Managing Social Worlds of the Marketing and Sales departments
Author
Holendová, Brigita
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-05-31
Pages
83
Abstract
This thesis examines how a company manages and coordinates the social worlds of its Marketing and Sales departments. In a context where personal selling is a main distribution channel and marketing plays a dominant role in strategy formation, the study explores how managers shape norms, goals, collaboration, and conflict management across the two functions. The research is an exploratory case study based on two semi-structured interviews with managers, grounded in a social constructivist approach and guided by an analytical framework developed from a systematic literature review. Theoretically, it draws on Lawrence and Lorsch’s differentiation and integration theory and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to illuminate how organizational and cultural factors influence behavior and cooperation. Findings indicate a high level of integration between Marketing and Sales, yet persistent differences in role specialization, training, goals, and time orientation that signal distinct social worlds. Employees express pride, a strong commitment to customer value, and a hard-working attitude, while the organizational environment—through culture, strategy, and communication flows—actively shapes and connects the departments. The study offers insight into how firms can balance integration with necessary differentiation to enhance collaboration and customer value.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan en virksomhed håndterer og koordinerer de sociale verdener i Marketing- og Sales-afdelingerne. Med udgangspunkt i, at personlig salg er en af virksomhedens vigtigste distributionskanaler, og at marketing har en dominerende rolle i strategiudformningen, stiller studiet skarpt på, hvordan ledere former afdelingers normer, mål og samarbejde samt håndterer potentielle konflikter. Undersøgelsen er et eksplorativt casestudie baseret på to semistrukturerede interviews med ledere og er forankret i en socialkonstruktivistisk tilgang, støttet af en systematisk litteraturgennemgang og et analytisk rammeværk. Teoretisk trækker studiet på Lawrence og Lorschs differentierings- og integrationsteori samt Hofstedes kulturdimensioner for at belyse, hvordan organisatoriske og kulturelle faktorer præger adfærd og samarbejde. Fundene viser en høj grad af integration mellem Marketing og Sales, samtidig med at der består forskelle i rolle-specialisering, træning, mål og tidsorientering, som afspejler forskellige sociale verdener. Medarbejderne udviser stolthed, et stærkt kundefokus og en arbejdsom indstilling, mens virksomhedens miljø — gennem kultur, strategi og kommunikationsflows — aktivt former og forbinder afdelingerne. Studiet giver dermed indblik i, hvordan virksomheder kan balancere integration og nødvendige forskelle for at styrke samarbejde og værdi til kunden.
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