How Marketing Capabilities Create Competitive Advantage in Turkey

Marketing capabilities have been identified as major determinants of firm performance because they address the so-called VRIN (Valuable, Rare, Imitable, Non-substitutable) criteria of strategic assets. However, considerably less attention has been paid to marketing capabilities and their effects on the creation of competitive advantage in the literature of strategic marketing. This study investigates the effects of marketing capabilities on firm performance through an empirical study conducted in the large emerging market of Turkey. The relative effects of Specialized Marketing Capabilities (SMC), Architectural Marketing Capabilities (AMC), and Market Information Processing Capabilities (MIPC) on sales turnover, market share, and profitability are explored on a sample of 198 Turkish firms operating in different industries. The findings reveal that all capabilities have positive and significant effects on firm performance, although SMC is seen as the most influential capability. The other capabilities of MIPC and AMC follow it, respectively. Therefore, the study suggests that with respect to resource allocation and investment decisions, priority should be given to specialized marketing capabilities such as innovativeness, brand reputation, corporate image, and creative advertising, which are positively and significantly associated with firm performance in the study.