It is a great pleasure to write a foreword to this book. I believe that the contents have the potential to lead a major step forward in the way in which
managers in organizations use and apply evidence and fact-based knowledge to make decisions.
It is stunning that across whollydiverse industrial sectors – for example, look at market leader characteristics all the way from high technology at Dell Computers to marketing grocery and household products at Tesco stores – we are finally realizing that those who know more outperform the rest. Superiority in learning and sustaining that advantage through the constant search for new insights and better understanding of the drivers of customer value in the marketplace has proved to be one of the most critical corporate competencies. Yet, it is a source of competitive advantage we have underestimated so much that we have noteven found a name for it.

There are no unimportant jobs on any project, and there are no unimportant people on the project team. From concept through completion,
many people have been involved in the development of this book. To each of the people who have shaped this book through their advice,
encouragement, and hands-on participation, I offer my thanks. To Kymberly Actis, for her persistence and commitment as she turned my handwritten drawings into the many figures in this book.

Members of audit committees will find this second edition an invaluable resource in meeting their oversight responsibilities and give them an increasing awarenessof their current duties as well as an insight into future developments.

Indeed, these and other philosophical approaches to marketing decision making are merely descriptive frameworks that stress certain aspects of the firm’s
role vis-a-vis the strategic planning process. No matter what approach a firm follows, it needs a reference point for its decisions that is provided by the strategy
and the planning process involved in designing the strategy. Thus, the strategic planning process is the guiding force behind decision making, regardless of the
approach one adopts. This relationship between the strategic planning process and approaches to marketing decision making is depicted in Exhibit 1-1.