Marketing and the structuration of organizational learning

Abstract

A new dominant logic for marketing has evolved, one that sees both firms and customers as resource integrators. Proponents of this new marketing logic have called for the refinement and elaboration of this resource integration concept and a more explicit connection to the interactivity and networking literature. We address this need by exploring these literatures and drawing inferences for value creation. In particular, we explore how value creation in marketing is reliant upon organizational learning. To do this we draw upon structuration theory as a means of explaining the relationship between organizational and individual learning. We then explore how this relationship helps a firm to improve its value creation capabilities. We examine three key aspects of the structuration process of organizational learning: (1) the structural properties that enable and constrain learning practices; (2) the ways in which knowledgeable individuals carry out learning practices; and (3) the social processes in which learning practices are embedded. We illustrate these processes with the example of a typical network relationship dilemma in the construction industry. We then conclude by highlighting the ways in which our framework captures the central role that marketing plays in enhancing the organization’s capacity and capability to engage in knowledge management, organizational learning, and value creation and what that means to both the customer and the organization.