The relationship between business unit strategy and the use of market research

A study of 42 Australian marketing managers was conducted linking strategy to the use of market research, with a measure known as USER. It was expected that the Miles and Snow strategic typology with its greater emphasis on internal organisational culture, practices and structure would be more powerful than the Porter strategic dimensions in determining the motivation and actual use of market research. The findings showed that neither strategic typology was superior in predicting market research practice. In the study, the USER characteristics most linked to strategy were &ldquo;the misuse of market research for political purposes&rdquo; and &ldquo;internal improvements based on market research.&rdquo; Two other USER factors &ldquo;rational use of market research findings&rdquo; and &ldquo;use of market research to confirm decisionmaking&rdquo; were not found to be related to marketing strategy.<br /

The research buyer\u27s perspective of market research effectiveness

This study examines the views of research buyers about the efficacy of market research used within their firms. A sample of research buyers from Australia&#039;s top 1000 companies was asked to evaluate the research outcomes of their most recent market research project in terms of their overall business strategy. Specialist market research buyers (insights managers) believed their commissioned research was very effective. This was in contrast to research buyers in generalist roles who did not believe in the effectiveness of the research outcomes to the same extent. The overarchlng strategic direction adopted by the buyer&#039;s firm did not make a difference to the type of research conducted (,action orientated&#039; vs. &#039;knowledge enhancing&#039;). However, entrepreneurial firms were more likely to rate their research as effective and to have dedicated research buyers generating insights into their markets. The results of this study are inconsistent with earlier studies and indicate that the market research function within Australian firms stili plays an ambiguous role

Differences in the role of market research and internal CRM according to strategy type

The traditional or conventional role of market research is one of enabling marketing managers to make informed decisions about key strategic issues and likewise reduce chances of poor strategic decisions. (Hamlin, 2000; Raguragavan et al., 2000) Yet recent literature suggests marketing research is becoming marginalized in supporting strategic decisionmaking. (Weber, 2001) In addition internal CRM is emerging as a viable source of aggregated customer intelligence (Malhotra and Peterson, 2001). Very few studies have explored the contingent role business strategy may have in explaining either the changing role of market research or the emergence of internal CRM systems. This study involved a cross-industry postal survey of 240 Australian marketing managers. One contribution of this study was to find market research having a greater role in supporting productivity and political outcomes for Prospector strategies when compared to both Defender and Analyzer strategies. The findings also showed Prospector strategies to have more sophisticated internal CRM systems than Defender strategies.<br /

Differences between differentiators and cost leaders in market research and internal CRM usage

The Porter strategy types of Differentiation and Cost Leadership are put forward as strategies leading to competitive advantage (Porter 1980). These types have quite contrasting implementation guidelines in terms of human resources, organisational structure, job design decision-making process, control systems, and information systems. These internal contrasts suggest Differentiators and Cost Leaders require contrasting roles for market research and internal CRM systems. Very few studies have explored the contingent role business strategy may have in explaining contrasting roles in marketing information systems or market research.This study involved a cross-industry postal survey of 240 Australian marketing managers. One contribution of this study was to find market research having quite different roles in supporting Marketing (i.e. brand) Differentiators compared to Product (i.e. innovative feature) Differentiators. Surprisingly only one market research role differed when comparing Cost Leaders with Marketing Differentiator strategies. A final contribution was to find that no one strategy having a greater reliance on internal CRM systems in supporting decisionmaking.<br /

Management of the market research function in client firms

Companies vary in the way they structure their market research function. This was hypothesized to affect the perceived value of their research. A survey of 241 marketing managers in major Australian firms showed that structure positively affected the perceived value of market research information while bolstering the internal client&rsquo;s position.<br /

Understanding the role of social media monitoring in generating external intelligence

Social media data are becoming increasingly critical for businesses to capture, analyse, and utilise in a timely manner. However, the unstructured and distributed nature and volume of this information makes the task of extracting useful and practical information challenging. Given the dynamic evolution of social media and social media monitoring, our current understanding of how social media monitoring can help organisations to create business value is inadequate. As a result, there is a need to study how organisations can (a) extract and analyse social media data related to their business (Sensing), and (b) utilise external intelligence gained from social media monitoring for specific business initiatives (Seizing). This study uses a qualitative approach with a multiple embedded case study design to understand the phenomenon of social media monitoring and its outcome for organisations. Anticipated contributions are presented.<br /

Market research effectiveness : the effects of organisational structure, resource allocation and strategic type

According to the marketing literature and marketing textbooks, market research is required for successful marketing. However organisations differ in the way they both manage and resource their market research. This study hypothesised that market research effectiveness would be a function of internal research buying expertise, resource allocation and strategy. The research was conducted among a sample of 240 Australian marketing managers. Market research effectiveness was measured in terms of a) decision making support, b) contribution to marketing strategy, c) leveraging customer and competitor data, d) its ability to represent the &quot;voice of the customer&quot; and finally, e) bolstering the role of the marketing group and marketing manager within the organisation. The findings showed that having dedicated internal market researchers and allocating internal and external resources to the research function enhanced market research effectiveness. It was also found that organisations with an entrepreneurial strategic orientation were more likely to see value in the market research function, with these organisations being less likely to use market research for internal political purposes.<br /

The alignment of market research with business strategy and CRM

This study investigated the alignment between market research, business strategy and customer relationship management (CRM). With the introduction of advanced IT systems which collect and model internal customer data (CRM), marketing managers face new choices when seeking information to facilitate their particular business strategy. A survey of market research (MR) and CRMusage was conducted among 207 marketing managers. The findings showed the Miles and Snow Prospector strategists placed greater reliance on both MR and internal CRM data systems than did Defenders. This applied in their tasks of developing new strategies and in enlisting senior management support for their actions. As Prospectors were the most reliant on both traditional market research and CRM systems, they need to be skilled in using CRM in conjunction with traditional research methods. Marketing managers who use CRM will need to foster functional relationships with the technical specialists who run CRM systems.<br /

Marketing research performance and strategy

Purpose - To investigate whether strategic orientation affects the evaluation of specific market research projects in for-profit firms.Design/methodology/approach - A small-scale follow-up survey was conducted, building on qualitative and quantitative research among a sample of the top-1,000 marketing managers in Australia. The study used an existing market research evaluation tool, the USER scale and items generated from the qualitative research, to investigate the firm\u27s most recent market research project.Findings - Four market research performance factors were identified - market research as a knowledge enhancing (KE) function, the internal political use of market research, the misuse of market research and the generation of market understanding. The Miles and Snow strategy types were related to these factors, with Prospector types more likely to use market research rationally and less likely to use it for internal political purposes. Tactical projects were more likely to be misused than were those with a strategic orientation. Prospectors were far less likely and analysers far more likely to misuse tactical research projects. Prospectors were more often satisfied with the performance of their most recent market research. The Porter typology was less successful in predicting market research performance.Research limitations/implications - The study was based on a small sample of market research projects in Australian for-profit firms. Future studies need to study these phenomena more intensively using ethnographic methods and more extensively using larger multi-country samples.Practical implications - Market research suppliers should learn the nature of their client\u27s strategic intent to improve their effectiveness. Defender firms should carefully monitor the use of market research, especially that of a tactical nature, which may be wasted or misused.Originality/value - Contributes to an understanding of how strategic orientation relates to the ways market research information is used within the firm. <br /