Competing on the Edge

Introduction

Due to immense technological advancements and globalization of businesses all over the world, everything seems to change dramatically including marketing planning function within a company. These two factors among others have forced companies to adopt more flexible marketing strategies in order for them to gain a competitive advantage. Zinkhan & Pereira (1994) note that marketing planning is a sub-set of strategic planning within a company is integral to the success or failure of the company.

Some marketing scholars and researchers alike argue that today’s marketing strategies should be purposely planned and executed for a company to develop a clear direction of where it wants to go, and how best to go there, notes De Wit & Meyer (2004). However, some argue that new marketing strategies largely emerge over time, as marketing managers proactively develop a viable marketing strategy or reactively adapt to unfolding market conditions. According to De Wit & Meyer (2004), developing a strategy involves sense-making, reflecting, learning, envisioning, experimenting and changing the organization, which can’t be neatly organized and.

Both planned and emergent approaches to marketing planning are useful, and may be utilized concurrently by marketing managers to gain a competitive advantage, notes McKee, Varadarajan & Vassar (1990). Further still, some managers may utilize each of the approaches at different times to as well as to different degrees, and thus should not be seen as being independent or mutually exclusive.

Marketing Planning in the context of Competing on the edge approach to strategy

According to Brown & Eisenhardt (1998), competing on the edge defines strategy as the creation of a relentless flow of c...

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