Improving marketing decision making requires a better understanding of the factors that influence how managers interpret and respond to a market situation. Building on extant literature, the authors develop a model that delineates antecedents of and responses to the interpretation of a market situation. Using case-scenario methodology, the authors test the model in the context of a marketing decision (annual advertising and promotion budget recommendation) with data collected from a nationwide sample of hospital marketing executives. The results of the partial least squares analysis show that (1) cognitive style, organizational culture, and information use affect the extent to which managers perceive a given market situation as one in which they can control the outcomes of their decision; (2) the more managers perceive a situation as controllable, the more they appraise that situation as an opportunity; and (3) the more managers appraise a situation as an opportunity, the greater is the magnitude of their response.

Global account management (GAM) has become a vital part of many multinational enterprises’ global marketing. Yet little is known about successful GAM strategies. In this study, we conceptualize GAM strategies, and develop and empirically test an integrated theoretical model that links GAM strategies to their drivers and outcomes. We find that: (1) global strategic priority and globalization are significant drivers of four GAM strategies – inter-country coordination, inter-organizational coordination, marketing activities standardization, and global integration; (2) inter-country and inter-organizational coordination have significant main effects on GAM performance, while global customer demand positively moderates the effects of marketing activities standardization and global integration on GAM performance; and (3) GAM performance significantly influences relationship continuity. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications, and provide suggestions for future research.