The execution of marketing strategies in a developing economy

• Published in: African journal of economic and management studies 2016-01, Vol.7 (1), p.9-29
• Main Authors: Appiah-Adu, Kwaku, Amoako, George Kofi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chief executives; Chief marketing officers; Cost control; Country of origin; Debt cancellation; Developing countries; Economic development; Economic growth; Economic reform; Economics; Emerging markets; GDP; Ghana; Gross Domestic Product; International economics; LDCs; Leadership; Liberalization; Market strategy; Marketing; Ownership; Product development
• ISSN: 2040-0705; 2040-0713
• DOI: 10.1108/AJEMS-07-2014-0052

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how market leaders use marketing strategies to maintain strong performance in their respective sectors within different economic contexts in an emerging developing economy. Design/methodology/approach – Case studies of three consistent, high performing market leaders based on the Ghana Club 100 rankings over the past decade are conducted. This involves structured interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief marketing officers (CMOs) of the organisations studied. Findings – The findings indicate that irrespective of the country of origin of the firm, or the economic context in a developing country, effective marketing strategies can be used to enhance the performance of organisations in their respective sectors. Originality/value – The approach used in this paper enables the authors to address the effectiveness of the marketing strategies across the past three decades covering the periods of pre-, during and post-economic reforms, and to examine the influence of different types of ownership (local, mixed foreign/local ownership and a multinational) on the execution of marketing strategies in a developing economy.