Clan culture, strategic orientation and new product performance in Chinese marketing ventures: an exploration of main and moderating effects

We investigate the role of Chinese clan culture in influencing firms' strategic orientations and new product performance outcomes in this transitional economy. We also test the moderating effects of the type of marketing venture (independent or corporate) pursued and the type of product development strategy (improved or novel) employed. We report the results of an empirical study of 187 high-technology new product, marketing ventures in China. The extant literature is replete with examinations of Chinese national culture embodied in bureaucratic characteristics such as ‘guanxi’ or Confucian ideology. In contrast, we examine culture within the firm and consider that firms' clan culture, which is characteristic of Chinese collectivist ideals, can influence the strategic orientations they adopt. We find that clan culture is positively linked to strategic analysis and strategic defensiveness. We also identify positive relationships of strategic analysis and strategic defensiveness with new product performance. Finally, we reveal moderating effects of marketing venture type and product development strategy on clan culture–strategic orientation–new product performance links.