This study examines the use of the product management system in Australia, the nature of the product manager's rôle, and product manager perfor Mance. Responses from 201 senior marketing executives showed that product managers are now used in many different types of industries. Factor analysis revealed that product managers typically perfor M four basic rôles: (a) coöordination/implementation; (b) short-term analysis/forecasting; (c) long-term/strategic planning and, (d) product development. The results show that marketing executives do not view these rôles to be of equal importance. Importance-perfor Mance analysis indicated that the perfor Mance of product managers varied considerably across these four rôles.
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