A brief review of marketing accountability, and a research agenda

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to review previous work in the domain of marketing accountability, an issue which has become of increasing concern to chief executive and financial officers. It principal purpose is to attempt an elementary epistemology, with a view to setting a research agenda for scholars in finance, microeconomics or marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper consists of a relatively catholic literature review of the domain of marketing accountability, exploring its antecedents in related domains such as strategy and finance and then proposing a research agenda.

Findings

Much confusion exists in the literature about the dimensions of marketing accountability. This review specifies a researchable model of the domain of marketing and proposes three related areas – the micro‐promotional level, the strategic level and the financial, shareholder value added level and suggests an agenda for research for scholars.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the enormous breadth of the related domains of strategy and finance, the author had to adopt a somewhat normative approach based on his own research outputs in order to make the literature review manageable. While the proposed research agenda is justified by the foregoing review, it is recognised that other models may well be possible.

Practical implications

There is a growing body of evidence, amounting to what might be described as a “clamour” from the world of practice for more structure and guidance in the relatively under‐researched domain of marketing accountability. This paper attempts to meet this challenge.

Originality/value

Much of the research emanating from the Cranfield Research Clubs is original, such as, for example, the model for marketing due diligence described in the paper.

Citation

McDonald, M. (2010), "A brief review of marketing accountability, and a research agenda", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 383-394. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858621011058142