The Marketing Budgeting Process: Marketing Management Implications

Most examinations of marketing and advertising budgeting concentrate on techniques ranging from arbitrary “rules of thumb” to complex management science models. The author suggests greater insight is obtained through a focus on the process of marketing budgeting. The processual variables identified in the article provide a framework for managing marketing budgeting that is much more insightful than the simple prescription of budgeting techniques. This insight arises from the source of such processual variables, as they are grounded in the task environment for marketing budgeting. The goal is to develop a conceptual framework for managing marketing budgeting that goes beyond technique to process and structure. This framework can be extended toward an organizational model of marketing budgeting. The argument is illustrated with the findings of a study of U.K. manufacturing firms.