Column 5 · Learning and Knowledge · Era 3, Competitive Advantage (1980s)
Market Information Use
Formulation, process · Major · Cluster II, Resources and Orientation
Description
Their path analysis showed that managers' use of market research information depends on the technical quality of the research, its surprise value, researcher-manager interaction, and organizational structure, opening the study of how marketing intelligence is used.
Managerial Implications
Research is only valuable when it changes decisions, and managers use research they trust, understand, and did not find threatening. Involve decision makers in framing questions, present findings in their terms, and separate exploratory insight from confirmation. Much market intelligence is bought and ignored; the fix is organizational, in how research and decisions are connected, not methodological.