A Model of Marketing Knowledge Use within Firms

Menon, Anil; Varadarajan, P. Rajan

doi:10.2307/1251986

Cited by 461 publications

(464 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…With increasing turbulence, the need for information processing increases (Tushman & Nadler, 1978), as does the level of information exchange (Daft & Lengel, 1986;Menon & Varadarajan, 1992). Dynamic environments create the need for differentiation and integration of information (Khandwalla, 1973;Miller & Friesen, 1983).…”

Section: Determinants and Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the organization's sensemaking capability: Precursor to an adaptive strategic marketing response

Neill

McKee

Rose

2007

Industrial Marketing Management

110

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Effective strategic planning demands that organizations develop an understanding of the forces shaping the situation by engaging the collective efforts and interpretive capabilities of various representatives of the organization. This study investigates the mechanisms by which such an understanding develops and, subsequently, shapes marketing strategy. Specifically, organizations are examined as sensemaking units stimulated by perceived environmental turbulence, cultural open-mindedness, and team functional diversity. These factors are modeled as determinants of an organization's sensemaking capability, which is comprised of communicative, interpretive, and analytical dimensions. This study argues that a developed sensemaking capability increases the potential range of strategic responses and, ultimately, enhances customer-based performance. The results from a sample of wholesale distributors suggest that organizations that maintain greater internal variety are better able to sense and respond to the environment.

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Section: Determinants and Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the organization's sensemaking capability: Precursor to an adaptive strategic marketing response

Neill

McKee

Rose

2007

Industrial Marketing Management

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Equivocality is thus a product of openness rather than a characteristic of a single data set. While multiple studies (e.g., Deshpande and Zaltman, 1982;Low and Mohr, 2001;Menon and Varadarajan, 1992;Morgan et al, 2005;Moorman, 1995) have made important contributions to our understanding of how various factors affect market information use, far less is known about how organizations manage the equivocal situations that result from market information. And yet, several studies have observed that managers rely on equivocal information when making nonroutine decisions (Daft and Macintosh, 1981;Lee et al, 1987;Perkins and Rao, 1990).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving adaptive ends through equivocality: A study of organizational antecedents and consequences

Neill¹,

Rose²

2007

Journal of Business Research

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Confronting complex situations is the hallmark of strategic decision-making. While these situations may be perceived as equivocal, organizations must cope, act, and thrive within such ambiguities. This study explores the manifestation and regulation of equivocality during strategic marketing decision-making. The results indicate that organizations that tolerate ambiguity perceive greater equivocality in problem situations and exhibit greater adaptive behavior; however, the findings come with a caveat: while experienced firms may enjoy these benefits, the situation is more complex for firms with limited product-market knowledge.Keywords: Marketing decisions; Equivocality; Innovation; Performance; Knowledge In dynamic environments, understanding is transitory. Given the novel, complex, and indefinite nature of strategic decisions (Mintzberg et al., 1976), organizations may benefit from an open and broad interpretive capability in order to effectively model and adapt to external forces. Formulaic thinking is better suited to closed-systems where maintenance and stability are present and learning is not necessary. The challenge is in managing and remaining attuned to the equivocal inputs that manifest during strategic decision-making in information intensive environ ments while not succumbing to equivocality's befuddling effect. While prior studies (e.g., Day, 1994;Sinkula et al., 1997) suggest that the organization should broaden its perception and be open-minded, unresolved is the mechanism that allows for the emergence of equivocality without succumbing to its disorient ing nature, which might dampen performance.This study examines the relationship between organizational interpretation and action by capturing both the emergence and effect of equivocality during strategic marketing decisionmaking. The paper directly examines equivocality and its ante cedents and consequences. Equivocality is defined as a problem situation with multiple, possibly contradictory, interpretations that manifest during decision-making (Daft and Lengel, 1986). When viewed as interpretation systems (Daft and Weick, 1984), organizations may be challenged when confronted with equivo cality. Thus, several questions guide this research: 1) what are the organizational levers to equivocality and strategic change? 2) how do organizations regulate equivocality during strategic marketing decision-making? and 3) what are the consequences of equivocality? To examine these questions, we first present a conceptual framework and develop hypotheses, then describe the study method. After reporting the analyses and results, we discuss the study's findings, limitations, and implications.

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“…Market intelligence research shows that the ability to use stored information is at the heart of competitive advantage in marketing. 46 From the marketing orientation literature, customer information dissemination and use is the ability to transfer information in two dimensions in the organisation: within the entire marketing unit and across functional areas. 47 Information passing smoothly from one person to another within a function, and from one area to the next, say from R&D to operations to marketing and sales and back again, increases the likelihood that both Data quality has been a concern in the context of information processing for a long time, as it directly impacts both cost and learning potential.…”

Section: Information Dissemination: Move and Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The IT and marketing quality literature suggested a number of common items for assessing quality: accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness and relevance. 52,53 Aspects of information specificity were identified from the direct marketing and relationship marketing literature. The marketing intelligence and marketing orientation literature were the sources of items for information dissemination and use.…”

Section: Information Dissemination: Move and Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Information antecedents of personalisation and customisation in business-to-business service markets

Zahay

Griffin

2003

J Database Mark Cust Strategy Manag

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A Model of Marketing Knowledge Use within Firms

Cited by 461 publications

References 46 publications

Developing the organization's sensemaking capability: Precursor to an adaptive strategic marketing response

Developing the organization's sensemaking capability: Precursor to an adaptive strategic marketing response

Achieving adaptive ends through equivocality: A study of organizational antecedents and consequences

Information antecedents of personalisation and customisation in business-to-business service markets

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