Is Entrepreneurial Marketing a New Paradigm? Understanding Better the Entrepreneurial Versus Managerial Marketing Decision Making Processes

This paper intends to contribute to the development of the entrepreneurial marketing theory. It proposes shifting the focus from the marketing activities themselves to what shapes them, that is, the marketing decision making process, which is forged by both the entrepreneurial context, and its contingencies, and the mindset of the entrepreneur. Based on such conceptualization, the paper draws on the cognitive approach to entrepreneurship, particularly the effectuation theory. Results from the research, using the Critical Incident Technique to explore entrepreneurial decisions, present the entrepreneurial marketing process, showing the differences from the managerial marketing process. Results suggest that entrepreneurial and managerial marketing rely on different decision making logics and that they can work in a complementary manner or alternatively in different circumstances.