The Moderating Effect of Perceived Effectiveness of Marketing Function on Network Ties – Strategic Adaptiveness Relationship

This study examines the critical role of perceived effectiveness of the Marketing function (MF) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in leveraging entrepreneurial network ties to improve strategic adaptiveness (SA). The study tests whether a MF perceived as effective by SMEs’ managers/owners moderates the relationship between SMEs network ties and SA required for improved performance. Findings of a moderated regression analysis on a sample of 263 Croatian SMEs indicate that network ties contribute significantly to their SA, and that a MF perceived as effective only moderates the impact of customer and competitor ties on SMEs’ SA. Research and practical implications are discussed.