The effect of marketing ambidexterity on improvement of marketing performance in telecommu- nication companies in Jordan

Article history: Received: March 18, 2020 Received in revised format: May 3


Introduction
The rapid development in the business environment, accompanied with the change in both customers' requirements, and external and internal environment, imposes the need to reshape the resources and capabilities of organizations to ensure their survival in a competition market, through the effective use of their human and material resources. It is imperative for business organizations to implement effective marketing strategies to identify promising marketing opportunities through adoption of unconventional modern marketing tools that enable the organization to gain the satisfaction of existing customers and try to attract new ones. Therefore, this study seeks to reveal the effect of marketing ambidexterity as a leading strategy that contributes to the development of business through the exploration of opportunities (looking for new opportunities), (Josephson et al., 2015;Panda & Rath,2016;Looy et al., 2005;Zain et al., 2005), exploitation of opportunities, (Chen & Ling, 2010), and high marketing flexibility which reflects the overall capabilities of the organization to adapt, or change, that enables it to take necessary actions to respond to environmental factors to achieve the desired marketing performance: market share, profitability, sales growth, and satisfaction of the customers (Josephson et al., 2015;Shahhoseinl & Ramayana, 2015;Awwad, 2009;Prange & Schlegelmilch, 2009).

The Concept of Ambidexterity Marketing
In the business field, ambidexterity indicated the degree of achieving harmony and balance between competing views to achieve a specific goal, or between internal and external trends to determine the nature and types of strategies necessary to achieve external competition and to develop the reality of strategies in organizations by reviewing the nature of organization vision and mission to achieve marketing objectives (Prange & Bruyaka, 2016). Ambidexterity is also known as "seeking to exploit current resources and explore new potentials, reconciling between processes that focus on the company's exploitation of its resources to enhance its competitive position, and exploration that focuses on new opportunities in the future" (Prange & Schlegelmilch, 2009). According to Chen and Ling (2010) ambidexterity refers to the utilization of the essential capabilities necessary for the stability of the organization and the marketing flexibility to provide distinct products. The term ambidexterity is used to describe the organization's desire to invest scarce resources skillfully in order to exploit opportunities and reduce costs. To be exceptionally ambitious, organizations need to achieve balance between exploring new opportunities and optimizing them simultaneously, looking for new possibilities to adapt to the changing business environment, and at the same time employs its capabilities to achieve efficiency (Judge & Blocker, 2008;Simsek, 2009). Marketing ambidexterity also means: Utilizing of existing competencies and exploring future capabilities in marketing activities to achieve outstanding performance (Josephson et al., 2015). Marketing ambidexterity is a combination of exploration, and investment activities of scarce resources and marketing, and dynamic capabilities necessary to build marketing performance to achieve strategic objectives. It is a set of marketing mechanisms that leads to take full advantage of resources and capabilities to achieve marketing objectives and build long relationships with the customer (Josephson et al., 2015;Ahmed, 2019).

Types of Marketing Ambidexterity
Some researchers such as Chang et al. (2009), Josephson et al. (2015 mentioned two types of marketing ambidexterity: structural ambidexterity and contextual one. While Prange and Schlegelmilch (2009) identified four main types of marketing ambidexterity: structural ambidexterity, focused ambidexterity, contextual ambidexterity, and individual ambidexterity. Each of these four types will be reviewed below: -Structural Marketing Ambidexterity: It's achieved by motivating organizations to adopt structural mechanisms that match their competition requirements to achieve harmonization and adaptability by creating separate structures for different types of activities. According to Josephson et al. (2015), the organization can be ambidextrous at separating exploration and exploitation activities into marketing opportunities for strategic integration, such as giving basic units responsibility for harmonizing existing products and markets, while giving research and development unit, and business development group the responsibility for exploring new markets. Finally, structural marketing ambidexterity contributes to short-term capabilities management, long-term growth and improving competition conditions for scarce resources to improve marketing performance.
-Contextual Marketing Ambidexterity: The organization's ability to optimal utilization of opportunities, and seeking for new opportunities through contextual marketing ambidexterity rather than structural marketing ambidexterity, it's an expression of the behavioral ability harmonization and adaptation to marketing and competitive reality. According to Prange and Schlegelmilch (2009) contextual marketing offers marketing solutions that enable organizations to become proficient and distinct through the optimal utilization of available resources by encouraging employees to divide their time to accomplish of contradicting marketing tasks such as participating in the development of new business, reviewing sales or services activities, or engaging customers in the ongoing product development process.
-Concentrated Marketing Ambidexterity: focuses on the contemporary business and the dynamic capabilities of organizations, to integrate, build, and restructuring scarce resources which are an integral part of organizational capabilities improvement. The primary purpose of concentrated marketing ambidexterity is to clearly distinguish a specific activity that helps in achieving organization's goals in medium term (Josephson et al., 2015).
-Individual Marketing Ambidexterity: depends on the search for the knowledge flows necessary to effectively integrate the activities of the marketing exploration and exploitation. The individual marketing ambidexterity focuses on developing the intellectual capabilities of the intellectual capital to motivate them to suggest the necessary and innovative ideas that affect the activities of exploring and exploiting marketing opportunities.

