The microfoundations of marketing agility: a dynamic capabilities perspective
Type
doctoral thesis
Date Issued
2022-09-19
Author(s)
Abstract
Marketing agility has emerged as an important construct in research for enabling marketing managers to thrive in dynamic markets. So far, however, marketing research has not provided sufficient guidance on how to develop marketing agility. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view, this study fills this research gap and explores the microfoundations the specific skills, processes, and organizational features that enable marketing agility. Based on 26 in-depth interviews with marketers, the findings reveal 17 microfoundations, which constitute a holistic marketing agility framework. Further, the findings demonstrate that marketing agility involves two types of agile market responses: (1) fast and (2) innovative responses. First, fast responses enable marketing managers to react as fast as possible to unpredictable market changes. Second, innovative responses allow marketers to shape their market by seizing innovation opportunities arising from new trends and customer insights. The findings also show that marketing agility is best suited to marketing activities that (1) are conducted in uncertain business environments, (2) can be tested on customers to generate learning, and (3) can be iteratively enhanced based on that learning. Finally, this study contributes to marketing research as well as the dynamic capabilities literature. It provides marketing managers with critical practical insights and identifies promising avenues for marketing research.
Abstract (De)
Marketing agility has emerged as an important construct in research for enabling marketing managers to thrive in dynamic markets. So far, however, marketing research has not provided sufficient guidance on how to develop marketing agility. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities view, this study fills this research gap and explores the microfoundations the specific skills, processes, and organizational features that enable marketing agility. Based on 26 in-depth interviews with marketers, the findings reveal 17 microfoundations, which constitute a holistic marketing agility framework. Further, the findings demonstrate that marketing agility involves two types of agile market responses: (1) fast and (2) innovative responses. First, fast responses enable marketing managers to react as fast as possible to unpredictable market changes. Second, innovative responses allow marketers to shape their market by seizing innovation opportunities arising from new trends and customer insights. The findings also show that marketing agility is best suited to marketing activities that (1) are conducted in uncertain business environments, (2) can be tested on customers to generate learning, and (3) can be iteratively enhanced based on that learning. Finally, this study contributes to marketing research as well as the dynamic capabilities literature. It provides marketing managers with critical practical insights and identifies promising avenues for marketing research.
Language
English
Keywords
Agilität <Management>
Marketing
Innovation
Dynamische Fähigkeiten
EDIS-5257
microfoundations
innovation
responsiveness
agile marketing
dynamic capabilities
Marketing agility
HSG Classification
not classified
HSG Profile Area
None
Publisher
Universität St. Gallen
Publisher place
St.Gallen
Official URL
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
267354
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Dis5257.pdf
Size
3.04 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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