An empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value : A value‐based marketing perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine an empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance by using a value‐based marketing approach on organisations listed in Amman Stock Exchange Market operating in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative methodology was employed through conducting two surveys targeting Jordanian organisations' marketing managers and their customers as well as utilising hard measures for financial performance and shareholder value data analysis. A total of 218 marketing managers were involved in the managers' survey and 1,200 customers were involved in the customers' satisfaction survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised research model. Findings – The empirical results indicate that external and internal marketing orientations (IMOs) exerted a positive and significant effect on marketing strategy components, namely: product, price, promotion and distribution strategies. Marketing strategy components exerted a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction. The findings also indicate that product and price strategies are the strongest drivers of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on financial performance. More importantly, financial performance has a strong positive contribution to shareholder value measured by market value added and earning per share. Originality/value – This is the first empirical research paper that has investigated a model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance especially in developing countries, e.g. Jordan. This research offered executives and marketing directors empirical evidence on drivers of shareholder value maximisation and how to enhance marketing's strategic influence on strategic decisions which were not available to them before.