It is commonly assumed that a prime purpose of developing research‐based marketing knowledge is that it should be useful to marketing managers and other practitioners. However, evidence suggests that academic marketing knowledge is only to a limited degree utilised in practical life. It is...

Purpose – Given that marketing practitioners often perceive theory as something abstract, with little relevance to their work, the objective is to explain why and how competent application of theory can be highly useful and even lead to competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach –...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how responding positively to requests from customers may lead firms astray, a neglected topic in past research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes a single case, describing how a business enterprise responded positively to a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify how IT managers' decision styles affect their evaluation of information technology. Design/methodology/approach – Four different decision styles were assessed in a leadership test directed towards IT managers. Each style included two...

The firm performs several functions, of which innovation is one. Development of new products can be considered as an important part of this function. Based on the product policy the firm may distinguish between the following levels of decision: (1) product item, (2) product line and (3) product...

Purpose – Due to their limited resources small‐ and medium‐sized firms are often assumed not to influence or “drive” their industries or markets. However, based on insights from social cognition and studies of firms' reputations it is argued that small firms might benefit from actively...

Social class is assumed to be a crucial determinant in consumer behavior. Most previous research has focused on purchase and consumption behavior across social class segments at the generic product class level. In contrast, this article reports an exploratory study on how brands from narrowly...

A study of the top management team′s understanding of their own company′s strategic positioning reveals greater levels of differences in perceptions than might be expected or desirable. The perceptions of competitors was even less closely shared. These results suggest scope for training...

Purpose – This paper seeks to address how major companies adjust their behaviour and definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) when exposed to “critical incidents”. Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative explorative study including two cases from the Norwegian oil...