Volume 31, Number 2, 2026

An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing the Development of Positioning Strategy in a B2B Context

Irfan Butt ^a,*, Anthony Francescucci ^a, Uma Kumar ^b, Vinod Kumar  ^c, Monalisa Salam ^d, Aliya Bushra ^d
a Associate Professor, Marketing, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
^b Chancellor’s Professor, Technology and Operations Management, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
^c Professor, Supply Chain Management, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
^d Research Associate, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
^a Irfan.butt@torontomu.ca
^a  a.frances@torontomu.ca
^b UmaKumar@cunet.carleton.ca
^c VinodKumar@cunet.carleton.ca
^d monalisa.salam@torontomu.ca
^d a_aylz@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study empirically examines the factors firms consider when developing positioning strategies and assesses the impact of positioning strategy dimensions on financial and non-financial performance. The study adopts a firm-side perspective within a business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing context, where empirical research on positioning strategy development remains limited.
Methodology: Data were collected from a random sample of senior managers from 194 manufacturing firms operating in the Canadian technology sector. Principal Component Analysis was used for scale purification, followed by hierarchical regression analyses to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings: The results indicate that positioning strategy development is influenced by customer orientation, competitor orientation, innovation orientation, environmental dynamism, and marketing capabilities, although their effects vary across positioning dimensions. Marketing capabilities and innovation orientation exhibit particularly strong relationships with several positioning strategies. In terms of performance outcomes, brand-focused positioning shows the strongest association with both financial and non-financial performance, while price-based positioning does not exhibit a significant effect.
Originality: This study contributes to the positioning literature by examining positioning strategy development and performance outcomes within a B2B manufacturing context. By integrating strategic orientations, organizational capabilities, and environmental conditions into a single empirical framework, the study offers a more comprehensive understanding of the firm-side positioning process.
Sustainability Considerations: Sustainability was not examined in this study. However, two constructs central to the framework, innovation orientation and environmental dynamism, offer a natural avenue for extending it toward sustainability, since environmentally driven change and innovation-based differentiation are increasingly intertwined. This is framed here as a direction for future research rather than an empirical finding of the present study.
 

JEL Classifications: M30, M31, L11
 

Keywords: Business administration, Marketing Capability, Innovation, Positioning Strategy, Customer Orientation, Competitor Orientation, Environmental Dynamism 
 

Cite this article: 

Butt, I., Francescucci, A., Kumar, U., Kumar, V., Salam, M., & Bushra, A., 2026, “An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing the Development of Positioning Strategy in a B2B Context,” International Journal of Business, 31(2), 003. https://doi.org/10.55802/IJB.031(2).003