Nature and antecedents of a marketing approach according to Italian SME entrepreneurs: A structural equation modeling approach

Purpose \u2013 The purpose of this research is to explore the conception of marketing held by entrepreneurs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in comparison with that proposed by researchers using different paradigms (i.e. the transactional, relationship, or inductional marketing). It then seeks to examine the determinants of the entrepreneurs\u2019 intention to adopt a marketing approach in their firms. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 The research is articulated in a pilot and a main study, which were carried out on a stratified sample of more than 200 Italian entrepreneurs. It adopts exploratory research techniques to investigate the entrepreneurs\u2019 perceptions of the marketing concept and applies Ajzen\u2019s Theory of Planned Behavior to quantitatively assess the psychological antecedents of their intention to adopt a \u201cmarketing approach\u201d (i.e. what they mean by that). Findings \u2013 Results clearly show that the \u201cconcept of marketing\u201d as perceived by Italian SME entrepreneurs differs from that proposed by academic researchers and subjective norm (as an indicator of corporate culture) is the main determinant of the entrepreneurs\u2019 intention to adopt a marketing approach. Research limitations/implications \u2013 The research stresses that a wide gap exists between academic researchers\u2019 and entrepreneurs\u2019 conceptions of marketing. The existence of a proper organizational culture can foster the diffusion of a marketing approach among firms. Originality/value \u2013 The research contributes to the literature on contemporary marketing theory and practice, by showing the existence of a need \u201cto market the marketing approach\u201d at least among Italian SME entrepreneurs