Marketing Strategy Implementation in Higher Education Essay -- higher e

The scholarly article which I selected to review addressed the strategic implementation of marketing initiatives within international higher education entities (Naidoo & Woo, 2011). This article was of particular interest to me due to its specific focus on marketing within higher education entities (HEI’s). The authors focused their research on 10 universities which recruit international students; specifically, on 570 questionnaires from mid-level marketing managers responsible for strategic implementation of marketing initiatives. (Naidoo & Woo, 2011, p. 1117) The authors note the disparity in success between HEI’s in addressing the international student market, and raise the implied question of whether differences in successful strategic implementation could be contributory. This study focuses on strategic implementation, as contrasted with strategic formulation, as a driver for marketing success. The premise of the authors is that by focusing on the factors whic h influence successful strategic implementation, HEI’s can enhance marketing program success. In addition to highlighting strategic implementation as a marketing success factor, they emphasize the value of a higher education focus in their research. Although this business category has achieved prolific growth in recent years, most marketing research has been focused on a general business environment. The research found that strategic implementation is viewed by marketing management as operations-driven in nature. The authors uncovered 4 primary constructs from their data: implementation related outcome variables, dimensions of commitment, strategy factors and role factors. (Naidoo & Woo, 2011, p. 1122) Put in simpler terms, the authors identified strategy commi... ...ting program success. They have demonstrated that mid-level marketing managers within Higher Education view individual commitment to the selected strategy, as well as the perceived significance of their role in implementation, as critical factors to role performance, and ultimately program success. Suggestions for follow up may include a closer analysis of successful and less successful HEI’s, to further understand how these factors influence the success or failure of these organizations’ marketing programs. Works Cited Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). A framework for marketing management. (5 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Hall. Naidoo, V., & Wu, T. (2011). Marketing strategy implementation in higher education: A mixed approach for model development and testing. Journal Of Marketing Management, 27(11/12), 1117-1141. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2011.609132