Marketing–operations alignment: scale development and validation

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to study a scale development and validation process for an integrative marketing–operations alignment (MOA) theory. This theory was derived from several distinct theories that have attempted to explain the interaction between marketing and operations functions of manufacturing organizations. An initial qualitative research and literature review identified five antecedents to the MOA construct (decision coordination, reward system, information exchange, leadership strategy and performance evaluation) as well as two outcomes (customer orientation and competitor orientation). Design/methodology/approach The scale was developed and validated using successive testing processes including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (LISREL). Findings The outcome of the research is a tested and validated model of MOA. While more work needs to be done to test and potentially extend the theory, this research has produced a basic functional model of the MOA process. Research limitations/implications The limitations include target populations, choice of industry and geography and cross-sectional time horizon of the study. Originality/value This study represents an original contribution to the organizational theory literature, as it provides both a sound theoretical basis and a validated measurement model for the proposed theory of MOA. While this research does draw on existing models, it is more comprehensive and theory-based than the existing models.