Marketing Strategy Implementation Success Factors: A Qualitative Empirical Investigation of Service Organizations in Jordan

The aim of this empirical research was to gain a deeper understanding of Marketing Strategy Implementation(MSI) success factors in service organisations in Jordan. Drawing on a thorough examination of MSI literaturereview and using a qualitative methodology (in-depth interviews), the author presents an inductive descriptivemodel of MSI which extends our understanding of MSI literature. A qualitative methodology was employed inwhich 42 in-depth interviews were carried out with marketing managers and executives across serviceorganisations to understand the MSI success factors as experienced by those managers. This exploratory researchfindings supported the MSI literature that advocated a broader conceptualisation and domain of MSI. Thisliterature advocated that the success of MSI should move beyond the traditional marketing departmentboundaries to include the organisational context and culture in which the MSI is taking place. The inductivemodel suggested five major factors that affected the success of MSI from managers’ experiences. These factorswere superior marketing competencies, organisational culture, managing and coping with external businessenvironment, practising internal marketing, and adapting organisational structure to newly formulated marketingstrategy. The qualitative findings suggested that superior marketing competencies and organisational culture, ascited by the managers, were among the most important factors that exerted a strong influence on the success ofMSI. The inductive model factors composite a set of complex activities that are intertwined in a way that affectsthe success of MSI, and managers need to understand their relationships and inter-related factors in order toimplement a marketing strategy successfully and more effectively. Finally, this research offered managerialimplications that managers may benefit from for MSI success factors and future research opportunities were alsodelineated in the field of MSI.