The marketing function in exploratory product innovation : contrasting different project types

This paper focuses on the marketing function in product innovation projects in established b-t-b firms. The marketing function in an innovation project is a term to denote both the project members that connect the project to customers or, more broadly, the market, and their activities in innovation projects. Drawing on data from four successful product innovation cases in the chemical industry, and distinguishing between a low and high level of exploration, the paper identifies similarities and differences in the marketing function. We find cross -functional integration and close customer collaboration being similar in all four projects, but we find differences in several market information generation practices, and differences in the overall organizational position of the marketers (i.e. those performing marketing tasks) between low exploration projects on one hand and high exploration projects on the other hand. The paper contributes to an emerging literature that addresses the marketing function in the context of exploratory product innovation.