Marketing information flows: a critique and reconceptualisation

Abstract

This thesis outlines the accepted view of marketing information systems, which involves sub-systems in market research, market intelligence, internal reports, and analysis or management science. The accepted view is criticised, particularly for providing inadequate accounts of: The use of informal information flows; The use of organisation design methods to meet information needs; The needs of junior marketers and small organisations; Development of systems without conscious management intervention. A new approach to the study of marketing information systems is suggested, drawing on established work in the areas of task uncertainty, organisational information processing, contingency theory and cybernetics. A set of guidelines for the development of marketing information flows is also proposed. Case studies of marketing information flows in three diverse organisations are reported from the perspective of this new approach, allowing the confirmation and refinement of the variables and constructions involved. Further work is now required to develop the new approach to the point where it can be subjected to a rigorous empirical assessment.