The adoption of technological innovations in a B2B context and its impact on firm performance: An ethical leadership perspective

Woon Leong Lin, Nick Yip, Jo Ann Ho, Murali Sambasivan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)
25 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The introduction of the digital economy has opened much discussion on the various business models that challenge traditional thinking in B2B marketing. This includes technological innovation in the digital space which has brought about theoretical changes in the way marketing is applied, more so in the B2B environment where communication is essential in the alignment with various stakeholders. Several discussions on ethical leadership in the digital economy have provided some insights into addressing increased complexity in a society where markets are connected (physically) yet disconnected (proximity) and this has led marketing practices going astray. Our paper proposes the relevance of ethical leadership and its role in the application of technological innovation by arguing that technological innovation has a positive impact on firm performance and that ethical leadership plays a critical role in moderating this effect. We use a dynamic panel data system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) approach to examine secondary data from 465 IT service companies and demonstrate that ethical leadership plays a critical role as it enables innovation through technology, and this has an impact on the firm’s performance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)61-71
Number of pages11
JournalIndustrial Marketing Management
Volume89
Early online date9 Jan 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Technological innovation
  • Corporate Financial Performance
  • B2B
  • Ethical Leadership
  • System GMM

Cite this