Fusion for Profit

Citation

Dupree, J. (2009), "Fusion for Profit", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 18 No. 5, pp. 385-385. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420910981873

When Fusion for Profit arrived on my desk for review, I was immediately somewhat intimidated by Dr Jagpal's extensive resume and the glowing endorsements on the jacket cover from so many distinguished business and academic professionals. The tome itself is a bit daunting itself with 600+ pages covering almost every conceivable marketing decision one could face. The work introduces the reader to finance and marketing theory as well as a mix of economic theory.

Once the reader delves into the book you will discover a substantive offering for someone wanting a foundational overview of business functions and vocabulary of business. It is very easy to find specific information in the short 20‐30 page chapters, subdivided by questions asked, along with a thorough index, and each chapter being organized by questions addressed. Dr Jagpal's opening suggestions regarding who might benefit from reading the book previews is very thorough style. He not only identifies 15 different potential audiences, he poses the questions they might ask themselves as they peruse the book.

The author promises to not be heavily mathematical; nevertheless the work does have significant formulae in showing how to calculate the value of certain marketing decisions. Various “proofs” are often stated as logical syllogisms or mathematical formulae. One does not need to be mathematically inclined or skilled to draw much from the work, but you do need to track the author's reasoning as he walks through calculations such as estimating demand in a narrative form.

The style is somewhat tutorial, asserting content and answers without explaining the reasoning, justifying the conclusion, or documenting the assertion. It is as if you are reading a consultant sharing his decades of experience with a client. Each chapter opens with a listing of the decisions covered and key terms used. The terms are supported by an extensive glossary that one may need to reference frequently. Dr Jagpal provides an abundance of examples ranging in detail from quite succinct – one paragraph in length – to several pages. Interesting, the examples are often posed as hypothetical yet tied to existing company names.

The book is written in a very personal style, sharing Dr Jagpal's experience and opinion, offering solutions that tend to be conceptual and capsular through his use of his “Maxim's,” sometimes without elaboration or documentation supporting their validity. There are numerous explanatory footnotes where the author elaborates on terms and concepts in the body, but there are relatively few reference citations to supporting works. There are many assertions of fact without any other sources of support offered. although the author's arguments often appear to be prima facia true, some readers might wish more evidence supporting author's point or a more tactical approach to the solution. For example when discussing how Toyota might strategically deal with a competitive clone from Nissan, the author offers a course of action, followed by a “Fusion for Profit Maxim.” While his suggestion and argument are clear and well developed he offers no support for the validity of his recommendation. This is a pattern through the work. Academics and others might wish for a bit more support.

Again, in his discussion of the potential and gains from a merger, he poses a significant question – under what conditions will mergers add value to the acquiring company. Dr Jagpal offers a terse answer: by increasing market power in the product, distribution, economy of scale, etc. Then he details for several pages an explanation of his answer. Well reasoned, clear, and supportable the author offers no supporting documentation or referencing of others or others works.

Fusion for Profit is a content‐dense book which requires careful reading. The author assists the reader by frequently tying current discussion back to previous points such as in his discussion of the value of a merger referencing content in Chapters 15 and 17. The hypothetical nature of many of Dr Jagpal's examples lends itself to a bit of redundancy in style such as the overuse of “suppose” in setting up his examples and case studies. The clarity of his discussion makes some “maxims” seem readily apparent. Nevertheless, the author walks the reader through nearly every conceivable combination of the impact of financial questions on marketing decisions imaginable. It should be useful as a desk reference, as a thought primer for the marketing professional and the financial professional to understand each other in a team marketing setting.