Data Analysis & Findings
5.2. Preliminary data analysis
5.2.2. Descriptive statistics results
As shown in Table 4.4 in Chapter Four (p. 127), eleven multi-item constructs were measured including exploratory strategy, exploitative strategy, exploratory R&D, exploitative R&D,
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exploratory marketing, exploitative marketing, product performance, firm performance, market turbulence, technological turbulence, and organisational slack. As noted in Section 5.2, this study received 186 completed survey packages (including Questionnaires A, B, and C). From this sample, 17 cases were deleted due to a large portion (greater than 10%) of missing responses (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998). Of the remaining 169 cases, 61 cases contained a small number of missing responses randomly distributed throughout the questionnaires. As recommended by Hair et al. (1998), these cases were examined to determine whether patterns existed in the missing data. As there were no apparent patterns in the missing data, this study imputed (or replaced) missing values using the mean for the entire series (Roth, 1994). After all missing data were imputed, preliminary data analysis to evaluate the psychometric properties of items via evaluation of central tendency (i.e., mean) and dispersion (i.e., standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) was undertaken. The summary of means, standard deviation (SD), skewness, and kurtosis for each of the constructs’ items related to Questionnaires A, B, and C are presented in Tables 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5, respectively.
As shown in Table 5.4, Questionnaire A includes items related to exploratory strategy (RS1 to RS6), exploitative strategy (IS1 to IS6), firm performance (FP1 to FP5), market turbulence (MT1 to MT3), technological turbulence (TT1 to TT3), and organisational slack (OS1 to OS3). The results of the descriptive statistics of these items indicate that means ranged from 2.79 to 4.81 and SD ranged from 0.84 to 1.86. This study used skewness and Kurtosis as two numerical items to examine normality of items. Skewness is a third standardised moment that measures the degree of symmetry of a probability distribution. Kurtosis measures the thinness of tails of a probability distribution (Park, 2008). Table 5.4 shows that scores of skewness ranged from -1.84 to .41 and kurtosis ranged from -1.22 to
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5.98. Specifically, the kurtosis score of IS1, IS3, IS4, IS6, and FP1 demonstrated that the distribution of these items departed from normal distribution range of ± 2 (DeVellis, 1991).
Table 5.3 – Descriptive statistics results of Questionnaire A
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Exploratory Strategy
RS1 …identifying opportunities for new products. 3.34 1.02 -.43 -.96
RS2 …utilising new opportunities in new markets. 3.28 .97 -.52 -.10
RS3 …inventing new products with unique features not available in competing products.
2.79 1.00 .20 -1.10
RS4 ...expanding its product range (e.g. add new product line(s)). 2.98 1.10 -.23 -.71
RS5 …discovering new ways to meet customer needs. 3.6 1.08 -.85 1.96
RS6 …acquiring product development skills and processes entirely new in the firm. 3.28 1.04 -.63 .25
Exploitative strategy
IS1 …identifying opportunities for its existing products. 3.66 1.21 -1.24 4.52
IS2 …strengthening its existing position in its current markets. 3.78 1.12 -.12 -.64
IS3 …improving efficiency of its current products. 3.75 1.02 -1.34 3.36
IS4 …focusing on a stable (e.g. specific, limited) range of products. 3.50 1.12 -1.46 3.46 IS5 …introducing improved, but existing products for its existing markets. 3.26 1.09 -.09 -.44 IS6 …improving its current product development processes and skills for its existing
products.
