Market-Tržište, Vol. 16 No. 1-2, 2004.
Review article
Future research – the presumption of proactive marketing on business to business markets
Dubravka Sinčić
orcid.org/0000-0002-1834-5491
; Faculty of Economics & Business
Abstract
Due to the unexpected political and economic events in the near history, business people all over the world tend to think about the uncertain market conditions. Future research therefore became the widespread theme of the conversations between both academics and practitioners. Part of them finds the future research to be a scientific discipline, yet not suficiently accepted. Regardless of the level of recognition of the future research as a scientific discipline, it is more and more used as a basis for business and marketing decision making.
Future research is a new area of research. It includes systematic and explicit thinking about different future alternatives. More attention to it is given in the literature by the 1990s. By the end of the twentieth century it became more and more used, since the usefulness ot the results of the marketing decision making models, used till then, started to decline.
Future research is the presumption for the proactive business to business marketing. Its role is to enable information and facilitate dialogue on future buyers and customers, future opportunities and solutions. Interpretations of different past, present and future facts, which are at the disposal for marketing managers for their decision making processes, enable decisions that take advantage of the future possibilities. They also make possible better management of the uncertainties that may be expected. Therefore, future research should be comprehended as a research process, not a forcasting.
Greater importance of future research is recognized by many organizations. For that reason, they organize marketing intelligence departments in their organizations. Beside other tasks they have, those departments research possible future alternatives.
Keywords
future research; proactive marketing; business to business marketing; marketing intelligence
Hrčak ID:
22001
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2004.
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