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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RUSSIAN AND GLOBAL MARKETING MODELS ON THE RUSSIAN MARKET
- 언어ENG
- URLhttps://db.koreascholar.com/Article/Detail/351001
Introduction
The goal of the current research is to conduct a comparative analysis of marketing models of Russian and global companies localized in Russia. Our research experience confirms an existence of a significant difference in the implementation of market orientation and in marketing activities of global companies compared to the local ones. The focus of the present research lies in the development and support mechanisms of customer oriented organizational culture as well as the role of marketing in decision making processes on all managerial levels.
Literature review
The attitude of top management to marketing changes consistently both in the developed and emerging markets (Webster, 1992; Webster, Malter, & Ganesan, 2005; Yuldasheva & Pisareva, 2015). Modern marketing is increasingly a part of the managerial and decision making system. It is being integrated into the system of company management through a diffusion of marketing competencies (Webster et al, 2005) becoming a locus of integration and coordination of inter-functional processes in a service dominating business model (Vargo & Lush, 2004). Literature review makes it possible to highlight several most important directions of research that formed the basis for our comparative analysis of marketing models.
Customer oriented culture (COC)
The literature review allows differentiating between three approaches to the definition of customer orientation (CO):
⦁ CO as an element of market orientation (Narver & Slater, 1990; Kohli & Jaworski, 1990) and in some cases its synonym;
⦁ CO as behavioral aspect of sales or frontline personal (Saxe & Weitz, 1982). In this case an operational level of CO implementation is considered;
⦁ CO as an advanced level of organizational culture development that has been shaped under enhancing of marketing influence on the decision making processes in the companies on all managerial levels (Deshpande & Webster, 1989).
Thus, CO can be considered as an organizational culture creating new values for the personnel and transforming all business processes in terms of customer centricity to achieve higher customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty. The research of COC should be conducted from the perspective of CO settings (values) and from the perspective of CO implementation.
Marketing competencies and capabilities
Dissemination of COC influences on the development of marketing capabilities and competencies in the organizational learning process which involves all departments and all managerial levels. In this context marketing capabilities can be understood as integrative processes whereby the collective knowledge, skills, and resources of a firm are applied to the market-related needs of the business (Day, 1994; Vorhies, 1998). As a result of repetitive actions, more or less sustainable patterns of behavior arise (Grant, 1991). These patterns determine the type of the customer oriented business models in which the marketing models is one of the sub elements reflecting the role and the status of marketing in decision making process. The previous research results (Webster, 1992; Webster et al, 2005; Wiersema, 2013) showed the evolutionary changes of marketing in corporations on three levels of management – corporate, business and operational (functional) (Hofer & Schendel, 1978). Taking into account these three strategy levels, Webster (1992) suggests to consider marketing as culture (on the corporate level), as strategy (on the strategic business unit level) and as tactics (on the functional level). In this research, we compare the changes in marketing models on the different managerial levels in Russian and global companies under the pressure of emerging COC.
Theoretical model and research design
We understand the marketing models as consisting of COC and a set of marketing competencies and capabilities on the different managerial levels. COC creates the values and the behavioral norms in the company which are transformed in the customer oriented business processes setting. COC has to bring not just CO values but CO business processes supported by the control and motivation system. In this context, COC establishment and implementation should be considered. COC establishment is based on the understanding of CO importance by top management. COC implementation leads to the dissemination of CO values and transforming them into CO behavior of personnel. That is why the measuring scales of market orientation (MARCOR: Kohli & Jaworski, 1993) and CO (MORTN: Deshpande & Farley, 1998; SOCO: Saxe & Weitz, 1982) include the statements about the regular using or the effective performance of CO business processes. To investigate the corporate marketing competence dispersion, we also use the concept of intangible marketing assets (Webster et al, 2005) (fig.1).
