Abstract
Purpose
In almost every large business, there is a growing recognition of the importance of organisational agility in improving their marketing responsiveness and business survival. However, limited insights have been offered by scholars on multinational enterprises and their marketing agility in emerging markets context. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various manifestations of agility and the various strategies adopted to sustain agility by an emerging economy multinational enterprise (EMNE) which started in the late 1990s as a small firm operating within the fresh fruit and juice industry in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilised empirical qualitative data from an emerging African economy to develop a three-stage model of how agility manifests overtime.
Findings
The authors find that successful development and deployment of international marketing agility strategy adopted by an EMNE from emerging markets hinge on building relationships, being socially responsible and being innovative in standardisation and adaptation in response to, and in anticipation of, the rapidly changing business environment.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on data from one organisation. Future research can consider using multiple cases from different countries to further understand marketing agility in emerging markets and when such firms internalise into developed markets.
Originality/value
This paper extends research on standardisation/adaptation debate and research on agility, to address the gap on international marketing agility. Hitherto, there was no significant research on marketing agility in emerging markets which focused on highly perishable products such as fruits. This research provides unique insight into how marketing agility could be developed, deployed and sustained in emerging African markets.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 190-212 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | International Marketing Review |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 11 Jul 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Apr 2019 |
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Bibliographical note
Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Cite this
Developing and deploying marketing agility in an emerging economy: The case of Blue Skies. / Omar, Maktoba; Osei, Collins.
In: International Marketing Review, Vol. 36, No. 2, 08.04.2019, p. 190-212.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing and deploying marketing agility in an emerging economy: The case of Blue Skies
AU - Omar, Maktoba
AU - Osei, Collins
N1 - Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
PY - 2019/4/8
Y1 - 2019/4/8
N2 - PurposeIn almost every large business, there is a growing recognition of the importance of organisational agility in improving their marketing responsiveness and business survival. However, limited insights have been offered by scholars on multinational enterprises and their marketing agility in emerging markets context. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various manifestations of agility and the various strategies adopted to sustain agility by an emerging economy multinational enterprise (EMNE) which started in the late 1990s as a small firm operating within the fresh fruit and juice industry in Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe authors utilised empirical qualitative data from an emerging African economy to develop a three-stage model of how agility manifests overtime.FindingsThe authors find that successful development and deployment of international marketing agility strategy adopted by an EMNE from emerging markets hinge on building relationships, being socially responsible and being innovative in standardisation and adaptation in response to, and in anticipation of, the rapidly changing business environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on data from one organisation. Future research can consider using multiple cases from different countries to further understand marketing agility in emerging markets and when such firms internalise into developed markets.Originality/valueThis paper extends research on standardisation/adaptation debate and research on agility, to address the gap on international marketing agility. Hitherto, there was no significant research on marketing agility in emerging markets which focused on highly perishable products such as fruits. This research provides unique insight into how marketing agility could be developed, deployed and sustained in emerging African markets.
AB - PurposeIn almost every large business, there is a growing recognition of the importance of organisational agility in improving their marketing responsiveness and business survival. However, limited insights have been offered by scholars on multinational enterprises and their marketing agility in emerging markets context. The purpose of this paper is to examine the various manifestations of agility and the various strategies adopted to sustain agility by an emerging economy multinational enterprise (EMNE) which started in the late 1990s as a small firm operating within the fresh fruit and juice industry in Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe authors utilised empirical qualitative data from an emerging African economy to develop a three-stage model of how agility manifests overtime.FindingsThe authors find that successful development and deployment of international marketing agility strategy adopted by an EMNE from emerging markets hinge on building relationships, being socially responsible and being innovative in standardisation and adaptation in response to, and in anticipation of, the rapidly changing business environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on data from one organisation. Future research can consider using multiple cases from different countries to further understand marketing agility in emerging markets and when such firms internalise into developed markets.Originality/valueThis paper extends research on standardisation/adaptation debate and research on agility, to address the gap on international marketing agility. Hitherto, there was no significant research on marketing agility in emerging markets which focused on highly perishable products such as fruits. This research provides unique insight into how marketing agility could be developed, deployed and sustained in emerging African markets.
U2 - 10.1108/IMR-12-2017-0261
DO - 10.1108/IMR-12-2017-0261
M3 - Article
VL - 36
SP - 190
EP - 212
JO - International Marketing Review
JF - International Marketing Review
SN - 0265-1335
IS - 2
ER -