Role of Marketing Strategy in Achieving Sustainable Competitive Advantage –Evidence from IT Firms in Bengaluru

Abstract

The paper examines the role of marketing strategy in establishing a sustainable competitive advantage for information technology firms. The present study draws on the Resource-Based View (RBV) as its theoretical foundation. Here, marketing strategy is operationalized as an organizational competency to explore competitiveness. Here, sustainable competitive advantage is operationalized using the development and improvement of business, company growth and performance, reduced costs, exploiting target market opportunities, and defending against competitive threats as its dimensions. The target population is marketing managers in the IT industry in Bengaluru. The sample size for this research was 100, and primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data were tested and analyzed using statistical tools such as the one-sample chi-square goodness-of-fit test. The findings indicate that there is statistically significant respondent agreement that marketing strategy contributes to sustainable competitive advantage. Elaborating on the results, the constructs reveal the significance, development and improvement of business (Χ² = 152.50, p < 0.001), company growth and performance (Χ² = 96.40, p < 0.001), reducing costs (Χ² = 61.04, p < 0.001), exploiting target market opportunities (Χ² = 61.04, p < 0.001), and defending against competitive threats (Χ² = 27.12, p < 0.001), which show a significant relationship with marketing strategy. This study contributes to research on sustainable competitive advantage theorized on the resource-based view (RBV), which investigates the significant association it has with marketing strategy for sustainability. This research broadens the application of the resource-based view (RBV). The current contribution explores a pragmatic perspective for IT-sector marketing managers for establishing competitiveness in the long run.