Strategic fit and marketing strategy: aligning business goals with marketing practices
Eric M. Olson, Andrew J. Czaplewski, Kai M. Olson, Venkateshwar K. ReddyPurpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between business strategy types and marketing organization architecture elements. Empirical research spanning three decades highlights how marketing strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation practices impact firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data of senior marketing managers (e.g. V.P., Director) across multiple studies.
Findings
Findings suggest that optimal marketing performance is achieved when marketing strategies align with overarching business strategies.
Research limitations/implications
Data accumulated across studies come from different firms, thus cannot be merged into a single data file.
Practical implications
Ten empirical studies examined the impact of marketing department policies and practices on the implementation of four alternative business strategies (i.e. Prospectors, Analyzers, Low Cost Defenders, Differentiated Defenders). This paper identifies those factors across the ten studies that have the greatest impact on overall firm performance, giving marketing managers practical insights on what matters most.
Social implications
Higher performing companies increase the wealth for owners as well as create jobs and advancement opportunities for workers.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper is that it identifies those factors most directly associated with overall firm performance from across ten empirical studies conducted over three decades. Where previous publications focused on the impact on firm performance for just one topic (e.g. organizational structure), this paper considers all of the previously studied factors, providing marketing managers with one macro view of strategic marketing rather than numerous micro views.