Analyzing the Impact of Networking with Consumers on Retail Industry Performance: The Modifying Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Market Knowledge

Today, the retail industry plays an important role in the economic development of countries, so that this industry plays a role in the GDP of developed countries almost as much as the total production sector. Retailers are key components in the supply chain that connect producers to consumers. Studies show that the main reasons for the failure of these industries are marketing limitations in the form of lack of financial resources, lack of time and market knowledge and lack of marketing expertise. Networking is one of the solutions that has been proposed to overcome these limitations. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the impact of networking with consumers on the performance of the retail industry by considering the role of entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge market. The statistical population of this study included all managers of retail chain companies in Isfahan that 124 managers were selected as a statistical sample by simple random sampling. The research method was descriptive survey. A 44-item questionnaire based on the sequential scale and the five-point Likert scale was used to collect data. The results were analyzed by structural equation modeling with partial least squares approach. Data analysis showed that networking with consumers has a positive effect on marketing performance. Also, companies with entrepreneurial orientation and better use of market knowledge can use their networking capabilities for marketing purposes and competitive advantage.