Marketing information systems in Fortune 500 companies: a longitudinal analysis of 1980, 1990, and 2000

Abstract

Soon after the MIS concept was formed in the mid-1960s, the marketing function applied it to its own information needs, creating a formal effort called the marketing information system, or MKIS. This study surveys Fortune 500 companies to reveal their pattern in MKIS usage. The findings are compared to two previous studies a decade apart. It provides a gauge of the evolution of computer use not only in marketing but also in large firms. This study is the first where the marketing managers reported a decrease in the existence of an MKIS in their firms. Nonetheless, the study found that many firms are linking their marketing plans with their information resources. Besides telephone, facsimile, and e-mail, electronic commerce is widely adopted in these large firms. Most importantly, many marketers today are using computers and the Internet. They are more and more knowledgeable about computer technologies and actively taking part in creating computer applications to meet their own information needs.