This area has developed into an international centre, based on studies into marketing strategies, multiple stakeholder orientations and competitive positioning. Projects include:
Marketing in the 21st Century
(Contact Dr Vasilis Theoharakis)
A transnational study, applying resource-based view theories in marketing is being led by the Marketing Group. It includes researchers from 15 countries and some 6500 companies have been surveyed. A key set of findings relate to the linkages between marketing resources competitive positions achieved in the market place, and firm performance. The research shows that firms with clear and defensible positions outperform their less focused competitors across both market and financial indicators. Defensible positions arise through the deployment of often complex and inter-woven resources, in a way that is unique to the firm.
Research collaborators include: Josef Beracs (Budapest), Rod Brodie (Auckland), Heiner Evanshitzky (muenster, Germany), John Fahy (Limerick), Krzysztof Fonfara (Pozen, Poland), Mark Gabbott (Monash, Australia), Sheelagh Matear (Lincoln, New Zealand), Brendan Gray (Otago, New Zealand), Hans Kasper (Maastricht), Kristian Moller (Helsinki), Hans Muhlbacher (Innsbruck), and Oliver Yau (Hong Kong).
Flexibility in strategic planning decision-making
(Contact Dr John Rudd)
This theme is based on a study of the relationship between strategic planning and organisational performance. The research presents a new and wider conceptualisation of the strategic planning and performance interface, as well as a number of mediating variables. New measures were developed and tested for organisational flexibility, implementation success, comprehensive choice and quality of strategic options; all demonstrating appropriate statistical properties for further testing and development.
