A Framework for the Structural Design of the Marketing Unit: A Contingency Theory Approach

The implementation of marketing strategies in industrial organizations is influenced by the extent to which their administrative structures are appropriately designed to deal with the environments in which they are operating. Although some key aspects of the marketing function important to successful performance have been, identified in previous research and some partial models proposed, there is a need to integrate such findings from a comprehensive organizational perspective. The authors present an integrative conceptual model which elaborates upon hypothesized relationsnips between the structure of an organization’s marketing unit, the conditions of its external markets and environments, and the performance of the marketing unit.