A configurational perspective of marketing’s role in the performance of tech-based ventures

While existing research has examined how founders’ marketing experience and the presence of a Chief Marketing Officer relate to the performance of tech-based ventures, we broaden this perspective by studying how these roles may be complemented or substituted by early marketing managers and marketing employees. Relying on a configurational approach, we acknowledge that multiple distinct combinations of marketing positions across levels of an organizational hierarchy may be positively associated with the performance of tech-based ventures. We employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), complemented by qualitative interviews and regression analysis, to identify these high-performing combinations. Drawing on a longitudinal sample spanning Crunchbase, LinkedIn, and Compustat data on 1,791 tech-based ventures over six years, we find that no single marketing level is necessary for funding and market-related performance. Instead, we identify six configurations associated with high funding volumes and five associated with a high number of covered markets. Across these configurations, marketing management appears to be the most consistently influential role, appearing in most high-performing combinations and demonstrating strong positive effects in our complementary regression analyses.