Investigating firm's customer agility and firm performance: The importance of aligning sense and respond capabilities

Nicholas Roberts and Varun Grover

Journal of Business Research, 2012, vol. 65, issue 5, 579-585

Abstract: In today's hypercompetitive environment, firms that are agile tend to be more successful. However, despite the widely accepted importance of agility, there is limited research on this construct. In this study we aim to conceptually define and operationalize firm's customer agility. We propose that agility comprises two distinct capabilities, sensing and responding, and we address the issue of alignment between these capabilities and its impact on performance. Using a dynamic capabilities framework, we formulate both matching and mediating perspectives on customer agility. Based on data collected from marketing managers, we tested hypotheses pertaining to the two methods of alignment. The results indicate significant support for the role of both forms of alignment on performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords: Customer agility; Sense and respond; Dynamic capabilities; Alignment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296311000427
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:65:y:2012:i:5:p:579-585

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.02.009

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().