MARKETING IS TACTICS, STRATEGY AND CULTURE

Marketing is Tactics, Strategy and Culture

Marketing is Tactics, Strategy and Culture

Introduction

Existing studies concerning the effects of marketing on firm performance have been conducted primarily in the areas of market-orientation and marketing strategy studies. Recently, efforts have been made in investigating the integrated effects of these two factors on firm performance (Appia-Adu, 1999). As part of these efforts, this study employed market-oriented culture and the marketing strategy making process of a firm as constituents of its marketing competence, and, based on reviews of related literature, developed relationship between market-oriented culture and the marketing strategy making process, and finally verified the suggested relationship by surveying managerial personnel from a range of firms (Ayers, 2007). It was found that market-oriented culture does not only affect firm performance directly, but does so indirectly by affecting the marketing strategy making process.

Discussion

Culture is the way that we do things around here. Culture could relate to a country (national culture), a distinct section of the community (sub-culture), or an organization (corporate culture) (Baker, 1999). It is widely accepted that you are not born with a culture, and that it is learned. So, culture includes all that we have learned in relation to values and norms, customs and traditions, beliefs and religions, rituals and artefacts (i.e. tangible symbols of a culture, such as the Sydney Opera House or the Great Wall of China).

Marketing as a reflection of corporate culture e addresses the degree to which the customer's values and beliefs are embedded within the organization and in its marketing activities (Webster, 2005). Studies of marketing as a reflection of firm culture have outlined the relationship between the execution of the marketing concept and firm performance (Bigne, 2000). However, marketing as factor of a firm culture has not been approached as direct cause of ...