Vol. 8 No. 4 (2020): Business & Management Studies: An International Journal
Articles

DETERMINING the RELATIONS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES, STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY and PRODUCT INNOVATION: A RESEARCH on FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS IN TR63 REGION

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  • Arif Selim EREN,
  • Hüseyin ÇİÇEKLİOĞLU
Arif Selim EREN
Asisst. Prof. Dr., Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University
Hüseyin ÇİÇEKLİOĞLU
Lect. Dr., Mersin University

Published 2020-12-10

Keywords

  • Stratejik Esneklik,
  • Teknolojik Yetenek,
  • Ürün İnovasyonu,
  • TR 63 Bölgesi
  • Strategic Flexibility Technological Capabilities Product Innovation TR 63 Region

How to Cite

DETERMINING the RELATIONS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES, STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY and PRODUCT INNOVATION: A RESEARCH on FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS IN TR63 REGION. (2020). Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(4), 1033-1080. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v8i4.1614

Copyright (c) 2020 Business & Management Studies: An International Journal

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

DETERMINING the RELATIONS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES, STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY and PRODUCT INNOVATION: A RESEARCH on FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS IN TR63 REGION. (2020). Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(4), 1033-1080. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v8i4.1614

Abstract

  1. LITERATURE
    • SUBJECT of the STUDY

Today, businesses are experiencing intense competition at the international level with globalization (Fan et al., 2013: 187). It is stated that countries and businesses that take advantage of innovation in transition to the information society stand out compared to others (Kamasak et al., 2016: 126). As a result of the competition, it is seen that generic dimensions in competition priorities are always highlighted in the literature (Lei et al., 1996: 501). Thanks to these strategies, it is claimed that businesses can transform their production capability into higher profit margins by increasing the added value they create, and this can only be achieved with the effective use of the technological infrastructure used in production (Lew and Sinkovics, 2013: 13). Governments and business managers have problems with the long-term strategies they determine in such intense competitive environments, and this situation leads to the development of different applications related to the subsidy of the sector (Hit et al., 1998: 22). Based on this, it is observed that supporting the sectors according to the region that they belong to is an appropriate approach. TR63 Region is a classification applied by the Ministry of Development and includes Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye and Hatay provinces. There is excellent potential in furniture manufacturing in this region, and they are in great demand both in domestic markets and in exports. The Eastern Mediterranean Development Agency (DOĞAKA) subsidies provided for the region in order to ensure the adaptation of the sector to technology have significantly improved the technological infrastructure of the enterprises.

  • PURPOSE and IMPORTANCE of THE STUDY

In this study, it was aimed to determine the relationships between the technological competencies, strategic flexibility and product innovation competencies of the furniture companies operating in the TR63 region.

  • CONTRIBUTION of the STUDY to the LITERATURE

When the results obtained from the study were examined, it was revealed that product innovation, supported by many studies in the conceptual framework, positively affected strategic flexibility, and strategic flexibility positively affected technological capabilities. Thus, it has been revealed that enterprises need product innovation in order to maintain their presence in the markets and can achieve this with an organizational structure that can provide strategic flexibility as well as technological capabilities.

  1. DESIGN and METHOD
    • RESEARCH TYPE

The study utilizes a quantitative method, and the data were collected by questionnaire.

  • DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE

Questionnaire technique was used in the research. The scale used in the study conducted by Zhou and Wu (2010: 547) in the creation of the research design was translated into Turkish and applied.

  • QUANTITATIVE/QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Firstly, the demographic characteristics of the sample were examined within the scope of the analysis. Then, their reliability was tested with the descriptive statistics and Cronbach Alpha values according to the dimensions in the questionnaire. In the next stage, variance tests were conducted to examine whether there were significant differences in the answers given to the questionnaire according to their demographic characteristics. Pearson's correlation, Exploratory Factor Analyses and Confirmatory Factor Analysis are conducted. At the last stage of the analysis, the mediating role of strategic flexibility between technological capabilities and product innovation, which is the primary purpose of the study, was tested with the regression model.

  • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

H1: Technological competencies of enterprises are positively affected by their strategic flexibility and product innovation capabilities.

H2: Strategic flexibility is positively correlated with technological capabilities and product innovation.

H3: Product innovation facilitates adaptation to the market and positively affects strategic flexibility and technological capabilities.

  1. RESULTS and DISCUSSION
    • HYPOTHESIS TEST RESULTS

The dimensions of product innovation affect strategic flexibility positively. It also significantly affects technological capabilities in strategic flexibility. When the impact values are analyzed, it is observed that the market size is adequate at close to one-third levels in other product innovation variables. It has also been shown that technological turbulence, together with the change in utility, affects the strategic flexibility by one-tenth to one-third of discovery. Along with these, one of the most important findings is that strategic flexibility can explain almost half of the technological capabilities. These findings show that the model of Zhou and Wu (2010: 547) was realized in those who manufacture furniture in the TR 63 region. Thus, it is seen that there are significant relationships in the dimensions of change in utility and technological turbulence. As a result of the findings, research hypotheses were accepted.

  • RESULTS of the STUDY

With the analysis of the data obtained from 176 people within the scope of the research, it is observed that the model is also confirmed in this context. Based on the findings, it is observed that the results of many studies in the literature are supported. Li et al. (2017: 471), Li et al. (2010: 300), Cabello-Medina et al. (2006: 80), Bock et al. (2010: 1) and Beraha et al. (2018: 129) when strategic flexibility rises, the product reports that its innovation has increased. The same result was obtained in the current study. Based on this, it is understood that the flexible distribution of resources will provide a significant benefit. Bierly et al. (1996: 368) state that there is a need for scales that can be used for quantitative measurement of strategic flexibility, and it is observed that the scale we adapted in our study gave reliable and valid results.

  • SUGGESTIONS BASED on the RESULTS

When all these discussions are evaluated together, it is thought that enterprises should implement human resources policies in a way to maximize themselves in terms of technological capabilities and make an effort to create and retain a qualified workforce. It is also hoped that their efforts to review and refine existing processes continually will also benefit them. As the last word, it is hoped that a user study has been carried out by reminding that only countries' economies can develop with products with high added value and that policies that will create qualified workforce are needed to achieve this.

  • LIMITATIONS of the STUDY

The limitation of this study is that it is limited to 176 individuals working in companies in the TR63 region.

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