characterized by deep rivalries and distrust. Some interdepartmental conflict stems
from differences of opinion as to what is in the company’s best interests, some from
real trade-offs between departmental well-being and company well-being, and some
from unfortunate stereotypes and prejudices.
In the typical organization, each business function has a potential impact on cus-
tomer satisfaction. Under the marketing concept, all departments need to “think cus-
tomer” and work together to satisfy customer needs and expectations. The marketing
department must drive this point home. The marketing vice president has two tasks:
(1) to coordinate the company’s internal marketing activities and (2) to coordinate
marketing with finance, operations, and other company functions to serve the
customer.
Yet there is little agreement on how much influence and authority marketing
should have over other departments. Typically, the marketing vice president must
work through persuasion rather than authority. Other departments often resist bend-
ing their efforts to meet the customers’ interests. Inevitably, departments define com-
pany problems and goals from their viewpoint. As a result, conflicts of interest are
unavoidable. We will briefly examine the typical concerns of each department.R&D
The company’s drive for successful new products is often thwarted by weak working
relations between R&D and marketing. In many ways, these groups have different cul-
tures.^13 R&D is staffed with scientists and technicians who pride themselves on sci-
entific curiosity and detachment, like to work on challenging technical problems
without much concern for immediate sales payoffs, and prefer to work without much
supervision or accountability. The marketing–sales department is staffed with busi-
ness-oriented people who pride themselves on a practical understanding of the mar-
ketplace, like to see many new products with promotable sales features, and feel
compelled to pay attention to product cost. Marketers see the R&D people as maxi-
mizing technical qualities rather than designing for customer requirements. R&D peo-
ple see marketers as gimmick-oriented hucksters who are more interested in sales than
in the product’s technical features.
A balanced company is one in which R&D and marketing share responsibility for
successful market-oriented innovation. The R&D staff must take responsibility not
only for innovation but also for a successful product launch. The marketing staff must
take responsibility not only for new sales features but also for correctly identifying
customer needs and preferences.
Gupta, Raj, and Wilemon concluded that a balanced R&D–marketing coordina-
tion is strongly correlated with innovation success.^14 R&D–marketing cooperation can
be facilitated in several ways:^15■ Sponsor joint seminars to build understanding and respect for each other’s goals,
working styles, and problems.
■ Assign each new project to functional teams including an R&D person and a
marketing person, who work together through the project’s life. R&D and mar-
keting jointly establish the development goals and marketing plan.
■ Encourage R&D participation into the selling period, including involvement in
preparing technical manuals, participating in trade shows, carrying out postin-
troduction marketing research with customers, and even doing some selling.
■ Work out conflicts by going to higher management, following a clear procedure.
In one company, R&D and marketing both report to the same vice president.Merck is a company that recognizes the strong connection between marketing and
R&D:■ Merck The description on its Web site reveals the close relationship of
Merck’s departments: “Merck is a worldwide research-intensive company that
discovers and develops, manufactures and markets human and animal health
products and services.” The research focus at Merck is on the development
of prescription drugs—Merck is the world’s largest seller of these products—part five
Managing and
Delivering Marketing(^690) Programs