Marketing policies of companies in a cyclical sector: an empirical study of the construction industry in the United Kingdom

Purpose To establish the best approaches that companies operating within a cyclical economic environment should adopt when marketing their products. Design/methodology/approach A structural equation modelling procedure is applied to the examination of the influences on corporate performance of certain policies pursued during cyclical downturns. The degrees to which these policies are implemented are hypothesised to depend on factors such as a firm's age and managerial experience of cyclical fluctuations, marketing orientation, and whether business cycles are explicitly taken into account when formulating corporate strategies. In total, 119 businesses in the UK construction industry participated in the investigation. Findings The relative effects of a number of explanatory variables on performance and its assumed antecedents are reported. Firms adopting “long‐term” approaches to marketing management across cycles tended to attain superior performance. However, short‐term approaches to marketing were commonplace. Research limitations/implications Self‐declared information on company performance was utilised. Also the study only considered a single industry (construction), so the results might not be generalisable to other sectors. Practical implications The outcomes offer practical advice to managers in the construction industry regarding their staff recruitment, retention and development policies during cyclical downturns, their employment of relationship marketing, and appropriate corporate strategies and budgeting methods for use in cyclical environments. Originality/value This is the first published study to explore construction companies' marketing responses to cyclical conditions.