CONFLICT BETWEEN ENGINEERS AND MARKETERS - THE ENGINEERS PERSPECTIVE

It is widely acknowledged that an effective interface between the engi neering and marketing functions of an organization is vital for the su ccessful development of engineering products. However, researchers hav e identified the existence of high levels of conflict between engineer s and marketers, which may be hampering an effective interface. This s tudy aims to consider the issue of conflict between engineers and mark eters from the perspective of the engineers at all levels within an or ganization. This study has found that although in many cases the level of conflict is encouragingly low, there are a number of key issues th at management needs to address to improve the relationship thereby min imizing conflict The physical location of the two functions is an impo rtant consideration as integration is significantly increased in insta nces where marketing and engineering departments are physically coloca ted. Marketing training of engineers has a positive influence on the r elationship, but careful management is needed to prevent this marketin g knowledge that engineers are acquiring from becoming a new cause of conflict. (C) 1998 Elsevier-Science Inc.