Managing entrepreneurial opportunism and marketing discipline in firm performance: empirical application

Entrepreneurship and marketing discipline represent a combination between perceptive observation and deliberate planning. Entrepreneurial marketing requires fast, aggressive manoeuvres to capture opportunities, balanced with disciplined analysis, planning, and execution. We develop a theoretical framework that shows the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and adaptability based on market research. We propose seven success factors for managers to monitor in entrepreneurial marketing: 1) first mover; 2) adaptability; 3) interpersonal interaction; 4) participative management; 5) process; 6) marketing tools; 7) technology. We test the framework using data collected from enterprises in the Middle East. The empirical analysis shows that first mover, adaptability, interpersonal interaction, process orientation and technology are positively related to performance. Participative management and marketing tools are found statistically insignificant. Although this data provides insight, it is bound to cultural factors. Therefore, we recommend that all seven dimensions be monitored as key success factors to combine entrepreneurial action with marketing discipline.