Marketing Ambidexterity Dimensions
Through the review of the contemporary marketing literature it became clear that there are several marketing ambidexterity dimensions, which can be clarified as follows:

Exploration of opportunities (looking for new opportunities)
Marketing based on exploration, research, experimentation, and development of new opportunities and knowledge through activities related to innovation, research and development will be better able to face competitors and environmental changes (Josephson et al., 2015). Panda and Rath (2016) pointed out that organizations which explore new opportunities and moving towards them quickly, and be ready to adapt in volatile markets, will gain new customers and markets, and will create new distribution channels. Looy et al. (2005) pointed out that exploring for new opportunities aims at developing new products, and creating innovative products, or services that enable organizations through research to explore new markets, new customers, and new distribution outlets. While Zain et al. (2005) pointed out that Opportunities to explore opportunities require expenditures and investments in financial and monetary resources, decentralization application, and broad cultures.

Exploitation of opportunities
The exploitation of opportunities depends on selection, production and application. The units of exploitation are more centralized, and processes associated with innovative systems which are exploited through continuous change, achievement of efficiency, and strict control (Josephson et al., 2015;Chen & Ling, 2010). Exploitation of opportunities represents the organization's ability to improve activities to create value by providing customers' requirements in current market, expanding existing knowledge and skills, expanding both existing products and services, expanding and improving distribution channels, and exploiting opportunities such as: -Opportunities exploited through increased sales -(sales growth), -Marketing products in new places -(Market Development), -Improving existing products -(Product Development), -Exploiting opportunities through diversification, -Increase market share through the integration of the organization with other organizations.

Marketing flexibility
Flexibility is a broad term that reflects the overall capabilities of the organization to adapt or change, which enabling it to take actions to respond to environmental changes (Shahhoseinl & Ramayana, 2015). Or its the organization ability to study changes in the external environment and quickly allocate resources to new actions as a reaction and response to these changes. This is the ability of the organization to meet customers' needs and wishes quickly, e.g.: introducing new products in time, and rapid formulation of strategic alliances. Market flexibility is also the ability of the organization to respond to change in the needs and desires of customers in different markets. (Awwad, 2009). It represents the ability and responsiveness of the organization to modify and change its products according to the change in customers' needs and desires in different markets. Marketing flexibility provides an opportunity for the company to focus on the market, generating a competitive advantage in being proactive in terms of products and markets (Prange & Schlegelmilch, 2009;Al-Kahtani, 2018).

The Concept of Marketing Performance
Researchers' views to the concept of marketing performance varied according to their intellectual background, different criteria, metrics to be measured, and marketing objectives and trends to be determined by the organization. From an organization's point of view, and the level of achievement of its marketing objectives, marketing performance defined as: the extent to which the organization achieves its objectives within the marketing plan, in line with environmental variables, and in accordance to its appropriate standards correspond to its possibilities, material and human resources (Al-Taweel & Al-Abbadi ,2013). From the competition point of view marketing performance defined as: Meeting the performance of an organization with the performance of its competitors to identify its strengths and strengthen them, and identify and eliminate weaknesses in order to achieve competitive advantages to the organization (Jatheer,& Al-Qaisi, 2013). It is also defined as: the extent to which the marketing objectives of the organization are achieved, and its success in gaining, retaining, and maintaining the customers preferences and stakeholders' objectives (Jatheer & Al-Qaisi,2013). This definition looks at marketing performance from the customer's point of view. That is, the marketing performance of the organization is expressed to by the extent of success in obtaining customers and gaining their loyalty. It's also defined as: an important tool to make organizations more competitive in the market, and it is as a compass which points to the trends of improvement required in the operations of the organization (Al-Shuwaili, & Al-Rubaiewi,2014). Based on the last definition mentioned, it can be said that marketing performance is a means of measuring the competitiveness of an organization, an indicator to determine the directions of its activities if they are in the right way or need deviations correction and improvements to achieve the organizational marketing objectives.

