exceeded he
squa e o he co ela ion be ween he ac o s making up each
pai . The c i e ion was mee in all cases.
Resul s
The s uc u al model p o ides he basis o hypo heses
es ing (Figu e 1). The ac ha he model i only he chi-
squa e s a is ic indica ed disc epancies be ween he da a
and he p oposed model (χ2=322.38 / d = 118; p < 0.05).
Table 1. I ems, s anda dised loadings, CR, and AVE o bo h g oups
Coe icien s λ
(loadings) CR AVE
RMO (second o de
cons uc )
Cus ome o ien a ion 0.722
0.73 0.48Compe i o o ien a ion 0.710
In e unc ional o ien a ion 0.647
PMO
We help ou cus ome s an icipa e de elopmen s in hei ma ke s. 0.731
0.84 0.52
We con inuously y o disco e addi ional needs o ou cus ome s o which
hey a e unawa e. 0.790
We inno a e e en a he isk o making ou own p oduc s obsole e. 0.659
We wo k closely wi h lead use s who y o ecognise cus ome needs
mon hs o e en yea s be o e he majo i y o he ma ke may ecognise
hem. 0.699
We ex apola e key ends o gain insigh in o wha use s in a cu en
ma ke will need in he u u e. 0.679
Inno a i eness
Ou company is c ea i e in i s me hods o ope a ion. 0.851
0.90 0.74
Managemen ac i ely seeks inno a i e ideas. 0.917
In ou company, we a e e y open o inno a ions (e.g. ela ed o p oduc s o
p ocesses). 0.820
Capaci y o inno a e Ou company is o en he i s o ma ke wi h new p oduc s and se ices. 0.838 0.76 0.61
Ou new p oduc in oduc ion has inc eased o e he las 5 yea s. 0.721
Financial
pe o mance
O e all p o i le els achie ed compa ed o compe i o s (EBIT). 0.882
0.92 0.79Re u n on in es men compa ed o compe i o s (ROI). 0.924
P o i ma gins compa ed o compe i o s. 0.855
Fi indices: Χ2/d. .=2.89, RMSEA=0.06, CFI=0.96, GFI=0.93; NNFI=0.95, PNFI=0.73
Con ol a iables
Technological
u bulences
The echnology in ou ma ke s is changing apidly. 0.835
0.69 0.51
Technological changes p o ide big oppo uni ies in his ma ke . 0.739
A la ge numbe o new p oduc s in his ma ke ha e been made possible
h ough echnological b eak h oughs. 0.722
Technological de elopmen s in his ma ke a e a he mino . (R) 0.726
Ma ke u bulences In his ma ke , cus ome s’ p e e ences change qui e a bi o e ime. 0.557 0.79 0.56
Cus ome s in his ma ke a e e y ecep i e o new-p oduc ideas. 0.845
Fi indices: Χ2/d. .=8.96, RMSEA=0.02, CFI=0.99, GFI=0.99; NNFI=0.99, PNFI=0.52
Bo u Mil elne , Jasmina Dlačić, Bo is Snoj, Aleksand a Selinšek: Impo ance o Inno a ion Resou ces
o Ma ke O ien a ion – Financial Pe o mance Link: Media ing Role o P oac i e Ma ke O ien a ion
8
NAŠE GOSPODARSTVO / OUR ECONOMY Vol. 65 No. 4 / Decembe 2019
Howe e , o he global i s a is ics sugges ed an adequa e i
o he model. The RMSEA index o he model was 0.06,
which sugges ed a easonable i . O he i indices we e in
he app op ia e in e als and highe han 0.90 (Figu e 1),
sugges ing ha he da a i s he model.
