Marketing strategy: An assessment of the state of the field and outlook

This article provides an assessment of the state of the field of marketing strategy research and the outlook. Using institutional theory the authors develop an organizing framework to serve as a roadmap for assessing research in marketing strategy. Their assessment of the state of the field based on a review of extant literature suggests that significant strides in conceptual development and empirical research have been achieved in a number of areas. Several recent developments in the business world, including deconglomeration and increased organizational focus on managing and leveraging market-based assets such as brand equity and customer equity, suggest that marketing is likely to play a mom important role in charting the strategic direction of the firm. However, the theoretical contributions of the field to the academic dialogue on strategy leave much to be desired.