Research goal and proposition
The goal of this research is description and comparative analysis of marketing models of companies localized in Russia, which are shaped differntly under the influence of COC development. We suppose that dissemination of COC in the company changes the role and status of marketing in the managerial system as well as the level of its influence on decision making processes. Two groups of companies are compared:
⦁ large Russian companies possessing brands well-known in Russia;
⦁ global companies (their units) localized in Russia and possessing globally known brands.
As this research is an exploratory one, a preliminary proposition was formulated: the process of marketing model changing in Russian and global companies proceeds in a different way. The typical level of COC development and marketing influence on decision making processes on all managerial levels in large Russian companies is lower than in the global companies localized in Russia.
Sample
This research is making use of the database of 40 semi-structured interviews with company managers (Trefilova, 2017; Yuldasheva & Pisareva, 2015). Out of these, 5 interviews with large Russian companies and 8 interviews with daughter companies of global corporations were selected. To increase the size of the sample of Russian companies, 5 interviews with managers were organized additionally. Thus, the total sample consisted of 18 interviews (10 Russian and 8 global companies) The interview guide consisted of six open questions.
Data analysis and research results
The primary analysis of interviews was conducted applying the techniques of content analysis and meanings compaction (Ilyin, 2006). The primary content analysis showed a significant differentiation between the respondents’ answers to all questions, especially inside the sub-set of Russian companies. The further analysis of the qualitative research data was carried out according to the grounded theory methodology applying the procedures of data conceptualization, concept categorization, identifying the category attributes and ways to measure them (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The results of the comparative analysis of the marketing models of Russian and global companies allowed formulating several conclusions. The managers of Russian and global companies show different understanding of COC. The global companies promote service proposition and sustainable consumption models while Russian companies continue to sell products and try to keep quality and price on the competitive level. We labeled this phenomenon as “the fight between product and service dominant logic”. The gap between the declared CO values and their implementation in business processes in Russian companies is higher than in global ones. We connect it with lower quality of management in Russian companies as well as low level of market competition encountered by large companies. Global companies are aimed at supporting long-term brand value to a much higher extent than Russian companies. All business processes on the business and functional levels are subordinated to providing long-term brand value. Global companies are characterized by a stronger COC, which is supported not only by the service standards but also by the customer-centric motivation of the whole staff. Moreover, internal and HR branding carried out by the HR department are well developed in the global companies. It reveals a much more developed personnel management function than in the Russian companies. Up to now, it is believed in the Russian companies that customer centricity can be ensured just by the work of marketing and sales personnel. The research confirmed also the results received by Webster et al (2005) and Wiersema (2013) on the dispersion of marketing competencies on the business and corporate levels, on the growing importance of marketing performance measurement and on the growth of the marketing’s strategic role, especially for companies involved in innovations. As for the dominating marketing strategy, most informants use both attraction and retention strategies simultaneously. An interesting finding turned out to be that many informants differentiate between the models of product marketing and relationship marketing. The latter is understood as the interaction and value co-creation using a digital platform. Our research showed that on the functional level (marketing department level) the dominating share of companies develop competencies and capabilities in the sphere of marketing communication and customer involvement. Such marketing competencies as product management (including price management), customer relationship management or key account management have been transferred to the inter-functional (business) level. Channel management is carried out by the sales departments. The major finding is the confirmation of marketing knowledge equity formation in the most advanced companies (Yuldasheva, Pisareva & Khalikov, 2016). Marketing knowledge equity mostly consists of market and customer needs knowledge, ability to forecast market changes and customer reactions.
Conclusion
Thus, the proposition about the different ways of marketing model changing and a lower level of COC and lower influence of marketing in the decision making processes on all levels of the large Russian companies compared to the global companies is confirmed. However, a trend is apparent to enhance the strategic influence of marketing on the decision making processes in the large Russian companies. It requires the continuation of a longitudinal research. In whole, the comparative analysis of the Russian and global companies marketing models showed that in spite of the existence of some peculiarities mainly connected with the backwardness of Russian companies compared to foreign ones (particularly, there is a lower customer centricity and lower management quality), the Russian marketing replicates the development of the Western marketing, copying its models and practices.
