Factors affecting the use of information in the evaluation of marketing communications productivity

Most prior research on the use of marketing information has studied antecedents of the use of information in new product strategy decisions. This study investigates factors that are related to the use of marketing information in the evaluation of marketing communications productivity. The information used in this context originates from a wide range of internal and external sources. On the basis of organizational theories of information processing, the authors develop and test a conceptual framework explaining the use of information to evaluate marketing communications productivity. Collected survey data indicate that information quality, organization formalization, task complexity, market turbulence, rationality of decision style, and group involvement are all positively related to the use of information in assessing marketing communications productivity. Moderating relationships involving formalization, complexity, decision style, and the degree of group involvement are also found. Implications for managing market knowledge and future research in information use are discussed. George S. Low is an associate professor in the Marketing Department of the M. J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. His Ph.D. in marketing is from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also received an M.B.A. from the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, and a B.A. in advertising from Brigham Young University. He spent 4 years as a media planner with MacLaren McCann Advertising (Canada). His research focuses on integrated marketing communications and brand management, and has been published in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Advertising Research, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, and theJournal of Product and Brand Management, among others. He is the recipient of four research grants from the Marketing Science Institute. Jakki J. Mohr is an associate professor of marketing and the Ron and Judy Paige faculty fellow at the University of Montana. She received her B.B.A. from Boise State University, her M.S. in marketing from Colorado State University, and her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before beginning her academic career, she worked in Silicon Valley in the advertising area for both Hewlett Packard’s Personal Computer Group and Tele Video Systems. Her research has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theStrategic Management Journal, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of High Technology Management Research, Marketing Management, andComputer Reseller News. She has recently authored a book,Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations. Her research interests lie primarily in the area of marketing of high-technology products and services.