3.42 1.05 -1.84 5.98
Firm Performance
FP1 …met revenue goals. 4.29 .84 -1.31 3.62
FP2 …met sales growth goals. 4.25 1.07 -.66 .06
FP3 …met market share goals. 4.12 1.19 -.34 -.58
FP4 ...met return on investment goals. 4.12 .98 -1.00 .71
FP5 ...met profitability goals. 4.26 1.05 -1.05 .79
FP6 …achieved customer satisfaction goals. 4.68 .98 -.87 1.54
FP7 …achieved customer loyalty goals. 4.53 1.13 -.88 1.32
Market Turbulence
MT1 ...customer needs and product preferences changed rapidly. 4.09 1.86 .13 -1.22 MT2 ...customer product demands and preferences were uncertain. 4.27 1.83 -.02 -1.12 MT3 ...it was difficult to predict changes in customer needs and preferences. 4.06 1.77 .16 -1.20
Technological Turbulence
TT1 ...it was difficult to forecast technology developments. 3.65 1.53 .26 -.82
TT2 ...technology environment was uncertain. 3.73 1.67 .41 -.93
TT3 ...technological developments were unpredictable. 3.61 1.71 .37 -.91
TT4 ...technology environment was complex. 3.94 1.75 .18 -1.10
Organisational Slack
OS1 …available resources for future projects. 4.81 1.21 -.77 .21
OS2 …discretionary financial resources. 4.49 1.53 -.44 -.39
OS3 …manpower to work on special projects. 4.63 1.39 -.53 -.34
As shown in Table 5.4, Questionnaire B includes items related to exploratory R&D (RI21 to RI25), exploitative R&D (II21 to II25), exploratory marketing (RM21 to RM214),
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exploitative marketing (IM21 to IM214), and product performance (S21 to S28) with respect to the selected new product. The results of the descriptive statistics of these items indicate that means ranged from 3.20 to 4.99, SD ranged from 0.86 to 1.60, skewness ranged from - 1.02 to 2.09 and kurtosis ranged from -1.10 to 3.38. Specifically, the skewness score RM24 of and the kurtosis score of RM24, S27, and S28 demonstrated that the distribution of these items departed from normal distribution range of ± 2 (DeVellis, 1991).
Table 5.4 – Descriptive statistics results of Questionnaire B
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Exploratory R&D
RI21 …acquired entirely new product development processes that had not been used before by the firm.
4.13 1.19 -.06 -.91
RI22 …acquired completely new manufacturing technologies and processes that had not been used before by the firm.
3.78 1.19 .39 -1.08
RI23
…acquired entirely new managerial and organisational skills related to new product development process (e.g. set up new liaison teams to integrate R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and other functions).
4.20 1.29 .38 -.42
RI24 …acquired entirely new technology and R&D training skills for personnel development.
3.77 1.12 -.84 .01
RI25 ...set up completely new types of manufacturing facilities and operations. 4.08 1.18 -.37 -.94
Exploitative R&D
II21 …improved its current (existing, well-established) processes aimed at quality improvement of our current products.
4.39 1.27 -.38 -.75
II22 …exploited mature, existing technologies to enhance the efficiency of our current products.
4.24 1.32 -.15 -.78
II23 …strengthened current managerial and organisational skills that improve the efficiency of the existing product development process (e.g. improve existing coordination between R&D, marketing, manufacturing and other functions).
4.50 1.18 -.02 -.31
II24 …improved current processes to reduce the cost of our current products. 4.03 1.09 -.25 -.83
II25 …refined current processes to reduce production time. 4.64 1.25 -.78 .11
Exploratory Marketing
RM21 …developed completely new pricing processes. 3.81 1.26 .75 -.71
RM22 …set up entirely new sales and distribution channels. 3.31 1.35 1.16 .30
RM23 …developed entirely new advertising and/or promotion processes. 3.33 1.29 .99 -.12
RM24 …created a completely new brand for the new product. 3.85 1.33 2.09 3.38
RM25 …researched about new customers. 3.78 1.47 .24 -.61
RM26 …researched about new competitors. 3.57 1.60 .14 -.96
RM27 …segmented the market in a completely new way. 3.47 1.36 1.26 .67
