TY - JOUR
T1 - Is the marketing concept always necessary?
T2 - The effectiveness of customer, competitor and societal strategies in business environment types
AU - Ward, Steven
AU - Lewandowska, Aleksandra
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine which particular marketing strategies will work best in which particular business environments. It also aims to test a series of propositions that the choice of marketing strategy needs to be carefully considered so that it is appropriate for a set of environmental conditions, or business conditions. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs survey research, structural equation modelling and t-tests. Findings - Results in this study of 217 companies from Australia, Singapore, The Netherlands and China finds general support for the hypotheses that different environmental situations provide the suitable conditions for a customer, competitor or societal orientated strategy. In particular, customer-oriented strategies are most effective in placid clustered and turbulent environments, while competitor orientated strategies work best in a placid-clustered environment. Societal marketing based strategies were shown to be most effective in placid random and placid clustered environments. This suggests that firms may use social marketing strategies in a pre-emptive manner to maintain favourable environmental conditions for the organisation. Research limitations/implications - The findings are limited somewhat by the size and nature of the sample, although this compares well to other studies in the area of marketing orientation. The research shows the importance of the match of the environment type with the business strategy, as certain strategies are most effective in particular environmental conditions. Practical implications - Choice of an appropriate business strategy is moderated by the environment. Marketing-based business strategies are not always the most effective. In turbulent environments, customer-oriented strategies seem to be most effective. Societal marketing strategies seem to be used to manage and maintain placid environments or business conditions. Competitor-based strategies are best suited to placid-clustered environments, business conditions, which are favourable and therefore attract greater competition. Originality/value - This study also introduces an important measure of the societal orientation of the firm. It provides empirical supports the thesis that marketing strategies need to be tailored for the environment and so adds to the understanding of the interplay between the effectiveness of business strategies in different business conditions. There is not a great deal of research which suggests what type of marketing strategy is best suited to what type of environment. This paper makes an important contribution to this area.
AB - Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine which particular marketing strategies will work best in which particular business environments. It also aims to test a series of propositions that the choice of marketing strategy needs to be carefully considered so that it is appropriate for a set of environmental conditions, or business conditions. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs survey research, structural equation modelling and t-tests. Findings - Results in this study of 217 companies from Australia, Singapore, The Netherlands and China finds general support for the hypotheses that different environmental situations provide the suitable conditions for a customer, competitor or societal orientated strategy. In particular, customer-oriented strategies are most effective in placid clustered and turbulent environments, while competitor orientated strategies work best in a placid-clustered environment. Societal marketing based strategies were shown to be most effective in placid random and placid clustered environments. This suggests that firms may use social marketing strategies in a pre-emptive manner to maintain favourable environmental conditions for the organisation. Research limitations/implications - The findings are limited somewhat by the size and nature of the sample, although this compares well to other studies in the area of marketing orientation. The research shows the importance of the match of the environment type with the business strategy, as certain strategies are most effective in particular environmental conditions. Practical implications - Choice of an appropriate business strategy is moderated by the environment. Marketing-based business strategies are not always the most effective. In turbulent environments, customer-oriented strategies seem to be most effective. Societal marketing strategies seem to be used to manage and maintain placid environments or business conditions. Competitor-based strategies are best suited to placid-clustered environments, business conditions, which are favourable and therefore attract greater competition. Originality/value - This study also introduces an important measure of the societal orientation of the firm. It provides empirical supports the thesis that marketing strategies need to be tailored for the environment and so adds to the understanding of the interplay between the effectiveness of business strategies in different business conditions. There is not a great deal of research which suggests what type of marketing strategy is best suited to what type of environment. This paper makes an important contribution to this area.
KW - Business environment
KW - Competitors
KW - Marketing strategy
KW - Marketing theory
KW - Social marketing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=38949166772&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/03090560810840989
DO - 10.1108/03090560810840989
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:38949166772
SN - 0309-0566
VL - 42
SP - 222
EP - 237
JO - European Journal of Marketing
JF - European Journal of Marketing
IS - 1-2
ER -