The influence of marketing exploitation and exploration on B2B SME performance: The moderating roles of supplier flexibility and information exchange

This study employs a resource-based view to examine how marketing exploitation and exploration affect business-to-business (B2B) small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) performance, considering the moderating effects of supplier flexibility and information exchange. Our analysis of a time-lag survey involving 144 Chinese B2B SMEs revealed that marketing exploitation and exploration positively affect performance when implemented individually. However, when B2B SMEs pursue both approaches simultaneously, marketing exploration exerts a relatively stronger impact on performance compared to marketing exploitation. Supplier flexibility and information exchange act as contingency factors, influencing the strength of these effects. Our analysis reveals that marketing exploration influences performance more strongly when supplier flexibility and information exchange are high. Conversely, high levels of supplier flexibility and information exchange reduce the impact of marketing exploitation on performance. To gain a deeper understanding, we conducted 25 additional interviews with representatives of Chinese B2B SMEs that did not participate in our survey study. Our findings align survey and interview results, revealing how marketing exploitation and exploration, supplier flexibility, and information exchange complexly interplay to influence B2B SME performance.