Marketing Innovation: The Unheralded Innovation Vehicle to Sustained Competitive Advantage

Apathy by both industry and academia continues to linger with respect to the role marketing innovation plays in corporate success, made visible by the overwhelming concentration of organizational and scholarly research on product innovation. This study introduces marketing innovation as another innovation vehicle that can lead to sustained competitive advantage, particularly when synergistically combined with product innovation. In this paper the dynamics of marketing innovation throughout the industry life cycle are examined, along with the implications of marketing innovation for firm sustained competitive advantage and performance. It is proposed that the positive synergy created by marketing innovation and product innovation leads to greater competitive advantage and, subsequently, firm success than either innovation alone. Lastly, the study draws innovation for sustainability into the multidimensional mix as a new key ingredient for sustained competitive advantage in today’s environment.