UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

One could argue that the epistemic meaning of ‘what is strategy [in/for …]’ should not change because it is such a fundamental conceptual and managerial pillar in social sciences and in the study of organizations. At the same time, one can reasonably argue that the phenotype (and maybe even genotype) of any strategy concept might evolve due to for example environmental or objective function changes. We want to discuss in this plenary session the evolution of the marketing strategy concept. What is it, what is not anymore, what is it going to be? Towards this end, we will discuss both in the plenary as well as in small groups the possible evolution of the marketing strategy concept, evaluate its current meaning, and hypothesize about some possible influencing factors and future directions.