The Effect of Marketing Capabilities on the Performance of Export Companies Through Competitive Strategy and Positional Advantage with the Moderating Role of Mutual Innovation

Export is one of the most important activities that lead to the growth and development of companies. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the factors affecting the growth and prosperity of exports and improve export performance. In the current context of fierce competition in global markets, evaluating company performance has become an important element in the development of competitive strategies. Therefore, dried fruit export companies are no exception to this rule and seek to improve their export performance. The main purpose of this study is the effect of marketing capabilities on export performance through competitive strategy and situational advantage with a moderating role of mutual innovation in dried fruit export companies in Tehran.

This research is applied one in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of nature (data collection method). In terms of evaluating the relationships between research variables is a correlation analysis. The statistical population of this study is 102 companies of dried fruit export companies with offices in Tehran. According to the limited statistical population through the Cochran formula, a sample of 81 companies has been obtained. 73 questionnaires of companies were examined. Sampling was done by simple random method. Research data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. In order to ensure the appropriateness and reasonableness of the questionnaire measures, two criteria of validity and reliability have been used. To check the validity of the questionnaire, content validity was used. The questionnaire was provided to experts and related professors and finally its validity was confirmed. To evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used, which was higher than 0.7 for all research variables. The collected data in this study have been examined using two descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

SPSS and Smart PLS software were used to analyze the collected data. Using the structural equation model, the relationships between the research variables were tested. The results indicate the positive and significant effect of mediating variables of competitive strategy and positional advantage as well as mutual innovation as a moderator in the relationship between marketing capabilities and export performance. In this study, using the structural equation method, the research hypotheses are performed and the result of examining the main hypothesis of the research shows that the effect of marketing capabilities on the performance of dried fruit export companies through competitive strategy and situational advantage is confirmed by the moderating role of bilateral innovation. has taken; Therefore, the impact of marketing capability on the company's performance means that company managers rely on their marketing capabilities to achieve a superior positional advantage over domestic and foreign competitors and higher performance. Also, the results of the research hypotheses show that the effect of marketing capabilities on competitive strategy, marketing capabilities on positional advantage, competitive strategy on positional advantage, competitive strategy on the performance of dried fruit export companies and situational advantage on the performance of dried fruit export companies is positive and significant. . Bilateral innovation also moderates the relationship between marketing capabilities and competitive strategy and the relationship between marketing capabilities and the positional advantage of dried fruit export companies.

Unlike most research backgrounds in this field, which did not examine the impact of competitive strategy and situational advantage variables on the performance of export companies and the impact of mutual innovation on the relationship between marketing capabilities and competitive strategy and the relationship between marketing capabilities and positional advantage In this study, based on a review of previous research and a review of the theoretical foundations of the research, a conceptual model has been presented to investigate the impact of these variables on the performance of export companies. Findings of research in this field are consistent with the results of Roa et al. [28], Martin et al. [20] and Bosu et al. [5]. According to these researchers, marketing capabilities have a positive effect on export performance and increasing marketing capabilities can lead to increased performance. According to Martin et al. (2016), in order to benefit from superior performance, a company must invest in its marketing capabilities. These marketing capabilities allow the company to offer better products and services than competitors. As a result, by gaining situational advantage, marketing capabilities are able to realize their full potential in terms of performance. . Findings from structural equation modeling regarding the effect of independent, dependent and moderating variables in the conceptual model of the research showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the research variables due to the values ​​of appropriate path coefficients and the results of the correlation matrix of variables. As a result, it can be said that by strengthening the positional advantage and paying attention to marketing capabilities, it enhances export performance. According to the research results, the following suggestions are presented. - Creating a suitable environment to motivate employees to express their opinions, ideas and hidden talents, - Creating innovation and creativity in products in accordance with the up-to-date needs of domestic and foreign customers. - Identify their target markets and use a pricing system tailored to their target customers. - Continuous review of the external environment of the organization and innovation in products as well as their distribution methods, - Due to the prevailing competitive environment and the rapid changes that are taking place in the world today, offer products that are more in line with the needs of target customers, to improve their performance in the market. - Add an educational sheet related to the benefits of nuts products in product packages,