Abstract:
We show how different approaches to developing marketing strategies
depend on the type of environment a firm faces, where environments are distinguished
in terms of their systems properties rather than their content. Particular
emphasis is given to turbulent environments in which outcomes are not a priori
predictable and are not traceable to individual firm actions and we show that, in these
conditions, the relevant unit of competitive response and understanding is no longer
the individual firm but the network of relations comprising interdependent, interacting
firms. Networks of relations are complex adaptive systems that are more
'intelligent' than the individual firms that comprise them and are capable of comprehending
and responding to more complex and turbulent environments. Yet they are
co-produced by the patterns of actions and interactions of the firms involved. The
creation and accessing of such distributed intelligence cannot be centrally directed, as
this necessarily limits it. Instead managers and firms are involved in a kind of participatory
planning and adaptation process through which the network self-organizes
and adapts. Drawing on research in systems theory, complexity, biology and cognitive
science, extensions to the resource-based theory of the firm are proposed that include
how resources are linked across relations and networks in a dynamic and evolutionary
way. The concepts of an extended firm and soft-assembled strategies are introduced
to describe the nature of the strategy development process. This results in a
more theoretically grounded basis for understanding the nature and role of relationship
and network strategies in marketing and management. We finish by considering
the research implications of our analysis and the role of agent-based models as a
means of sensitizing and informing management action.
