Enhancing Marketing Unpredictability and Performance Through Planning and Improvisation Management: A Cross-Cultural Study

摘要

In today's difficult economic climate, successful organizations are often those that drive markets. Much research has focused on the customer side of driving markets (i.e., proactivity in creating products and services that surprise consumers). Little attention has been paid to driving industries. In this context, creating unpredictable marketing solutions which catch rivals by surprise can be a deliberate strategy aimed at enhancing business performance (Austin et al. 2012). This study aims to explain how marketing unpredictability is developed and under which conditions it is beneficial for firm performance. A conceptual framework linking marketing unpredictability to performance is developed using the resource-based-view of the firm and decision theory as platforms. We identify innovation as a key moderator in this relationship, and drawing on decision theory (Tversky and Kahneman 1986), we propose planning and improvisation as key determinants to unpredictability.