From Customer-Oriented Strategy to Organizational Financial Performance: The Role of Human Resource Management and Customer-Linking Capability

Drawing on the organizational capabilities literature, the authors developed and tested a model of how supportive human resource management (HRM) improved ���rms��� ���nancial performance perceived by marketing managers through fostering the implementation of a customer-oriented strategy. Customer-linking capability, which is the capability in managing close customer relationships, indicated the implementation of the customer-oriented strategy. Data collected from two emerging economies ��� China and Hungary ���established that supportive HRM partially mediated the relationship between customer-oriented strategy and customer-linking capability. Customer-linking capability further explained how supportive HRM contributed to perceived ���nancial performance. This study explicates the implication of customer-oriented strategy for HRM and reveals the<br/>importance of HRM in strategy implementation. It also sheds some light on the ���black box��� between HRM and performance. While making important contributions to the ���eld of strategy, HRM and marketing, this study also offers useful practical implications.<br/>