Editorial. (conference on the effects of downsizing and outsourcing on the marketing function)(Editorial)

In January 1997, the Center for Business and Industrial Marketing at Georgia State University and the Institute for the Study of Business Markets at the Pennsylvania State University jointly sponsored a conference in Atlanta. The title of this conference was "Marketing in Transition: Responses to Drastic Change. "Academic scholars and senior-level marketing managers from all over the worm attended the conference. The issues discussed focussed on the rapid and drastic changes in the marketing function which business marketing organizations are experiencing. The papers presented during the conference examined the effects of reengineering, downsizing, outsourcing, new communications technologies, and the diffusion of the marketing concept throughout the organization on the marketing function and the "traditional" roles of marketing people. As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response to the conference, the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing has decided to publish a special issue for 1998 examining this topic. As a way to get potential authors thinking about the special issue and the contribution they might make, I thought I would share some of my comments on downsizing and outsourcing delivered during the conference.

Downsizing and outsourcing: creating a new role for marketing The pace of organizational change is accelerating and the competitive pressures of a globalized economy have intensified. Most organizations are now forced to operate within much more complex environments than was the case relatively …