The impact of Porter's strategy types on the role of market research and customer relationship management
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to investigate the influence of Porter's strategy types on the use of customer relationship management (CRM) techniques and traditional market research, against theoretical and empirical evidence that differences in strategy types may result in variation in favoured marketing information sources and procedures.
Design/methodology/approach
Depth interviews generated a series of scale items, which were combined with others derived from the literature in a questionnaire measuring strategy types, the roles of market research, and the characteristics of CRM systems. Responses were obtained from 240 senior marketing managers in Australia, and applied to the testing of five research propositions.
Findings
ANOVA found no differences in CRM usage among the strategy types. Variation was widespread, however, in four roles of traditional market research: enhancing strategic decision making, increasing usability of existing data, presenting plans to senior management, and achieving productivity and political outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
Future researchers using the Porter strategic types should separate “marketing differentiators” from “product differentiators” because they function and compete differently.
Practical implications
All organisations can benefit from CRM systems, but “marketing differentiators” exhibit a relatively higher usage of traditional market research. This is likely to be because they compete by creating softer product differences, while others do so on harder characteristics such as price or product functionality.
Originality/value
This is the first study to use the Porter types to explain differences between the roles and uses of market research and CRM within organisations.
Keywords
Citation
Valos, M.J., Bednall, D.H.B. and Callaghan, B. (2007), "The impact of Porter's strategy types on the role of market research and customer relationship management", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500710737933
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited