BELIEF STRUCTURES IN CONFLICT - MAPPING A STRATEGIC MARKETING DECISION

Strategic decision processes feature the interplay of decision partici pants who advocate different visions of the path to organizational suc cess. By examining the mental maps of marketing and R&D managers, this study traces the changing portrait of a strategic decision. The Techn o project, a highly contested decision in a Fortune 500 company, provi ded the context for our research. Employing a longitudinal design, int erviews were conducted with marketing and R&D executives at three poin ts in the decision process. Based on a content analysis of the executi ve interviews, mental maps were constructed to capture the changing be lief structures of the two functions. The analysis is further enriched by qualitative data drawn directly from the transcribed interviews of marketing and R&D managers. Changes in the managers' belief structure s are linked to corresponding changes in the direction of the strategi c decision. Several propositions issuing from the research are offered and hey managerial and research implications are highlighted.