Relating marketing expertise on the top management team and strategic market aggressiveness to financial performance and shareholder value

Abstract

Understanding the impact of marketing on firm performance has received considerable attention in recent years. To further explore this issue, the authors explore top management team composition and strategic market aggressiveness in a conceptual model that integrates research in marketing and strategic management. The model is tested using 20 quarters of objective data on 173 firms across 47 industries. Path analysis indicates that inclusion of marketing expertise on the top management team and aggressive deployment of strategic resources for addressing markets contribute uniquely to sales growth which, in turn, contributes substantially to firm profitability and shareholder value.