2015, Journal of Marketing
Hui Feng, Neil A. Morgan, Lopo L. Rego

Abstract 

This study empirically investigates marketing department power in U.S. firms throughout 1993–2008 and assesses its impact on firm performance. Using a new objective measure of marketing department power and a cross-industry sample of 612 public firms in the United States, the results reveal that, in general, marketing department power increased during this time period. Furthermore, the analyses show that a powerful marketing department enhances firms' longer-term future total shareholder returns beyond its positive effect on firms' short-term return on assets (ROA). The findings also reveal that a firm's long-run market-based-asset-building and short-run market-based- asset-leveraging capabilities partially mediate the effect of a firm's marketing department power on its longer-term shareholder value performance and fully mediate the effect on its short-term ROA performance. This research provides new insights for marketing scholars and managers with regard to both marketing's influence within the firm and how investments in building a powerful marketing department affect firm performance. 

Citation 

Feng, Hui, Neil A. Morgan, and Lopo L. Rego (2015), "Marketing Department Power and Firm Performance," Journal of Marketing, Vol. 79, No. 5, pp. 1-20.