Title: Differentiated marketing strategies between strategic groups in Greek food industry

Authors: Ourania Notta

Addresses: Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Department of Agricultural Technology (Agricultural Economics Programme), P.O. Box 141, 57400, Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract: This study examines the heterogeneity of the Greek dairy industry based on 'strategic group theory'. Its objectives are: (1) to define strategic groups within the Greek dairy industry; (2) to examine whether firms move between strategic groups over time and (3) to examine the performance differences among these strategic groups. I use as key strategic variable product differentiation, which is measured by both advertising intensity and number of brands per firm. The results for the period 2002-2011 prove the existence of three strategic groups, based on differentiation within the Greek dairy industry, with certain performance differences.

Keywords: marketing strategies; strategic groups; brands; Greece; food industry; product differentiation; dairy industry; advertising intensity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEE.2015.066220

International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics, 2015 Vol.5 No.1, pp.1 - 11

Received: 03 Feb 2014
Accepted: 21 Jul 2014

Published online: 17 May 2015 *

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