RM28 …developed completely new customer relationship management methods. 3.48 1.34 .60 -.71 RM29 …developed entirely new methods of marketing communication with customers. 3.49 1.23 .85 .13
RM210 …set up completely new public relations methods. 3.53 1.17 .62 -.61
RM211 …set up entirely new marketing research processes. 3.53 1.39 .62 -.48
RM212 …developed completely new market testing processes. 2.89 1.19 .49 -.41
RM213 …developed completely new pricing processes. 3.49 1.47 .38 -.66
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Table 5.4 – Descriptive statistics results of Questionnaire B (Cont’d)
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Exploitative Marketing
IM21 …refined current (existing, well-established) pricing processes. 4.05 .98 -.21 -.24
IM22 …improved current sales and distribution channels. 3.99 1.11 -.18 -.89
IM23 …refined current advertising and/or promotion processes. 3.65 1.08 -.01 -.93
IM24 …strengthened the brand image for current product. 4.01 .98 -.23 -.39
IM25 …researched about current customers. 3.79 1.49 .16 -1.01
IM26 …researched about current competitors. 3.61 1.51 .30 -1.10
IM27 …segmented the market in a completely new way. 3.82 1.05 -.10 -.59
IM28 …improved current customer relationship management methods. 3.76 1.08 -.08 -.69 IM29 …refined current methods of marketing communication with customers. 3.60 1.03 .13 -.35
IM210 …improved current public relations methods. 3.83 .99 -.05 -.07
IM211 …refined current market research processes. 3.33 .98 .51 -.50
IM212 …improved current market testing processes. 3.20 1.39 .44 -.63
IM213 …implemented current marketing strategies more efficiently. 4.01 1.14 -.10 -.40
IM214 …improved current marketing strategies. 4.06 1.17 -.06 -.53
New Product Performance
S21 …met revenue goals. 4.60 1.01 -.68 .72
S22 …met sales growth goals. 4.47 1.04 -.55 .55
S23 …met market share goals. 4.99 1.04 -.45 -.10
S24 ...met return on investment goals. 4.38 .90 -.26 -.06
S25 ...met profitability goals. 4.43 .96 -.16 -.34
S26 ...met development cost goals. 4.46 1.01 -.35 -.26
S27 …achieved customer acceptance goals. 4.56 .86 -.72 2.24
S28 …achieved customer satisfaction goals. 4.60 .89 -1.02 2.52
As shown in Table 5.5, Questionnaire C includes items related to exploratory R&D (RI31 to RI35), exploitative R&D (II31 to II35), exploratory marketing (RM31 to RM314), exploitative marketing (IM31 to IM314), and product performance (S31 to S38) with respect to the selected established product. The results of the descriptive statistics of these items indicate that means ranged from 2.85 to 4.71, SD ranged from 0.92 to 2.08, skewness ranged from -1.07 to 1.20 and kurtosis ranged from -1.08 to 1.53, demonstrating normality of these items.
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Table 5.5 – Descriptive statistics results of Questionnaire C
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Exploratory R&D
RI31 …acquired entirely new product development processes that had not been used before by the firm.
3.34 1.49 .65 -.59
RI32 …acquired completely new manufacturing technologies and processes that had not been used before by the firm.
2.98 1.43 1.20 .50
RI33
…acquired entirely new managerial and organisational skills related to new product development process (e.g. set up new liaison teams to integrate R&D, marketing, manufacturing, and other functions).
3.27 1.28 .98 .18
RI34 …acquired entirely new technology and R&D training skills for personnel development.
3.10 1.46 -.03 -1.08
RI35 ...set up completely new types of manufacturing facilities and operations. 3.18 1.51 .75 -.43
Exploitative R&D
II31 …improved its current (existing, well-established) processes aimed at quality improvement of our current products.
4.05 .92 -.38 -.75
II32 …exploited mature, existing technologies to enhance the efficiency of our current products.
3.90 1.01 -.15 -.78
II33 …strengthened current managerial and organisational skills that improve the efficiency of the existing product development process (e.g. improve existing coordination between R&D, marketing, manufacturing and other functions).
