Title: Marketing productivity and the definition of success in the international consulting industry: non-financial and financial metrics

Authors: Inés Küster; Juan M. Castro-Valderrama

Addresses: Department of Marketing, Faculty of Economics, University of Valencia, Avda Tarongers sn. 46022, Valencia, Spain Fax: +34-96-3828333 ' University of Valencia, Hochschule, Bremen, Germany

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine and measure the relationship between marketing productivity and the understanding of success in consulting companies. The study considers the effects of non-financial metrics attached to financial metrics and firm performance. The research application focuses on a European consulting firm and its 31 Ecuadorian most important customer firms. The data analysis with a sample of 31 Ecuadorian customer firms reveals that to corporate reputation and innovation metrics are the most important. Perceived quality is the least important metric in performance evaluation and no significant relationship occurs between the customer loyalty attached to financial metrics in firm performance. The study is, as far as is known, the first attempt at aiming to explore marketing productivity and understanding of success metrics in Ecuador, and one of a limited number of studies in developing economies.

Keywords: marketing productivity; success; financial metrics; non-financial metrics; consulting sector; emerging market.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPM.2023.129842

International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2023 Vol.24 No.2, pp.131 - 157

Received: 30 Apr 2021
Accepted: 03 May 2022
Published online: 31 Mar 2023 *

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