Recent marketing literature has shown that an influential marketing department is a driver of an organizationwide market orientation and, in some studies, of firm performance. Recognizing the importance of a strong marketing department, this study develops a theoretical model of the levers of marketing departments’ influence and examines the degree to which the effects of the levers are subject to national cultural variations. The authors empirically validate the theoretical model using 740 firms from six Western and Asian countries. The findings reveal both culturally dependent and independent effects. For example, although a great degree of innovativeness in the marketing department has a positive impact on the department's influence across cultures, a high level of accountability and integration with other departments shows cultural dependencies. Global marketing managers learn whether they should advise their local marketing department to use standardized influence tactics or make necessary adaptations to local circumstances.
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