A collision of strategic orientations: Entrepreneurial orientation and customer relationship orientation in a collectivist cultural context

Drawing upon strategic orientation logics and culture theory, this article proposes that entrepreneurial orientation and customer relationship orientation are generally complementary but become conflictual at high levels due to the organizational response to the practices these orientations invoke in a collectivist cultural context. We test this hypothesis with survey data of 146 firms. We find an increasing-return effect of customer relationship orientation on firm performance. Results also reveal a shape-flip phenomenon that when entrepreneurial orientation is low, customer relationship orientation has a J-shape (increasing returns) relationship with firm performance; however, when entrepreneurial orientation is high, customer relationship orientation has an inverted U-shape relationship. JEL Classification: M3 Marketing and Advertising