Integration Of Marketing Activities Research Articles

A strategic supply chain approach: consortium marketing in the Italian leatherwear industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe inter‐firm marketing cooperation as a strategy by small and medium enterprise (SME) players in local systems of fashion firms.Design/methodology/approachThis case study research focuses on Italian leatherwear manufacturers that join together to create an interfirm consortium which acts as a sole manufacturer‐marketing player.FindingsThe case study observes marketing policy orientations toward the final consumers while remaining consistent with the aim of preserving cooperation with the big international retail buyers. The comprehensive description provides propositions relevant for advancing a theory of interfirm cooperation and marketing behavior. The paper reports on implementing consortium marketing through the integration of marketing activities among the SMEs in the Italian fashion leatherwear industry.Research limitations/implicationsConsortium marketing (CM) organizations represent one structure among several for the coordination of activities by independent firms in a supply chain; CM usually includes planned collaboration in innovation processes in creating and adopting superior technologies, designing products highly desired by customers, and manufacturing to meet the demands greater than the production capability of any one member are common characteristics of CM organizations.Practical implications“Consortium marketing” has special strengths that this paper describes and explains. Creating inter‐firm structures to achieve marketing synergies is the core objective of CM. CM can be a very powerful structure for supply chains for achieving multiple synergies in innovating, designing, manufacturing, promoting, and/or delivering of products and services to their immediate customers and downstream customers.Originality/valueInter‐firm design and relationships need not be a given; firms participating in CM can innovate their inter‐firm relationships to achieve synergies that may be impossible to achieve otherwise. This paper is the first to offer this conclusion and describe its applicability within the high‐fashion Italian leatherwear industry.

Where is the opportunity without the customer? An integration of marketing activities, the entrepreneurship process, and institutional theory

Marketing and entrepreneurship have long been recognized as two key responsibilities of the firm. Despite their tight integration in practice, marketing and entrepreneurship as domains of scholarly inquiry have largely progressed within their respective disciplinary boundaries with minimal cross-disciplinary fertilization. Furthermore, although firms increasingly undertake their marketing and entrepreneurial activities across diverse settings, academe has provided little insight into how changes in the institutional environment may substantially alter the processes and outcomes of these undertakings. Herein, we integrate research on marketing activities, the entrepreneurship process, and institutional theory in an effort to address this gap. We first discuss market orientation as enhancing a firm’s opportunity recognition and innovation, whereas marketing mix decisions enhance opportunity exploitation. We then examine how entrepreneurship leads to innovation directed toward market orientation and marketing mix activities. Based on this foundation, we examine differences in marketing and entrepreneurship activities across institutional contexts.

Multi‐channel marketing in the retail environment

Multi‐channel marketing in the retail environment involves the integration of marketing activities in retail stores, with catalogs and with online marketing. The online component of this is critical to the success of the overall effort and it is becoming more powerful, sophisticated and measurable. This case study chronicles the use of multi‐channel marketing by REI, a 66‐year‐old purveyor of specialty outdoor gear and apparel. The case study shares the essential components of multi‐channel marketing used by REI and how the various components work together.

Integration and Effectiveness of Marketing Information Systems

In marketing literature the popular and commonly used concept of marketing information systems (MkIS) seems to be based on an assumption that, in order to improve the effectiveness of marketing, the MkIS must be the integrated totality of its major components. Separates the concept of functional integration of marketing activities from the technical integration of the components of marketing information systems, and argues that technical integration alone is not enough for marketing organizations to improve effectiveness. Based on analysis of the relationship between the breadth of usage, and perceived effectiveness of marketing, it was evident that both technical and functional integration are vital in the context of marketing information systems. From the effectiveness point of view, functional integration of MkIS seems to be even more important, and systems designers should be better aware of ways to integrate the marketing work processes in new, innovative ways.