Navigating a global pandemic crisis through marketing agility: evidence from Italian B2B firms

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the impact of marketing agility on the business-to-business (B2B) firms’ capacity to address unexpected events such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, examining how they reshape their strategies during the different stages of a crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows a theory-building approach and performs an in-depth exploratory multiple-case study in the context of 16 Italian firms operating in the B2B sector.

Findings

The study develops an event-sequence-based framework and illustrates how agile marketing strategies empower B2B firms to cope with a crisis across three crucial moments: the event phase, the response management phase and the investigation phase.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to a better understanding of marketing agility in the context of crisis management by showing the agile marketing strategies that B2B firms adopt during the different stages of a crisis. This work provides a useful foundation to assist managers in coping with market uncertainty. It suggests practical guidelines to make more informed strategic and operational marketing decisions, increasing a firm’s capacity to act in today’s fast-moving, complex times.

Citation

Moi, L. and Cabiddu, F. (2022), "Navigating a global pandemic crisis through marketing agility: evidence from Italian B2B firms", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 10, pp. 2022-2035. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-01-2021-0034