A new, multi‐item scale for operationalizing Miles and Snow's (1978) strategic typology— defenders, prospectors, analyzers, and reactors—is proposed and field‐tested in this paper. Relatively pure strategic types, identified as those organizations classified similarly using both the newly developed, multi‐item scale and the traditionally employed paragraph approach, are used to analyze the relationship between strategic types, distinctive marketing competencies, and organizational performance. Results of analysis suggest that while the marketing competencies of prospector organizations are superior to those of analyzer, defender, and reactor organizations, all three stable archetypes perform equally well in terms of profitability and outperform reactors. The newly developed strategic types scale performs well and appears to possess significant managerial and research potential. It is theoretically anchored, easily administered, and possesses diagnostic value to both strategists and their organizations.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. American Marketing Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Marketing.Cause-related marketing represents the confluence of perspectives from several specialized areas of inquiry such as marketing for nonprofit organizations, the promotion mix, corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, fund-raising management, and public relations. The authors outline the concept of cause-related marketing, its characteristics, and how organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, can benefit from effective use of this promising marketing tool. USINESS literature has examined three rationales for corporate philanthropy: through-the-firm giving, corporate statesmanship, and profit-motivated giving (see Fry, Keim, and Meiners 1982). Causerelated marketing (CRM) has emerged in recent years as a new form of corporate philanthropy based on the rationale of profit-motivated giving. We provide a review and synthesis of the emerging field of cause-related marketing. The purposes of our article are to (1) trace the evolution of corporate philanthropy and the emergence of CRM, (2) propose a definition of CRM and address some of the current misunderstanding of its nature and scope, (3) provide a detailed discussion on the managerial and social dimensions of CRM, and (4) propose directions for future research. Corporate involvement in social well-being began as voluntary responses to social issues and problems, then evolved into a phase of mandated corporate involvement, and is now evolving into a phase in which social responsibility is viewed as an investment by corporations (Stroup and Neubert 1987). A brief description of these phases is warranted to trace the emergence of CRM.Voluntarily doing good. Stroup and Neubert (1987) note that early philanthropy and social responsiveness were undertaken by public-spirited corporations voluntarily. Though such undertakings invariably reduced profit because they consumed corporate resources (Stroup and Neubert 1987), some authors contend that even these voluntary actions were not entirely altruistic . Keim (1978a,b), for instance, points out that corporate philanthropy encompasses a range of activities, some that may positively affect the profit of contributors and others based on purely altruistic considerations.2 Morris and Biederman (1985) note that shrewd alignment of corporate and social needs marked the first 50 years of corporate philanthropy. The use of CRM as an integral component of a firm's marketing strategy calls for decisions on the part of the firm about a broad range of dimensions. Some of the major dimensions of CRM are outlined in Table 2. The list is illustrative and not exh...

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Diversification has emerged as a central topic of research in strategic management. Although this topic has been widely and intensively studied by scholars from other areas such as industrial organization economics, financial economics, organization theory, and marketing, a synthesis of these diverse streams of research is lacking. This paper attempts such a synthesis with a view to fostering further strategic management research in this area by taking a multi‐disciplinary perspective on diversification. A wide‐ranging search of the literature led to the development of an overarching research framework that facilitates the classification of a vast body of literature. Proceeding from the framework, a critique of the literature is performed with a particular emphasis on studies by strategic management researchers. Five key conceptual and methodological problems are identified and discussed. Suggestions are offered for future research on diversification.

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