MARKETING MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS — A REVIEW OF CURRENT PRACTICE Available to Purchase

The main findings of an ESRC‐funded research project which was aimed at evaluating current UK company practice with reference to marketing management information systems is summarised. The extent to which companies could and have developed these systems, the extent to which these systems could and have been improved by the adoption of new technology, and the extent to which these systems are used for effective decision making were examined. It is concluded that, in terms of financial performance, the benefits of MkIS have not yet been measured; very few companies have planned, fully integrated MkIS; the availability of information is good; processing (storing, retrieving, disseminating, evaluating) is poor; analysis by executives is simple and informal; most companies do not attempt to combine data from various sources; the use of statistical techniques is limited; availability of computers to marketing executives is high and increasing, but the applications are limited, and few software packages are specifically designed to deal with marketing problems.