Marketing, strategy and firm
performance
Jukka Luoma, D.Sc.
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing
Aalto University School of Business
The team
•  Marina Vahtola, Executive in Residence, Aalto University
•  Juhani Sirén, CEO, Magisso
•  Jaakko Hallavo, Pricipal Consultant, Smilehouse
•  Iiro Vaniala, M.Sc., course assistant
-  practicalities
Overview
•  Why some firms perform better than others?
-  A better understanding of the drivers of organizational excellence in
competitive settings helps executives and marketers make
decisions, which contribute to firm value, competitiveness of nations
and functioning of the market economy as a whole.
•  The course covers the central streams of strategic marketing and
strategic management research, which offer different, but
complementary answers to the same basic question.
Course overview
INTRODUCTION
Marketing as a strategic management issue
Market orientation
Strategic marketing
Marketing capabilities and business models
Competitive dynamics
Strategic management
Dynamic capabilities and organizational renewal
Marketing and strategy across firm boundaries
CASE PRESENTATIONS
Learning outcomes
•  The student understands the strategic role of marketing and
marketing capabilities as well as the role of competition and
organizational renewal in shaping the competitiveness of firms
-  The student is familiar with conceptual tools for driving strategic
marketing excellence and assessing company performance.
MSFP framework
Competitors
- 
- 
Market orientation
+
Marketing capabilites
Marketing action
- 
- 
“4Ps”
(understood broadly)
Reactions
Attacks
Impact on customer
- 
- 
AttitudesàBehaviors
(e.g., satisfaction à retention)
Other actions
Environmental change
- 
- 
- 
Changes in customer behavior
Technological change
Etc.
Firm performance
- 
- 
- 
Sales
Profits
Shareholder value
MSFP framework
Lecture 5
Competitors
- 
- 
Market orientation
+
Marketing capabilites
Marketing action
- 
- 
“4Ps”
(understood broadly)
Reactions
Attacks
Impact on customer
- 
- 
AttitudesàBehaviors
(e.g., satisfaction à retention)
Other actions
Lecture 3-4
Lecture 2
Environmental change
- 
- 
- 
Changes in customer behavior
Technological change
Etc.
Lecture 6
Firm performance
- 
- 
- 
Sales
Profits
Shareholder value
MSFP framework
Lecture 7
Competitors
- 
- 
Market orientation
+
Marketing capabilites
Marketing action
- 
- 
“4Ps”
(understood broadly)
Reactions
Attacks
Impact on customer
- 
- 
Attitudes!Behaviors
(e.g., satisfaction ! retention)
Other actions
Environmental change
- 
- 
- 
Changes in customer behavior
Technological change
Etc.
Firm performance
- 
- 
- 
Sales
Profits
Shareholder value
Ongoing feedback collection
•  Tear a piece of paper
•  Write a number, 1-5, indicating whether the lecture was a success
5 = Totally agree
4 = Agree
3 = Neutral
2 = Disagree
1 = Totally disagree
(Written feedback is also welcome)
•  Return it to the feedback box on your way out
“Processual” learning outcomes
Muiden kielten viestintätaidot
Ruotsin kielen viestintätaidot
Oman alan teoreettinen osaaminen
Taloussuunnittelun ja budjetoinnin tuntemus
Yritystoiminnan perusteiden tuntemus
Englannin kielen viestintätaidot
Tiedonhankintataidot
Lainsäädännön tuntemus
Analyyttisen ja systemaattisen ajattelun taidot
Suomen kielen viestintätaidot
Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan taidot
Ryhmätyötaidot ym. sosiaaliset taidot
Opetus-, koulutus- ja ohjaustaidot
Esiintymistaidot
Esimiestaidot
Ongelmanratkaisutaidot
Projektinhallintataidot
Organisointi- ja koordinointitaidot
Neuvottelutaidot
-1.5
-1
-0.5
Information search skills
Analytical and systematic thinking
Group work skills
Presentation skills
Problem solving skills
Project management skills
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Importance in work vs. studying developed
Source: SEFE (2013)
Timetable
Teaching methods
•  Participatory, reflective, no exams!
•  Inside class-room (minimum attendance = 6/8)
-  Facilitated discussion
-  Group discussions
-  Mini-cases
-  Mini-lectures
•  Outside class-room
-  6 reflection essays (warning - not a piece of cake!)
