Do different marketing practices require different leadership styles? An exploratory study

Purpose – The literature discusses the relationship between marketing practice and leadership style and suggests that these are dynamic and linked. Providing empirical data, this paper seeks to investigate this relationship between marketing practices and leadership styles. Design/methodology/approach – A model was developed and tested using a survey methodology based on two well‐validated research instruments, one from the Contemporary Marketing Practices research group and the other the MLQ leadership questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. Findings – The results showed that a transformational style of leadership is positively associated with interaction and network marketing. Transactional leadership is positively associated with database and network marketing. Passive/avoidant leadership has no effect on any of the marketing practices. Research limitations/implications – The research is unique and exploratory, and was conducted in a UK context. The use of moderators within the model would have been preferable. For these reasons, generalizability is somewhat constrained. Practical implications – The research adds weight to the argument that leadership styles need to be consciously adapted with respect to marketing practices. There are also implications for managerial training and development needs. Originality/value – To one's knowledge very few studies have considered the relationship between marketing practices and leadership styles. The paper, therefore, reports work in an area not previously researched empirically.