Definition of Marketing Performance Evaluation in An Organization
The evaluation of marketing performance is defined as: "Recognizing the extent to which actual marketing performance conforms to predetermined marketing standards, so as to provide a vivid picture of what is actually happening, and the extent to which objectives have been successfully achieved, and plans implemented, to ensure taking the appropriate action to improve performance (Berkani, 2014). It is also defined as: Determining the level of performance of the marketing department functions during a certain period of time in order to know the deviations (Boukrit, 2011). The marketing review term is defined as: Periodic, comprehensive, independent and regular examination (check) of the environment, mission, goals, marketing strategy and productivity through appropriate and independent marketing expertise from within or outside the organization, to provide evaluation and proposed development of marketing performance to achieve the best position of the organization in the market (Osama, 2013;Hai et al., 2018).

Marketing Performance Evaluation Criteria
The continuation and growth of the organization in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment requires to conduct a continuous evaluation of its marketing performance. However, this evaluation process is often complicated because it faces the challenges of varying interpretation of the concept and its multiple dimensions, besides, the lack of agreement between researchers and writers on fixed and specific standards that explain all aspects of the organization's marketing performance. For example, Hamouda sees it as: customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, return on investment, and market share (Hamouda, & Saadou, 2014). While Al-Bakri (2015) divided marketing performance standards into two parts: -Financial criteria: market share, sales, and profits.
-Non-financial criteria: customer retention, customer attraction, and customer satisfaction. Whereas Faisal and Naji, classified them into two sections (Faisal & Naji, 2011): -Financial output metrics: cash flow, return on investment and return on sales.
-Non-financial output metrics: market share, customer satisfaction, marketing innovation and customer loyalty.
Despite the differences in the researcher's and writer's views of the criteria for evaluating marketing performance, most of them agree on four criteria: market share, profitability, sales growth, and customer satisfaction:

Market Share
Market share refers to the percentage of an organization's sales to the total sales of its sector. Market share can be measured in terms of the number of customers, or the monetary value of the organization's sales for each product or service relative to the monetary value of total sales in the market. (Hamouda, 2014).

Profitability
It represents the level of profits achieved by the organization in comparison with competitors. The current value of the organization profits is related to its market value and is considered the initial objective and the best measure of efficiency in the competitive work. It's also considered a sufficient indicator of current competitiveness, and a measure of return in the form of dividends earned by shareholders (Yahya, 2012).

Sales Growth
This dimension takes a key role in senior management strategies in organization, besides, it's the most common goal for managers, organization must have a wide range of objectives, including sales growth to achieve their financial goals effectively (Al-Taweel & Al-Abbadi ,2013).

Customer Satisfaction
As a good measure of marketing performance, customer satisfaction is a very important dimension in organization. customer satisfaction is defined as: Customer perception resulting from a comparison between the perceived performance of the product and expected one. Or it's the sentiment which reflects the level of satisfaction resulting from the product's performance, and to which extent it conforms psychologically to the expectations of the customer at the moment of its consumption, when the performance of the product is equal to what the customer expects, then he is satisfied (Abdul Hafizi, 2009). It can be said that satisfaction is a function of the difference between performance and expectations, and therefore there are three levels of satisfaction can be deduced from the comparison (Abdul Hafizi, 2009;Nguyễn, 2019): If the performance is less than the customer's expectations, then we have dissatisfied customer. If the performance is equal to Customer's expectations, then we have satisfied customer. If the performance is greater than the customer's expectations, then we have very satisfied customer.

The problem of the study
At present, with the weak use of marketing tools by organizations in telecommunication sector, and with the intense competition in providing services and seeking to add value to customers through the adoption of modern marketing tools, marketing ambidexterity becomes the non-traditional marketing tool to be adopted, to enable organizations to achieve their objectives. Therefore, the problem of this study is to: determine the effect of marketing ambidexterity on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.
The problem has been crystallized by asking the following questions: -To what extent, telecom companies in Jordan interested in practice of marketing ambidexterity? -To what extent, telecom companies in Jordan interested on improvement of their marketing performance? -Do marketing ambidexterity dimensions have effect on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan?

