Strategic Marketing: Betas, Boxes, Or Basics

This paper is critical of both the financial and marketing approaches to resource allocation problems within the multiproduct, multimarket firm. It is suggested that the financial approach is helpful on the issue of shareholder risk but that the marketing strategy approaches, using box classifications, are ill defined and based on dubious empirical assumptions. Neither approach is the key to identifying sustainable competitive advantage. More emphasis is required on project based assessment of such factors as imitability, flexibility, and positional advantages, as well as specific cost effects.