Divtvany achieved through the design of the relationship between marketing and sales organization

Authors

Abstract

Abstract: Designing
sales and marketing relationship has been specified as one of the challenging issues of organizations in the marketing literature.
We proposed a novel conceptual framework for
designing the relationship between sales and marketing and explaining
its strategic consequences by borrowing
theories from strategy and organization theories. In the strategy literature, organizational ambidexterity, which
refers to combining attention toward exploration and exploitation, is a driving force for
organizational survival and growth. This
paper suggests that designing sales and marketing relationship is an
effective mechanism for realizing organizational ambidexterity. Sales
departments reinforce exploitation and marketing departments reinforce
exploration in organizations. In addition, based on the organizational theory literature, designing appropriate cross-functional
relationships require accepting structural differences in one side and applying integration mechanisms in the other side.
Structural differentiation between sales and marketing improves each
department’s capability and thus results in enhancing exploration and
exploitation. Yet, to realize organizational ambidexterity there should be
integration mechanisms and mutual support of each other’s activities.

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