Importance of the study
The importance of the study lies in the importance of its variables (marketing ambidexterity and marketing capabilities), especially in a competitive environment.
1. Select a marketing tool that enables business organizations to retain their existing customers and attract new customers. 2. Highlight the effect of marketing ambidexterity dimensions on improvement of the marketing performance, as one of the marketing tools that adopt the exploitation of current marketing opportunities, and discover future marketing opportunities in a way that makes telecom companies in Jordan able to face the challenges in the telecommunication sector. 3. On the other hand the study is gaining importance since it reveals and diagnosis of the effect of marketing ambidexterity on improvement of marketing performance in the practical side.

Objectives of the study
This study aims to achieve the following objectives: 1. Reveal the effect of marketing ambidexterity dimensions on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. 2. Identify the level of interest of marketing ambidexterity dimensions, and marketing performance evaluation criteria by telecom companies in Jordan. 3. Introduce the concept, types, and dimensions of marketing ambidexterity. 4. Introduce the concept, definitions, and evaluation criteria of marketing performance. 5. Deduce a number of recommendations with respect to the study subject.

The hypotheses of the study
There is main hypothesis and three sub-hypotheses formulated as follows: The main hypothesis: Ho: There is no statistically significant effect of the whole marketing ambidexterity dimensions (exploring opportunities, exploiting opportunities, marketing flexibility) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.

The sub-hypothesis
H01: There is no statistically significant effect of exploring opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. H02: There is no statistically significant effect of exploiting opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. H03: There is no statistically significant effect of marketing flexibility on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.

Methodology of the study
The study relied on the descriptive-analytical approach to describe, and analyze the effect of marketing ambidexterity dimensions on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.

Population and Sample
The population of the study consisted of marketing managers in telecom companies in Jordan: Zain, Orange and Umniah. A purposeful sample of (45) marketing managers who represent marketing departments in telecom companies have been selected, and a questionnaire were distributed. Total of (42) valid questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed. Hence, manager can be regarded as the unit of analysis for this study.

Data Collection Tools
To collect data for the current study and its variables, a questionnaire was designed, it included (43) statements to measure the effect of marketing ambidexterity on improvement of the marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.

Sources for Obtaining Data
Two basic sources of data have been adopted: 1. Secondary data sources: To address the applied framework of the study through relying on literature review, references, internet, and periodicals relevant to the study in order to clarify basic concepts related to the study. 2. Primary data sources: To address the analytical aspects of the study, through relying on the questionnaire as the main tool of the study, this was specially designed for this purpose and distributed to a sample of marketing managers in the companies studied.

The Statistical Analysis Methods Used:
Since the study is descriptive, and analytical, the most corresponding statistical methods, (descriptive and inferential), that appropriate to the nature of the data available, have been used, for the purpose of analyzing variables and testing hypotheses of the study, they are: 1-Descriptive statistics (mean, and standard deviations) to describe the sample responses with regard to marketing ambidexterity dimensions. 2-Multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses of the study (the effect of marketing ambidexterity dimensions on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan).

Validity and Reliability
1. (Validity) means the ability of the instrument to measure the variables that are designed to measure. Questionnaire has been introduced to a number of specialists in marketing studies to ascertain the validity of the instrument. 2. The reliability of the tool: refers to the possibility of obtaining the same results if the measurement re-evaluated under the availability of similar circumstances and by using the same tool for the measurement tool. A Cronbach Alpha test was used to ensure the instrument's reliability. The value was (.892) for the questionnaire. All values are accepted since they are more than 0.60 (Sekaran, 2003). The results of this test are shown in Table 1 below. .875 20 All of the independent variables (marketing ambidexterity dimensions).
Source: Prepared by researcher based on SPSS.V22 outputs.
The results of the reliability test in Table 1 indicate that Cranach's Alpha ratio for all variables, whether independent or dependent, and whether totally or individually ranged between (.787 -.892.). These ratios indicated a very high probability of obtaining the same results in case of re-testing under conditions similar to those of the test. The results of statistical analysis for the relative interest of the whole marketing ambidexterity dimensions in telecom companies in Jordan indicated a high level of interest in practice, with a general mean equal to (3.84) and a Standard deviation equal to (.07036). The values of the mean were respectively (3.91) with Standard deviation equal to (.21461) for exploring opportunities, (3.85) with Standard deviation equal to (.34826) for exploiting opportunities, and (3.77) with Standard deviation equal to (.14702) for marketing flexibility. The results of statistical analysis for the relative interest of the whole marketing performance dimensions in telecom companies in Jordan indicated a high level of interest in improvement, with a general mean (3.87) and a Standard deviation equal to (.15843). The values of the mean were respectively (4.08) with Standard deviation equal to (.40217) for market share, (3.86) with Standard deviation equal to (.17145) for customer satisfaction, (3.82) with Standard deviation equal to (.43863) for Sales growth, and (3.70) with Standard deviation equal to (.87594) for Profitability.