Di ec Impac s
As expec ed, he ela ionship be ween RMO and PMO was
s ong and posi i e (γ=0.79; p<0.01), which p o ides ull
suppo o H1. As in p e ious s udies, he di ec impac
o RMO on inno a i eness was posi i e and s a is ically
signi ican (γ=0.45; p<0.01), meaning ha we can suppo
H2. The same also holds ue o he ela ionship be ween
PMO and inno a i eness al hough he ela ionship was
weake (γ=.023; p<0.01), which gi es suppo o H3. H5
was no suppo ed since he ela ionship be ween RMO and
capaci y o inno a e was no s a is ically signi ican . As H6
p edic ed, PMO, on he o he hand, s ongly and signi ican -
ly in luences capaci y o inno a e (γ=0.58; p<0.01). H8 was
also ully suppo ed since inno a i eness and capaci y o
inno a e a e posi i ely ela ed (γ=0.38; p<0.01). Despi e he
non-signi ican di ec ela ionship be ween inno a i eness
and inancial pe o mance, and he posi i e and signi ican
ela ionship be ween capaci y o inno a e and inancial pe -
o mance (β=0.028; p<0.01), we can gi e suppo o H9,
since he e exis s a posi i e indi ec ela ionship be ween
inno a i eness and inancial pe o mance (β=0.12; p<0.01).
Indi ec Impac s
Indi ec impac s we e es ed wi h a p ocedu e p oposed by
Ba on and Kenny (1986). The e o e, a se ies o media ion
es s we e employed. The signi icance o indi ec e ec s
was assessed wi h boo s apping, ollowing he p ocedu e
o P eache and Hayes (2008). As can be obse ed in Table
2, PMO media es he ela ionship be ween RMO and in-
no a i eness (γ=0.58; p<0.10). Despi e he ac ha his
ela ionship was signi ican a a less con en ional le el
o signi icance (p<0.10), we ga e suppo o H4. Also,
hypo hesis H7 was suppo ed since he indi ec e ec o
RMO on capaci y o inno a e h ough PMO was s ong and
s a is ically signi ican (γ=0.70; p<0.01). This ela ionship,
oge he wi h he RMO and PMO ela ionship, was one o
he s onges in he s uc u al model. O he indi ec ela ion-
ships p esen ed in Table 2 we e weake bu also s a is ically
signi ican .
Con ol Va iables
Two addi ional con ol a iables we e included (ma ke
and echnological u bulence) in o de o assess whe he
hey ha e any signi ican impac on PMO, inno a i eness,
capaci y o inno a e and inancial pe o mance. The con ol
a iables did no in luence inno a i eness, capaci y o
inno a e and inancial pe o mance. Also, ma ke u bulence
did no in luence RMO, bu he e was signi ican in luence
o echnological u bulence on RMO (β=0.16; p<0.01).
Discussion
In ecen yea s ma ke o ien a ion, pe o mance esea ch
has included a p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion dimension and
has acknowledged he ac ha esea ching his ela ion-
ship ma ke o ien a ion should be concei ed hand-in-hand
Table 2. Di ec , indi ec impac s and global i indices o he model
Di ec impac Indi ec impac To al impac
RMO - PMO 0.792 p<0.01 n.a. n.a. 0.792 p<0.01
RMO - INNOV 0.453 p<0.01 0.179 p<.10 0.631 p<0.01
PMO - INNOV 0.226 p<0.10 n.a. n.a. 0.226 p<0.10
RMO - CINNOV -0.091 n.s. 0.702 p<.01 0.611 p<0.01
PMO-CINNOV 0.579 p<0.01 0.087 p<.10 0.666 p<0.01
INNOV - CINNOV 0.386 p<0.01 n.a. n.a. 0.386 p<0.01
INNOV - PERF 0.045 n.s. 0.123 p<.01 0.168 p<0.01
CINNOV - PERF 0.319 p<0.01 n.a. n.a. 0.319 p<0.01
RMO - PERF n.a. n.a. 0.223 p<.01 0.223 p<0.01
PMO - PERF n.a. n.a. 0.223 p<.01 0.223 p<0.01
Fi indices: Χ2/d. .=2.74, RMSEA=0.06, CFI=0.95, GFI=0.93; NNFI=0.94, PNFI=0.72
No es: RMO – Responsi e ma ke o ien a ion; PMO – p oac i e ma ke o ien a ion, INNOV – inno a i eness; CINNOV – capaci y o
inno a e; PERF – inancial pe o mance