STRATEGIC MARKETING THINKING: A GAME PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The term “strategic thinking” is a relatively recent addition to the lexicon of marketing concepts. Its popularity arises from increasing discontent with highly formalized marketing planning approaches that replace creativity with paperwork and Jock executives into a dangerously predictable repertoire of strategic options. Despite the frequent call for strategic thinking to augment the marketing planning process, there is woefully little written on the subject. It would seem that the admonition to THINK emphasized by the late Thomas Watson at IBM is not enough. Rather, strategic thinking requires a perspective on what to think about. The properties of games, which we will describe, provide a valuable insight into what an executive should consider when asked to think strategically regarding a marketing problem or opportunity. These properties form the basis for the game theory approaches in decision analysis where mathematics is the dominant feature. Unfortunately, the impenetrable language of mathematics has obscured the fundamental properties of games so that marketing executives cannot readily use them in a corporate setting. We will look here at these fundamental game properties and see what insights they offer for strategic marketing thinking and formulating competitive strategy.