Dispersion of marketing capabilities: impact on marketing’s influence and business unit outcomes

The marketing function of firms continues to evolve into many configurations, including the dispersion of marketing capabilities. This study evaluates the effects on the marketing function’s influence when marketing capabilities are dispersed across multiple boundaries. Using a sample of marketing executives, we study the effects of two forms of marketing capabilities dispersion: intra-organizational dispersion and inter-organizational dispersion. We examine the impact of these forms on marketing’s perceived influence within the firm. We also investigate marketing’s influence on customer responsiveness, along with three distal outcomes: marketing strategy implementation success, relationship portfolio effectiveness, and business unit performance. Our findings reveal that marketing’s influence may actually heighten or diminish, depending on the form of marketing capability dispersion. Further, we contribute to findings regarding marketing’s influence on business unit performance. The results provide a new lens for scholars to view and measure marketing dispersion and offer guidance to practitioners.