LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION STRATEGIC MARKETING
Strategic marketing ”a thoughtful plan by a company to produce desired outcomes in the marketplace vis-a-
vis customers, channel members and competitors” (Kotler 2012 Handbook of Marketing strategy).
Goal: To create a sustainable competitive advantage
DEFINITION FROM THE PAPER:
“ […] an organization’s integrated pattern of decision that specify its crucial choices concerning products,
markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication, and/or delivery of
products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the
organization to achieve specific objectives.” (Varadarajan 2010 JAMS; Morgan et al 2019 JAMS). (By making
choices no correct decision).
4 elements of Marketing strategy:
Unique
Distinctive
Coherent
Dynamic
STRATEGIC MARKETING DECISIONS (VARADARAJAN, 2010).
- Entail major resources commitments spread over long periods
- Impact over longer time periods
- Result in a distinguishable competitive advantage
- Irreversible or difficult to reverse
- Entails tradeoffs (e.g., if strategy A -> strategy B & C foregone…)
- Made in the context of other strategic decisions (interdependencies)
- Made at a higher level of the organization
Launching of a new product Rationalizing a product line
Rebranding: changing your brands’ position Expanding distribution coverage
Entering new product-market combination Initiating a major advertising campaign
Introduce a loyalty program Divesting/withdrawing from the market
Catering to new market segments Install a social media campaign
Developing product leadership Establishing a supplier partnership
Promotional policy changes
STRATEGIC MARKETIN DECISIONS (STRATEGY) VERSUS TACTICAL MARKETING DECISIONS
(EXECUTION)
Tactical marketing decisions Short term (annual or quarterly) decisions to execute the strategic directions
within the firm; filling in the marketing mix of the individual product or brand to realize the company strategic
goals
e.g., brand price level, advertising by brand, sales force allocation, ….
,LECTURE 2: DECISION MAKING
Decision-making theory: analytic and systematic approach to the study of decision making.
Good decision: based on logic, uses available information, considers all alternatives, applies appropriate
quantitative techniques. There are 6 steps in decision making:
1. Define the problem
2. List the alternatives
3. Identify possible outcomes taking into account the ‘state of nature’
4. List the payoffs
5. Select a quantitative decision model
6. Apply the model to select a strategy
Organizational learning: process of improving organizational actions through better knowledge and
understanding or as the outcome of such a process.
1. GET HELP TO ACCUMULATE ORGANIZATIONAL KNOWLEDGE
- Organizational learning
- Enhancing culture & climate
TYPES OF LEARNING
A: Individual learning vs organizational learning
Organizational knowledge: accumulation of the knowledge bases of all the individuals within an organization
and the social knowledge embedded in the relationships between those individuals.
It is important to learn as an individual, but more important is that employers share their knowledge
with colleagues in the organization and with co-organizations.
Organizational learning assumes individual learning, but individual learning is an insufficient condition
for organizational learning – without sharing or transferring the knowledge, the organization will not
learn;
More than the sum of the parts;
Is also about exchanging and sharing individual assumptions, models, knowledge across the
organization at various levels:
individual > group > organization > inter organizational
B: Explicit vs tacit knowledge
Explicit knowledge: through representations like manuals (e.g. smoothie receipt, systematic, formal, can be
codified, easy to transfer)
,Tacit knowledge: low codifiability (surgery) how possible it is for the organization to structure the
knowledge into a set of identififiable rules and relationships that can easily be communicated. (context-
specific, personal, subjective, high complexity, not easy to transfer)
Transfer of tacit knowledge requires frequent social interaction, education and training.
Difficult to transfer, but also difficult to imitate.
C: single-loop learning vs double-loop learning
Single-loop learning (adoptive learning): type of learning that is able to solve problems, but ignore the reason
why the problem has occurred.
occurs within a set of recognized and unrecognized constraints (i.e., the learning boundary) that
reflect the organization’s assumptions about its environment and itself. This type of learning solves
problems, but ignores the question of why the problem arose in the first place.
Double-loop learning (generative learning): type of learning that rethink about the companies mission,
customers, strategies, etc. Using feedback from past experiences as an argument for future decision making.
(E.g. V&D didn’t know what why they were fault)
occurs when the organization is willing to question long-held assumptions about its mission, customers,
capabilities, or strategy. It uses feedback from past actions to question assumptions underlying current views.
PROCESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
1. Information acquisition: from experience, from others, formal market research, competitive
intelligence, informal collection of information, experiments, satisfaction surveys, etc.
Exploitation: learning from internal experience.
Exploration: learning from external experience.
2. Information dissemination (verspreiding):
Formal: trainings, presentations, cross-functional teams, etc.
Informal: just social interaction (best for uncertain problems/opportunities).
3. Information shared interpretation: organizing formal meetings, discussing options, listening to each
other helps to improve understanding each other and makes sure same interpretation is guaranteed.
4. Information utilization (gebruik maken van): behavioural change:
- Action oriented: direct application of knowledge to solve problems.
- Knowledge-enhancing: influences managerial perspectives on problems.
- Affective use: increases satisfaction with a change.
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: CULTURE AND
CLIMATE (MOETEN ELKAAR AANVULLEN)
Culture: deeply rooted values and beliefs that provide norms.
Necessary for organizational learning.
Climate: structure and processes that facilitate achievement
of desired behaviours.
Skill-development towards organizational learning:
Managers should develop these skills in themselves and
employees
1. Individual learning effectiveness
2. Social interaction and communication skills
3. Conflict resolution
4. Facilitation / Helpfulness
1. Individual learning effectiveness
, - Learning: acquiring, storing and remembering information
- Learning through elaboration works better than rehearsal (elaborating the context: baker)
o Relating the incoming information to information that already exists in long-term memory
o Make vivid, creative examples
2. Social interaction and communication skills
- Companies that stimulate social interaction enhance organizational learning and success
o Informal and unstructured is often best for tacit knowledge and creativity
o Cross-functional teams, open office plans, cafeterias, encourage socializing
- Individuals that are skilled in social interaction are more successful (loneliness is very bad)
- Tips for having other people like you: first impressions matter, common ground, ask for advice, say thank
you, give compliments
3. Conflict resolution
- Conflicts are inevitable and positive, if managed correctly organizational learning requires skillful
conflict resolution.
Problem: when two people disagree: they are trying to change others’ beliefs and values. But even the best
arguments lead to the other person being even more confident.
Organizational solutions:
- structured processes for surfacing and managing disagreement;
- Dialectical inquiry, devil’s advocate (explain yourself why an argument is good?)
Personal solutions:
- argue better, research persuasion (overtuigingskracht),
- practise emotional intelligence, tolerance, empathy, helpfulness and it is not losing an argument, it is
learning.
Gottman’s 4 horseman of marriage apocalypse:
Criticism: ‘why can’t you do this right?’ and ‘what is wrong with you?’
Defensiveness: ‘the problem isn’t me, it is you!’
Stonewalling: ‘whatever, I don’t need this.’
Contempt: ‘you’re disgusting.’ and ‘you are so stupid.’ (greatest predictor of divorce)
4. Facilitation / helpfulness
Companies should create and creative a climate of knowledge sharing within their organization. It is their job to
incentivize it and facilitate it. The most successful (and unsuccessful) people are ‘givers’ (with boundaries),
they know the ‘why, when and for whom’ of giving something, instead of ‘takers’ and ‘matchers’. A helpful
culture starts at the top: facilitate leadership.
Helpfulness: psychological T-accounts
Organizational learning conclusion
Organizational learning is key to competitive advantage. Marketing should lead this process:
- Always be listening and responding to customers
