Content area
Abstract
This dissertation introduces and catalogues marketing strategic schema to the business literature. The complexity of marketing strategic schema is described and measured using qualitative review of 90 firms' annual reports. I show that firms with more complex marketing strategic schema benefit from enhanced financial performance as measured by Tobin's q, profitability, and sales; but are not rewarded by the stock market or in terms of market share. Additionally, I show that board of director networks, created when firms share board members either directly or indirectly, moderate the relationship between marketing strategic schema and firm financial performance. I show that firms with greater network connectivity created by shared directorships exhibit an enhanced ability to utilize marketing strategic schema for financial gain. I investigate the moderating effects of board of director network connectivity between same-industry firms and firms operating in different industries. The results support the weak-ties viewpoint that connectivity to firms in different industries improves access and utilization of novel and beneficial information. Finally, I introduce and measure industry clockspeed to the marketing literature and show it to positively enhance the impact of complex marketing strategic schema on firm performance.