-  1 final essay
-  1 group assignment (5-7 people)
Guest lecture, September 23
•  Jaakko Hallavo, Principal Consultant
“How to become a successful online retailer?”
Assignments and grading
•  Individual assignments (0-60 points)
-  Reflection essays discussing the course readings x 6 (0-36 points, á 3
points, scaled to 0-6)
-  Final essay x 1 (0-24 points)
•  Group assignment (0-40 points)
-  Live case (0-35 points)
-  In-class participation (0-5 points)
•  Individual classroom performance up to 5 extra points
•  You have to hand in the final essay and group assignment deliverables to
get a grade
Points-to-Grade conversion table
86-100 points=excellent (knowledge) = 5
70-85 points=very good (knowledge) = 4
60-69 points=good (knowledge) = 3
50-59 points=satisfactory (knowledge) = 2
40-49 points=sufficient (knowledge) =1
Assignments
•  Reflection essays prepare you to class
-  Hand in through MyCourses before 14.15 on the day of lecture
-  Each reflection essay is graded from 0-3
•  Final essay summarizes your learning during the course
-  5-10 pages, but length is not key
•  Group assignment helps put the theoretical ideas to practice
-  Presentation + report
Workload
Communication (MyCourses)
•  News: “us to you”
•  Group discussion: “you to us” and “you to you”
•  Readings and assignments
•  Syllabus!
Live case
Marina Vahtola, Juhani Sirén, Jukka Luoma
Live cases
•  Live cases are case studies derived from a current problem
situation faced by a real company. Live cases enhance the
students’ learning experience by providing an opportunity to apply
their new theoretical knowledge to a real business problem
•  Simultaneously, the participating company gains valuable input into
their strategizing and organizational development processes
-  The main purpose of the case study is to learn how to apply the
conceptual tools offered by academic strategic marketing/
management literature to understanding practical (business) cases
Magisso
•  Finnish design company founded in 2008; offers products that
make everyday life in and around the kitchen easier
•  The live case assignments ask the student teams to:
-  Identify ways in which
Magisso can foster
profitable growth
-  Explore future risks and
opportunities in the
business environment of
Magisso
Procedures and methods (1/2)
•  The students’ case assignments address specific issues pertaining
to the company’s broader problem of fostering profitable growth
and exploring future risks and opportunities
•  The teams base their work on publicly available materials (e.g.,
news, magazine articles) and materials provided by the company
•  It is up to the students to contact the case company in case they
wish to interview its members or obtain other data from the
company (this is recommended!)
-  CEO Juhani Sirén, [email protected]
Procedures and methods (2/2)
•  The student teams work on their case assignments throughout the
course and present their case solutions on the final lecture
•  The teams are welcome to ask for consultation after every class;
priority will be given to teams that have booked an appointment
beforehand (email the lecturer)
-  Use this opportunity; it helps to get external feedback!
•  A company representative, the course instructor and other students
comment on the case solutions provided by each team
Teams
•  The case assignment is done in groups of 5-7
-  If you cannot find a group, or your group needs an extra member,
find one in the MyCourses discussion forum
-  Send a list of your group members to the course assistant after
class—no later than Friday noon this week
-  If there are freeriding problems etc., please explain the situation to
the teacher (in email, preferably) who will discuss the matter with
the person in question
-  Be nice, don’t freeride—it may affect your grade
Case assignments
•  Case 1: Marketing performance measurement audit
•  Case 2: New product development process audit
•  Case 3: “HoReCa”
•  Case 4: Online store
•  Case 5: Competitor analysis
Deliverables and grading
•  8-minute presentation of your case study for the last session
-  Please rehearse so that you can give your presentation in the time
given to you, which will be presented on the last session
-  Focus on the essential, you can have backup slides with more
details, supporting information and data
•  The final report should be about 3-5 ages
•  The presentation and the final report will have an equal effect on
the case assignment grade of your group
-  All group members will get the same grade
Case assignment choice
•  Rank order all five case assignments, submit your preferences to
the course assistant
-  DL Friday at noon
-  We will try to find all groups a case assignment that fits their
preferences as well as possible
Warm-up group exercise
Pick a successful or unsuccessful company
Explain its success or failure
3-5 bullet points
20 minutes