Abstract The relationship between two types of product proliferation (across-niche product proliferation and within-niche product proliferation) strategies, and the moderating effect of product complexity on product proliferation strategies and firm performance are investigated based on the panel data of 32 car firms from the year of 2008 to 2012 in China. Results show that the correlation between the two types of product proliferation and firm performance changed from being negative to positive, indicating there exists a U-shaped relationship between these two types of product proliferation and firm performance. Results also indicate that the product complexity can strengthen the relationship between across-niche product proliferation strategies and firm performance, and weaken the relationship between within-niche product proliferation strategies and firm performance. Therefore, an enterprise should choose proper product proliferation strategies and take full advantage of the moderating effect of product complexity based on their own positions in market, and it might yield twice the result with half the effort in firm performance.
2015, Vol. 12 
