Marketing's contribution from the perspective of marketing executives

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact that chief marketing executives' (CMEs) mindsets about important marketing capabilities have on company performance. Design/methodology/approach - The authors propose a structural model for analysing specialised, cross-functional and dynamic capabilities at the functional level of marketing. The model is tested by using a quantitative survey among CMEs. Additionally the authors conducted a cluster analysis with the purpose of identifying differences in CMEs' mindsets about important marketing capabilities and the impact of these differences on company performance. Findings - The study identified four categories of mindset about important capabilities. An investigation into the company performance profile of each mindset shows that integration and rejuvenation are central qualities of CMEs' mindsets and important drivers for company performance. Hence, companies that have a CME who prioritises both brand management, product development and customer relationship management as well as a set of specialised and dynamic marketing capabilities will outperform companies that have a CME who focuses on only one area of cross-functional marketing capabilities. Practical implications - Top managers, including CMEs, can use the typology of mindsets to analyse and critically reflect on their own ideas about important marketing processes and capabilities, but also as a tool for initialising change processes in their business unit or particular function (general management or marketing). Originality/value - The study provides an original assessment of sets of marketing capabilities at the functional level of marketing, and of the link between dynamic and two cross-functional marketing capabilities (product development and customer relationship management).