Leveraging dynamic marketing capabilities to respond to changes in the market environment: empirical evidence from Thailand

Abstract

Dynamic marketing capabilities (DMCs) is one of the promising concepts that could address the effect of the ever-changing business environment. This new term was studied mostly as a mean of conceptualizing a theory in the context of developed markets. Nevertheless, there are lack of DMCs studies in emerging markets, which DMCs are likely to have different contexts and processes compared with those in developed markets. This study seeks to fill the current gaps in the literature, and provide the basis for future research to explore and shed additional light on this emerging concept. This dissertation aims to investigate the key factors influencing the dynamic marketing capabilities development and maintenance processes that help organizations to stay market-oriented over time. In choosing a representative of emerging markets in a qualitative study, the researcher chose Thailand, where the environment is highly dynamic and complicated. This empirical study applied an in-depth investigation of multiple organizations through the case study method, which combines various evidence within the analysis to answer how each organization develops and maintains its dynamic marketing capabilities. The findings drawn from the five case firms indicate that top management with high commitment, a transformational leadership style, and mastery of external and internal networks positively influence the organizational culture and support the development of dynamic marketing capabilities. This organizational culture includes trust and accountability, being a learning organization, and psychological safety. An empirical framework and propositions are provided for academic researchers to conduct further study of dynamic marketing capabilities. In addition, top management teams, especially those who lead the marketing and strategy functions, can apply the framework and propositions in their managerial practices to make the organizations stay market-oriented over time.