The marketing literature has traditionally assumed that people in mark
eting and sales play a central role in product development activities.
Though recent work has recognized that marketing may be less central
in high-tech firms, there has been little empirical examination of the
role marketing does play in these situations. This article, based on
nine months of participant observation in a computer systems firm, fir
st provides an overview of the product development process and then de
scribes impediments that prevent marketing groups from exerting greate
r control over product development decisions. The author then turns to
ways in which marketing groups work within these constraints, exertin
g their influence through informal networks, coalition building to cha
mpion specific projects in engineering, and going to the external mark
et to ''complete the product'' for their respective market segments. H
e concludes by assessing the implications for research in high-tech fi
rms and considering managerial implications.