| According to Andrew Grove, Chairman of Intel Corporation, there are two options in business today, "Adapt or die." Likewise, Jack Welch, retired CEO of GE, has argued that continuous learning is the key to success (Welch 2005). However, our understanding of learning, how to measure it, and its effects on performance remains limited (Weerawardena 2003).; Notable theories, to explain learning's effect on performance, are resource-based-view (Hunt and Morgan 1997), dynamic capabilities view (Teece et al. 1997), organizational learning (Senge 1990), and market orientation (Kohli and Jaworski 1990). While these theories have made notable advancements, our understanding of learning, particularly in marketing specific domains, remains limited. This understanding is necessary, especially when marketing scholars and practitioners are under increasing pressures to demonstrate how marketing program processes, such as learning about customers, can be more directly linked to firm performance (Rust et al. 2004).; This study integrates these approaches to understanding Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) into one model and contributes to the marketing discipline by operationalizing the concept of learning capabilities. "The need to conceptualize market-focused learning activity as an organizational learning capability..." is necessary "...for advancing research in strategic marketing" (Weerawardena 2003, p. 410). The two learning capabilities proposed in this study are adaptive and generative learning capabilities. Adaptive learning capabilities utilize and modify of existing knowledge. They involve the use and development of things already known (Levinthal and March 1993). Generative learning capabilities involve the pursuit of new knowledge. Common characteristics of these processes are search, flexibility, and discovery (March 1991).; Additionally, two important marketing program elements, customer relationship management capabilities and brand management capabilities (e.g., Vorhies and Morgan 2005), are also included in the study to allow for an integrated exploration of the learning capabilities, marketing capabilities, and performance. Market Information Processing and Learning Capabilities are found to have a significant, positive effect on dynamic marketing capabilities, which in turn, have a positive effect on creativity, which then has positive effects on customer satisfaction, market effectiveness, and financial performance. Thus, a better understanding of the link between learning, marketing capabilities, and performance is gained. |
