Implementing marketing strategies: Developing and testing a managerial theory

Implementation pervades strategic performance. It is a critical link betwee n the formulation of marketing strategies and the achievement of superior o rganizational performance. Research conducted in this area generally has su ffered from a lack of conceptual and empirical grounding. Furthermore, impl ementation research often ignores the mid-level managers, who are intricate ly involved in most implementation activities. The authors integrate a broa d literature review and a grounded theory-building process to develop a mod el of important factors that influence the implementation of marketing stra tegies from a managerial perspective. They test this model in a study of mi d-level marketing managers in two different organizations. The results prov ide insights into the nature of implementation in marketing and suggest fut ure research opportunities.