Trespass or symbiosis? Dissolving the boundaries between strategic marketing and strategic management

Abstract

This article addresses the debate about the role of strategic marketing within the domain of firm competitive strategy. It begins by tracing the decline in the importance of marketing strategy in competitive strategy, especially after the emergence of the field of strategic management. It then describes the emergence of strategic marketing as a more integrative discipline than marketing strategy, and the recent rapprochement in research ideas around competitiveness in strategic marketing and strategic management. Shifting market boundaries, rapid technological change, shorter product lifecycles, and changing organizational forms have changed competitive rules and increased the holistic complexity of business problems. These changes call for a greater interdisciplinary approach and integration in teaching and research to mirror the practice of competitive strategy, which recognizes the importance of both an external focus rooted in market orientation and an internal focus on unique firm resources and capabilities.