Repository logo
 

Faculty of Management Sciences

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/13

Browse

Author: search.filters.author.Mason, Roger BruceSubject: search.filters.subject.Marketing mix

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Price tactics for a turbulent environment : a complexity theory view
    (The Clute Institute, 2015) Mason, Roger Bruce
    This paper proposes that pricing tactics are influenced by the nature of the external environment. It illustrates the pricing tactics suggested for a turbulent, versus a stable, environment, when viewed through a complexity theory lens. A qualitative, case method, using depth interviews, investigated the pricing tactics in four firms to identify the tactics adopted in more successful, versus less successful, firms in turbulent versus stable environments. The results partially confirmed that the use of destabilizing pricing tactics can be helpful in a turbulent market, while stabilizing tactics can be helpful in a stable market. However, the effect of such tactics on business performance was not clear. These findings will benefit marketers by emphasizing a new way to consider future pricing activities. How this approach can assist marketers, and suggestions for further research, are provided. Since businesses and markets are complex adaptive systems, using complexity theory to understand how to cope in turbulent environments is necessary but has not been widely researched. Therefore, this paper can be seen as a foundation for research using complexity theory to better understand pricing tactics in turbulent environments.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Factors that influence the marketing of professional services
    (Business Perspectives, 2016) Enerson, Meg; Mason, Roger Bruce; Corbishley, Karen Margaret
    This study explores the marketing in a multinational professional services organization and attempts to identify marketing factors relevant to the organization. The main objective is to identify critical factors that influence the successful marketing of professional services. To accomplish this objective, research is undertaken as a case study with a quantitative survey of employees from the professional services organization. The main finding was that the 7P framework (product/service, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, people, process) was applicable and that place, physical evidence and product components were seen as most critical, with promotion and price appearing to be least critical, maybe because conservative attitudes to marketing still exist within professional service organizations. The study added to the literature on professional services marketing, giving insight into the marketing of professional services in today’s dynamic and changing economic environment. Our findings will, therefore, assist professional service organizations to utilize their marketing resources more effectively and efficiently.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    An exploration of marketing tactics for turbulent environments
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009) Mason, Roger Bruce; Staude, Gavin
    The purpose of this paper is to propose that the choice of marketing tactics is influenced by the company's external environment. It aims to illustrate the marketing tactics suggested for a complex, turbulent environment, when marketing and the environment are viewed through a complexity lens. Design/methodology/approach – A marketing mix model, derived from complexity literature, was assessed via a multiple case study to identify the type of marketing mix suggested for a complex, turbulent environment. The study was exploratory, using in-depth interviews with two companies in the IT industry. Findings – The results tentatively confirmed that the more successful company used a destabilizing marketing mix, and suggest that using complexity theory to develop marketing tactics could be helpful in turbulent environments. Research limitations/implications – The findings are limited by the study's exploratory, qualitative nature and the small sample. Generalizing should be done with care and therefore further research with larger samples and in different environments is recommended. Practical implications – The paper will benefit marketers by emphasizing a new way to consider future marketing activities of their companies. The model can assist marketers to identify the tactics to use, dependent on the nature of their environment. Originality/value – Most work on complexity in marketing has concentrated on strategy, with little emphasis on tactics and the marketing mix. Therefore, the paper is an important contribution to the understanding of marketing mix choices, of interest to both practising marketers and marketing academics.