Is thinking worthwhile? A comparison of corporate segment choice strategies.

Abstract

The field of strategic marketing has long been identified as fruitful ground for gaining competitive advantage. Ever since the market segmentation concept was introduced in the late sixties, research interest steadily increased, covering issues as e.g. which fundamental segmentation strategy is most appropriate, in which ways can segments be identified or constructed, which algorithm provides optimal data-driven segmentation solutions, which number of segments should be constructed etc.. Interestingly, the issue of segment evaluation and choice has not been emphasised very strongly in the past, although this is of primary interest as soon as it comes to practical implementation. This article tries to fill this gap in an experimental manner: the consequences of different corporate segment choice strategies based on different segment evaluation criteria are investigated under different environmental conditions formalised in a complex artificial consumer market. The results indicate that complex decision models for segment choice do not turn out to be superior in general. Both mass marketers and firms concentrating on particular segments based on an a priori logic can be just as successful under "favourable" market conditions, the most influential condition being the available advertising budget. (author's abstract)Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science