Sources and use of marketing information by marketing managers

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to establish which formally and informally published sources of knowledge were mainly used by executives in the computer service industry to obtain knowledge of current developments in the field of marketing and to examine the purposes for which the knowledge gathered from these sources was employed.Design/methodology/approachMarketing managers in 141 large computer services businesses completed a questionnaire concerning the extents to which they used books, marketing magazines, academic journals, and grey literature (GL) for instrumental, conceptual, and symbolic purposes. Four “motivating factors” (e.g. occupational learning orientation) were examined plus three other influences (e.g. length of time in a marketing role). The possible consequences of the extensive use of various sources were explored.FindingsOnly 2 per cent of the sample read academic marketing journals, and just 3 per cent looked at marketing textbooks. However, 89 per cent of the sample accessed (mainly internet‐based) grey marketing literature and 62 per cent read marketing magazines. Nearly, one in six of the respondents stated that they had read practitioner “how to do” marketing books. Several hypothesised independent variables exerted positive and significant impacts on the degrees to which magazines; GL and practitioner books were employed to obtain marketing knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsIt was not possible to examine exactly why a particular knowledge source was preferred for a specific purpose. Potential connections between past academic research outputs and the contents of contemporary grey marketing literature and articles in marketing magazines could not be investigated. The results imply that GL must be recognised as a vital source of marketing knowledge. Issues relating to the codification and wider distribution of GL, copyright, the shortage of specialised GL bibliographies in the marketing area, and the long‐term availability of materials in electronic form need to be addressed.Originality/valueThis was the first empirical study to connect the use of marketing knowledge sources to the purposes (instrumental, conceptual, symbolic) for which the knowledge contained within them was required.