Susan Mackintosh and Caroline Tynan
Recent research has confirmed that marketing continues to have a low status among small firms in the UK. This paper considers the theory of marketing planning and its relevance to…
Abstract
Recent research has confirmed that marketing continues to have a low status among small firms in the UK. This paper considers the theory of marketing planning and its relevance to small firms, and reports on the key findings of a qualitative research project which investigated the levels of understanding and utilisation of marketing and marketing planning in small Cambridgeshire firms. The results of this project confirm that marketing is misunderstood and underutilised in most small firms. However, the findings also show that many firms are anxious to improve their marketing activity, but are unsure about where to turn for assistance. A practical framework is proposed which would assist small firms in taking a more disciplined approach to marketing without adopting strategic marketing planning, which is seen by many as daunting and inflexible. The findings of this research project have implications both for small firm owner/managers and for service providers who want to assist small firms to survive and grow in the mid‐1990s and beyond.
Leslie Collins and Caroline Montgomery
Offers the results of an attempt to trace and characterise the origins of what is sometimes termed motivational research. Proclaims that motivational research, complementing…
Abstract
Offers the results of an attempt to trace and characterise the origins of what is sometimes termed motivational research. Proclaims that motivational research, complementing formal market research, arises in economic conditions of competitive mass‐production associated with relative affluence and herein is an historical guide to the part played by psychology in modern marketing. Maintains that research effort prior to the introduction of motivational research was concerned with defining markets and developing survey techniques, especially in relation to sampling, questionnaire design, structured interviewing, etc. Concludes that the treatment of many matters of interest here, have had to be relatively condensed but a future article proposes to adjust this.
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Corina Sheerin and Margaret Linehan
Through an examination of the everyday organisational and social practices, this paper aims to consider gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within front office…
Abstract
Purpose
Through an examination of the everyday organisational and social practices, this paper aims to consider gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within front office investment management. At the core of this research is the need to understand the interactions between gender, power and patriarchy.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist philosophical stance underpins the study. A theory-building approach using 19 semi-structured interviews with investment management employees based in Ireland was undertaken.
Findings
The findings highlight a sector in which gender is performed in line with sectoral expectations, which place men in positions of dominance with hegemonic masculinity inherent. The organisational structures and daily interactions are imbued with male norms, which dictate how gender is to be performed, and which places women firmly as “different” and “outsiders”. These mechanisms of inequality are further supported by men’s “blocked reflexivity”.
Practical implications
The findings of this study indicate clear evidence of a “patriarchal dividend”, which is underpinned by the maintenance of closure regimes and gender blindness particularly, among senior male gatekeepers. Such results call for policymakers to go beyond goals of numerical parity and ensure transparency and equality across all aspects of work. A holistic and multifaceted approach to addressing issues of gendered culture and the normalisation of men’s privileged relationship with power positions is needed.
Originality/value
This paper is situated within a relatively under-researched labour market space, that of investment management. The findings conceptualise gender as a social process, thus facilitating traditional assumptions about gender at work as a single entity to be challenged. The results also advance theoretical insights of misogynistic work cultures and hegemonic masculinity through the analysis of gendered behaviours within this traditionally male environment.