Little is known about the uptake of strategic marketing planning in golf clubs. Thus, based on a sample of 307 Australian, New Zealand and British golf clubs, this study examines the application of the normative model of strategic marketing planning and its associated marketing practices to golf club administration. Using information derived from golf club managers/secretaries, it investigates both the extent to which strategic marketing practices have been adopted as well as their contribution to golf organisation business performance. The results are highly supportive of the conventional wisdom as to the ingredients of strategic marketing success. Compared with their lower performing counterparts, the higher performing golf clubs are clearly more active in executing a wide range of strategic marketing practices. However, the results also indicate that there is much scope for golf clubs to do more and better strategic marketing. In the face of a challenging operating environment golf club management can take heart from these results: embracing strategic marketing planning is a beneficial business practice that can help improve long-term club viability.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which strategic marketing planning is carried out by Australasian golf clubs and the impact such planning has upon their business performance.Design/methodology/approachA research methodology borrowed from the “for profit” sector is applied. In total, ten basic strategic marketing practices, each with its own hypothesis, are investigated through a web‐based survey of secretaries/managers of 180 Australian and New Zealand golf clubs.FindingsAnalysis shows that while strategic marketing is being adopted by most clubs, compared with their lower‐performing counterparts (on measures of competitive business performance), the higher‐performing clubs place a far greater emphasis upon each of the ten basic strategic marketing practices.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the survey had a 24 per cent response rate, a small follow‐up survey of non‐respondents showed no significant difference in answers to four crucial questions. Self‐reported, relative performance measures, widely used in the “for profit” sector, have been utilised. The ten basic strategic marketing practices are assumed to be antecedents of success rather than a consequence of such success.Originality/valueIn addition to providing initial understanding of the extent of strategic marketing planning practice in a sport management context in Australasia, this paper identifies those practices which differentiate higher competitive business performance from lower performance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.