Investigating the effects of innovation strategies on export business performance with the moderating role of competition intensity

Nowadays, organizations must always be creative and innovative to successfully deliver their activities and survive in international markets. Therefore, if organizations do not have creativity and innovation in their products, they will be downgraded and eliminated from the competition cycle. In global competitive markets, putting innovation strategies in the organization's programs is key to improving performance (Durand et al, 2017). Product Innovation Strategy (PIS) isthe invention of innovative and innovative methods of products and services has always been important for the lives of groups in competitive environments (Croitoru, 2012) .In this case, process innovation strategy is process innovations may include such things as input materials, job characteristics, workflow and information (Abernathy & Utterback, 1978). The main feature of the process innovation is that this type of innovation is within the organization and occurs in the production line and is not discoverable by individuals outside the organization, and this is a unique feature because it is not imitated by rivals because it is within the organization and cannot be outspoken (Maine et al, 2012). Competition means an attempt to employ a range of rivals in an industry to undermine each other, and in this way, each competitor will maximize his ability and ability to survive in the field and to achieve future growth and development (Knight, 2011). In this research, sales, profitability and market share were used to measure the export performance of the organizations. The statistical population of this study consisted of 230 companies that exported in the past 5 years in Tabriz city, with 148 companies selected as the sample. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The hypotheses were analyzed using SPSS18 and AMOS software. The results from such research will draw the attention of managers and organizational researchers to dimensions that are more important.  

Since this research analyzes the relationship between innovation and business strategies of exporters in Tabriz city considering the moderating role of competition intensity. This research in terms of its purpose is an applied research. The data has been collected using the questionnaire. Therefore, this research is a survey based on the field work. For measuring variables, standard measurements of previous studies were used. The face and content validity of the final questionnaire were confirmed by reviewing the views of management experts. The validity of the questionnaire constructs was also evaluated using the confirmatory factor analysis technique using AMOS software and the significance of the related items to the proposed structures was confirmed.

The research findings are presented in two tables. Table 1 shows the results of the research hypotheses test.   Table 1. Test results of research hypotheses Relationship results Standard coefficient t- value p- value Test result Product Innovation← Business Performance 0.25 2.471 0.013 Confirm prosess Innovation← Business Performanc 0.75 3.074 0.002 Confirm   And Table 2 shows the effect of product innovation and process innovation on business performance in two groups with high and low competition.   Table 2. Effect of product innovation and process innovation on business performance in two groups with high and low competition. Model Independent variables Dependent variables β sig R2 View count low competitive intensity prosess Innovation Business Performanc 0.255 0.000 0.065 72 High competitive intensity prosess Innovation Business Performanc 0.530 0.000 0.806 76 low competitive intensity Product Innovation Business Performanc 0.471 0.000 0.222 72 High competitive intensity Product Innovation Business Performanc 0.029 0.000 0.806 76   As can be seen in the above discussion, the effect of process innovation on business performance in two groups of companies with high competition is higher than that of low competition. The more the competition intensifies, the greater the impact of process innovation on business performance.

In this research all hypotheses were approved. According to these hypotheses, product and process innovation strategies have a positive impact on the performance of export organizations. It is important to note that in a high competitive environment, the use of process innovation strategy on export performance has a better impact on the product innovation strategy. One of the reasons for using the process innovation strategy in a competitive state of affairs is that the process innovation process is hidden from the eyes of competitors. In this case, the business will be able to maintain its financial resources for producing products and avoid the imitation of competitors.  It is safe to say that this is important to maintain business life in a competitive environment. The results are consistent with the results of previous studies. Paying attention to the external environment of the organization and understanding the intensity of competition in the environment will make it more effective for decision makers to get a better strategy. In short, attention outside and within the organization to adopt an innovation strategy must be consistent with the organization's success. A strategy, as it can be a business success, can equally create barriers to this path and eliminate the market. Therefore, taking innovation strategy in line with the market situation and international competitors not only helps to improve performance but also plays an important role in business development. Export companies provide successful businesses and executives by adopting a market-oriented strategy to innovate and utilize existing creativity while increasing sales by increasing market share and profits.