3.57 .93 -.02 -.31
II34 …improved current processes to reduce the cost of our current products. 4.01 1.00 -.25 -.83
II35 …refined current processes to reduce production time. 4.17 1.10 -.78 .11
Exploratory Marketing
RM31 …developed completely new pricing processes. 3.25 1.98 .03 -.83
RM32 …set up entirely new sales and distribution channels. 2.84 1.95 .14 -1.00
RM33 …developed entirely new advertising and/or promotion processes. 2.85 1.84 .43 -.14
RM34 …created a completely new brand for the new product. 2.41 2.04 -.09 -.82
RM35 …researched about new customers. 3.36 1.68 .36 -.85
RM36 …researched about new competitors. 3.26 1.96 .46 -.99
RM37 …segmented the market in a completely new way. 2.85 1.93 .05 -.78
RM38 …developed completely new customer relationship management methods. 3.29 1.83 .07 -.80 RM39 …developed entirely new methods of marketing communication with customers. 3.01 1.69 .49 -.20
RM310 …set up completely new public relations methods. 3.01 1.74 -.08 -.87
RM311 …set up entirely new marketing research processes. 3.11 1.68 .66 -.49
RM312 …developed completely new market testing processes. 2.40 1.57 1.08 .29
RM313 …developed completely new pricing processes. 3.02 1.90 .68 -.82
RM314 …set up entirely new sales and distribution channels. 3.03 2.08 .67 -.96
Exploitative Marketing
IM31 …refined current (existing, well-established) pricing processes. 4.00 1.29 .01 -.41
IM32 …improved current sales and distribution channels. 3.85 1.59 .12 -.89
IM33 …refined current advertising and/or promotion processes. 3.56 1.48 .57 -.26
IM34 …strengthened the brand image for current product. 4.15 1.66 -.19 -.93
IM35 …researched about current customers. 3.38 1.81 .47 -.76
IM36 …researched about current competitors. 3.38 1.91 .32 -1.06
IM37 …segmented the market in a completely new way. 3.77 1.48 .10 -.69
IM38 …improved current customer relationship management methods. 3.75 1.57 -.06 -.73 IM39 …refined current methods of marketing communication with customers. 3.71 1.42 .53 -.08
IM310 …improved current public relations methods. 4.02 1.60 -.06 -.93
IM311 …refined current market research processes. 3.31 1.74 .48 -.58
IM312 …improved current market testing processes. 3.15 1.75 .55 -.67
IM313 …implemented current marketing strategies more efficiently. 4.12 1.52 .03 -.57
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Table 5.5 – Descriptive statistics results of Questionnaire C (Cont’d)
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Established Product Performance
S31 …met revenue goals. 4.71 .95 -.40 -.16
S32 …met sales growth goals. 4.31 1.24 -.81 1.04
S33 …met market share goals. 4.02 1.27 -.47 .11
S34 ...met return on investment goals. 4.38 1.05 -.85 .96
S35 ...met profitability goals. 4.48 1.09 -.47 -.38
S36 ...met development cost goals. 4.55 1.09 -.58 -.06
S37 …achieved customer acceptance goals. 4.44 1.13 -1.07 1.53
S38 …achieved customer satisfaction goals. 4.43 1.01 -.87 1.04
As noted in Chapter Four (Section 4.5.1.1, Phase 6), Questionnaires A, B and C include one item pertaining to the respondent’s knowledge and one item regarding the respondent’s confidence in responding to the items in the questionnaire. As shown in Table 5.6, descriptive statistics of these items indicate that means ranged from 5.56 to 6.33, SD ranged from 0.79 to 1.30, skewness ranged from -1.23 to -0.36 and kurtosis ranged from 0.09 to 1.82, demonstrating normality of these items.
Table 5.6 – Descriptive statistics results of respondent’s knowledge and confidence
Construct Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis
Questionnaire A GQ11 Knowledgeable Quality 6.21 1.30 -1.08 1.22 GQ19 Confidence 6.33 .96 -1.23 1.38 Questionnaire B GQ21 Knowledgeable Quality 5.62 .79 -.64 1.51 GQ29 Confidence 5.77 .88 -.87 1.07 Questionnaire C GQ31 Knowledgeable Quality 5.56 .89 -1.02 1.82 GQ39 Confidence 5.82 .81 -.36 .09
In summary, the results of the preliminary analysis indicate that some items departed from normality.
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