Research at the Marketing Interface to Advance Entrepreneurship Theory

Abstract

The knowledge base for the emerging field of entrepreneurship should be interfunctional and interdisciplinary. Yet the functional discipline of marketing has contributed to the entrepreneurship field in only recent years. And entrepreneurship researchers and writers often address marketing superficially, without an awareness of sophisticated marketing concepts and methods. The objectives of this article are to identify key tangencies at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface, to provide relevant research sources, and to selectively convey illustrative marketing knowledge. Because length constraints prevent In-depth attention to any subject, breadth over depth is our objective. There are three major sections in this paper. First, the marketing/entrepreneurship interface is defined, with attention to various schools of marketing thought and their potential value to the entrepreneurship field. Secondly, unique tangencies with the buyer behavior literature are discussed and venture ideas and their evaluation (product research) are highlighted. Finally, the marketing strategy literature is reviewed as it potentially contributes to new venture development. In addition, other Important interfaces are briefly discussed.

The marketing-entrepreneurship paradox: A frequency-domain analysis

“…Almost a decade and a half later, after numerous researches of many authors, some of them who were optimistic (e.g., claimed that the relationship between entrepreneurship and marketing should still be examined, while others (e.g., Miles, Crispin, & Kasouf, 2011) pointed out that it is diffi cult to defi ne the entrepreneurship-marketing link. There exist signifi cant areas of overlap between the marketing discipline and the study of entrepreneurship, and managers should be prepared to "borrow boldly" from marketing in order to advance the theory of entrepreneurship (Hills & LaForge, 1992).…”

“…Marketing and entrepreneurship are broadening their fi eld of synergic activity, but some gaps in this interaction still remain (Bhuian, Menguc, & Bell, 2005). Numerous studies have indicated the link between marketing and entrepreneurship (Murray, 1981;Morris & Paul, 1987;Herron, Sapienza, & Smith-Cook, 1992;Hills & LaForge, 1992;Becherer & Maurer, 1998;Morris, Schindehutte & LaForge, 2002;Kraus, Harms, & Fink, 2010;Gilmore, 2011Kurgun, Bagiran, Ozeren, & Maral, 2011;Morrish, 2011;Busenitz, Plummer, Klotz, Shahzad, & Rhoads, 2014), but a number of research question have remained underexplored. This paper addresses the relative scarcity of scholarly work that directly tests the causality in the frequency domain between the entrepreneurial activities and marketing in the function of gaining and maintaining distinctive market advantage of a company.…”

Exploring market orientation in new export ventures

“…The Marketing/ Entrepreneurship Interface Model (Hills and Laforge, 1992) emphasises the relationship between EO and MO. The manner in which companies choose to orient themselves when exposed to competition in international markets, greater complexity, dynamism and uncertainty is critical to their survival.…”

Academic Entrepreneurship: What Changes When Scientists Become Academic Entrepreneurs?

“…For the purposes of cross-cultural generalization Hills and LaForge (1992) have emphasized the importance of conducting entrepreneurship research in international contexts. In line with this suggestion the questionnaire was mailed at three different European universities, namely University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands), and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).…”