Research on marketing in emerging firms: key issues and open questions

In many industries, emerging firms derive their initial strength from R&D activities. Though technological capabilities are important for building technologically sound products, they are not sufficient for turning an emerging firm into a viable economic actor, as numerous examples illustrate. Based on a discussion of the specific challenges of marketing in new ventures and a brief overview on past and current research studies, this article focuses on reviewing research findings on four key topics: establishing a market orientation, building credibility and trust with stakeholders, establishing marketing alliances and low-cost marketing. Though previous research has produced important insights into each of these topics, there are still plenty of issues that offer promising opportunities for future studies.