In general, findings in the market orientation research stream indicate that market orientation has a positive linear relationship with business success, and managers have been urged to be more market oriented, regardless of the firm's current market orientation level. The authors develop a theory that predicts that the relationship between market orientation and business performance is an inverted U shape, such that high levels of market orientation may reduce performance. The authors’ empirical study of firms’ export market-oriented (EMO) activities in their export operations finds support for the hypothesized inverted U-shaped relationship between EMO behavior and export sales performance. They show that the inverted U-shaped relationship becomes greater in magnitude (more pronounced) as market dynamism increases and that the optimal value of EMO behavior (i.e., the value that generates the highest performance return) decreases as market dynamism increases and increases as exporting firms’ internationalization increases. Therefore, they conclude that management's task is not to aim for ever-increasing levels of market orientation but to manage market orientation so that its level is optimal given the firm's environment and the international diversification strategy being pursued.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual frameworks and concepts with which the research on internationalization patterns of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) should be conducted.Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive overview of concepts and a conceptual framework to study internationalization patterns of SMEs is offered.Findings: The complexities of existing definitions and methodologies for researching internationalization patterns are highlighted, and a synthesis of the issues is provided. An integrative model of internationalization pathways, and their antecedents and outcomes is presented.Research limitations/implications: It is recommended that future research focuses especially on the time dimension of internationalization patterns. Future research can contribute to the literature by adopting a longitudinal approach with larger samples and more detailed cases to capture the dynamics of internationalization.Practical implications: Practitioners might map their positions, and look for challenges and opportunities with regard to their chosen internationalization pattern. They can also benchmark other firms’ pathways and fine‐tune their own approach to internationalization.Originality/value: The paper integrates a large body of research in an important research area in international marketing. It also provides guidance on how to conduct future research in the area, and introduces the content of this special issue of the International Marketing Review.

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to examine online brand relationships, and the linkage between satisfaction, trust, and loyalty on the web site level. The web site is considered to be an extension of the parent brand. It also seeks to explore the effects of offline experiences on web site‐level experiences.Design/methodology/approach: Hierarchical regression analysis is applied in order to test the hypotheses. The data are based on an online survey (n=867) conducted on a Finnish consumer‐magazine web site.Findings: The research findings support the results of earlier studies suggesting that satisfaction and trust on the web site level are determinants of web site loyalty. However, they also show that brand‐level experiences affect online satisfaction, trust, and loyalty differently, depending on the consumers' relationship with the brand. Interestingly, in this case the length of user history and registration on the web site had a negative effect on web site trust. Two of the reasons behind this type of result are believed to be the prevalent culture in web site discussion forums and the degree of fit between the parent brand and the brand extension.Originality/value: The paper synthesises the literature on online and offline brand relationships and brand extension. The results of the study, which was based on a large‐scale survey, give researchers and practising managers alike valuable information on how parent‐brand experiences relate to the attitudes and commitment of customers to online brand extensions. The context of the study, i.e. the magazine publishing industry, has attracted less research attention, even though several publishers have extended their brands online.