When Macroeconomic Conditions Influence Marketing Investments

Abstract

Although macroeconomic conditions are recognized as factors that influences country’s performance, little is known about how companies from different sectors absorb such impacts. Using the myopic marketing theory, the paper goal is to analyze the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and marketing investments in Brazilian companies. The sample consists of 183 Brazilian companies with quarterly financial data, obtained from Economatica, and macroeconomic data, obtained from IpeaData (2010 to 2020). First, the results indicate that GDP, interest rates and consumer confidence are positively related, and the exchange rate and unemployment showed a negative relationship with marketing investments. Second, the impact of these relationships differs across sectors. Third, the results demonstrate that the level of investments and expansion of marketing investments depend on macroeconomic conditions, indicating which contexts influence the discretionary treatment of the marketing budget.