The Temporary Marketing Organization

Abstract

Increasingly, marketing activity is carried out within temporary organizations, whereby teams are assembled to complete a specific task within a predetermined time frame. Such organizations are uniquely suited to promoting various marketing outcomes but are not well understood. From a practical standpoint, their inherent characteristics create organizational challenges that, if not appropriately managed, can compromise performance. Drawing on agency theory and research on embedded ties, the authors conceptualize these challenges in terms of particular selection and enforcement problems. They identify three forms of temporary marketing organizations that vary in their selection and enforcemen..