Hidden Investments in Marketing Decisions

Abstract

Frequently implicit in marketing decisions are investments, far removed from marketing data, that turn up in sections of the financial reports. They can have troublesome effects on decision making, not only in the marketing activity but also in other areas. Thus, while marketing management is kept unaware of some ramifications of its earlier decisions, other departments may be treating outgrowths of marketing policy without ever understanding the roots of the problems they encounter. In this article hidden investments in inventory resulting from marketing decisions are described, their causes are analyzed, and their effects are traced.