Hypotheses Testing
The main hypothesis Ho: There is no statistically significant effect of all marketing ambidexterity dimensions (exploring opportunities, exploiting opportunities, marketing flexibility) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.
Multiple regression analysis was used to verify the effect of all marketing ambidexterity dimensions on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan, and Table 4 illustrates the test results. It is clear from the data in the above table that all of the independent variables (exploring opportunities, exploiting opportunities, and marketing flexibility) had a statistically significant effect at the level (a ≤ 0.05) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. The values of Beta (β) were respectively: (.227) , (.388), (.576), and this result was also confirmed through the values of T calculated which were respectively:(2.874), with a sig (.005);(4.140), with a sig (.000); and (7.360), with a sig (.000).

The first sub-hypothesis
Ho1: There is no statistically significant effect of exploring opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. Multiple regression analysis was used to verify the effect of exploring opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan, and Table 5 illustrates the test results. It is clear from the data in the above table that the independent variable (exploring opportunities) had a statistically significant effect at the level (α ≤ 0.05) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. The values of Beta (β) were :(.750) and this result was also confirmed through the values of T calculated which were:(8.624), with a sig (.000).

The second sub-hypothesis
H02: There is no statistically significant effect at the level (a ≤ 0.05) of exploiting opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan.
Multiple regression analysis was used to verify the effect of exploiting opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan, and Table 6 illustrates the test results. It is clear from the data in the above table that the independent variable (exploiting opportunities) had a statistically significant effect at the level (α ≤ 0.05) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. The values of Beta (β) were :(.742) and this result was also confirmed through the values of T calculated which were: (8.426), with a sig (.000).

The third sub-hypothesis
H03: There is no statistically significant effect at the level (α ≤ 0.05) of marketing flexibility practice on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. Multiple regression analysis was used to verify the effect of marketing flexibility on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan, and Table 7 illustrates the test results. It is clear from the data in the above table that the independent variable (marketing flexibility) had a statistically significant effect at the level (α ≤ 0.05) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan. The values of Beta (β) were :( .823) and this result was also confirmed through the values of T calculated which were: (11.037), with a sig (.000).

Discussion and conclusion
This section contains the main findings, and marketing implications of the study that can be summarized as follows: While there are similarities and consistencies between the current study, and most of the previous ones (e.g. AL Mosawi, 2017;Prange & Bruyaka, 2016;Prange & Schlegelmilch, 2009;Al-Bakri, 2015) in studying marketing ambidexterity and its dimensions on one side, and improvement of marketing performance from the other side, the present study is differentiated from them in its goals, assumptions, and methods of statistical analysis used, since it is applied in a different environment, in a different culture, and in a different population which reflect the ability to practice marketing ambidexterity to attain improvement of marketing performance in developing country such as Jordan. The most important results of the study can be summarized as follows: 1. There is a high level of interest of marketing ambidexterity dimensions (exploring opportunities, exploiting opportunities, marketing flexibility) practice in telecom companies in Jordan (Table 2). 2. There is a high level of interest of marketing performance improvement in telecom companies in Jordan (Table 3). 3. There is a statistically significant effect of the whole marketing ambidexterity dimensions (exploring opportunities, exploiting opportunities, marketing flexibility) on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan (Table  4). 4. There is a statistically significant effect exploring opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan s (Table 5). 5. There is a statistically significant effect of exploiting opportunities on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan (Table 6). 6.There is a statistically significant effect of marketing flexibility on improvement of marketing performance in telecom companies in Jordan (Table 7).

Recommendations
A set of recommendations has been presented and can be summarized as follows: 1.Telecom companies in Jordan have to reinforce the practice of exploring of opportunities as a marketing ambidexterity dimension to play a major role in reaching new markets and targeting new customers. 2.Telecom companies in Jordan have to reinforce the practice of exploitation of opportunities as a marketing ambidexterity dimension to play a major role in providing customers' requirements in current market, expanding existing knowledge and skills, expanding both existing products and services, expanding and improving of distribution channels, and exploiting opportunities in increasing sales, market development, product development, and diversification. 3.Telecom companies in Jordan have to reinforce the practice of marketing flexibility as a marketing ambidexterity dimension to play a major role in studying and anticipating changes in the external environment and quickly allocate resources to new actions as a reaction and response to these changes, besides, the ability to anticipate changes in customers demand, and meet their needs and wishes in the right place and time.