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FOUNDATIONS OF MARKETING MYOPIC
Marketing Myopia was initially described as a firm's shortsightedness or narrowness when it is attempting to define its business.(4) Marketing Myopia is analogous to a product orientation, whereby the firm defines itself as a product-producer. One alternative is a customer orientation (i.e., the Marketing Concept), whereby the firm defines itself as a satisfier of customer wants and needs; that is, the customer orientation helps the firm to anticipate and adapt to changes in customer demand.(4)
The customer orientation has also been considered as a type of Marketing Myopia. Firms overemphasize the satisfaction of customer wants and needs(8) and, as a result, have ignored competition. A competitor orientation has been proposed as a replacement for the customer orientation; with this orientation, a firm's strategy is influenced by its competitors.(8)
Manager tenure has also created a type of Marketing Myopia. Some marketing managers possess too narrow a perspective as a result of spending their entire career in a single industry.(7) This myopia fosters the erroneous mindset that each industry is unique. It restricts the firm's ability to learn from the experiences of firms in other industries facing parallel problems and opportunities.
hh#Marketing strategies transcend industry boundaries.(7) Firms can solve marketing problems and exploit opportunities by looking beyond immediate competitors for strategies. A broader perspective can result in cross-fertilization of ideas and, in turn, produce innovative marketing strategies.(2)
DIMENSIONS OF MARKETING MYOPIA
The preceding discussion suggests the need for a systematic way to classify the types of Marketing Myopia. The types can be classified along two dimensions. The first concerns management's definition of the firm. Firms can be narrowly defined by the type of product produced. Such firms are inward-oriented toward the firm. For example, a firm can be defined as a cold breakfast cereal firm.
Firms can be more broadly defined by the nature of the customer wants and needs satisfied. These firms are outward-oriented toward the market. Thus a firm can be more broadly defined as a breakfast foods firm.
The second dimension concerns the firm's business environment perspective. In essence, these firms have an inward orientation toward that industry. Firms with a single-industry perspective are preoccupied with the actions and reactions of immediate competitors. In addition, they are considered to have...