Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8451 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.15, 2015 187 Explication of the need for developing Marketing Function of Professional Service Organizations Jonas Ekow Yankah Donald Kwabena Dadzie School of Engineering, Department of Building Technology, Cape Coast Polytechnic, P. O. Box AD. 50, Cape Coast, Ghana. Abstract This paper examines and shows why developing the marketing function (MF) as a management tool in Professional Service Organizations (PSO) is critical for the survival and growth of such organizations. It adopts the descriptive study design and employs the Contingency Theory Paradigm and a review of extant literature on construction marketing with focus on PSO, as a method to identify, summarize and synthesize to show the need for developing the marketing function of PSO operating in the built environment, especially the Quantity Surveying Consulting Firms (QSCF) in Ghana. The paper shows that a means to cope in a changing business environment which is key for survival and growth of a firm requires development of the marketing function of the firm which will enhance the needed adaptability to the changing environment. Effectiveness of that depends on the appropriate matching of contingency factors with internal organizational designs that can allow appropriate responses to the environment, and that make marketing indispensable. The paper opens a new direction of construction marketing research which focuses on the benefits of marketing in managing a construction business. Keywords: Contingency Theory, marketing, Professional Service Organizations (PSO), Quantity Surveying. 1. Introduction Having been referred to as “an investment for creating a competitive edge – an empowerment for competitive advantage” (Arditi et al., 2008), marketing has been recognized as one of the more important functions for helping the consulting firms to meet the unprecedented challenges faced by them (Kotler and Conner, 1977). Marketing has become the fundamental component for the growth and survival of the consulting firms by enhancing their knowledge to ensure continuing relevance and to enable them move quickly into new areas of service as opportunities arise. Kotler and Conner (1977) noted that a successful competition of a firm that leads to survival on the market requires the achievement of three major objectives i.e. ‘a sufficient demand, a sustained growth and profitable volume’. This, according to Jaafar et al., (2008) justifies the important role of marketing practices in the management of consulting business. In the same vein Drucker (1993) emphasized the importance of marketing for an enterprise with the argument that: “Because the purpose of a business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two and only two basic functions: marketing and innovation, Marketing and innovation produce results, all the rest are costs. Marketing is the only distinguishing, unique function of the business”. This assertion indicates that marketing is imperative for the firm that wants to achieve market differentiation. (Arditi et al., 2008) and that is also indispensable for the growth and survival of the firm. Despite this knowledge, it appears the PSO have not yet grasped the need to develop their marketing function as noted by many construction marketing researchers (Moore, 1984; Morgan and Morgan, 1990; Morgan and Morgan, 1991; Pheng, 1991; Peck, 1994; Rwelamila and Bowen, 1995). Moore (1984) noted that marketing management has not yet been applied to any greater extent in the construction industry. Morgan and Morgan (1990) also stated that marketing is less developed in the professional industry and often performed in most firms in an ad hoc basis. According to Morgan and Morgan (1991), marketing within the professional sector is considered at worst as an alien concept, and at best as a new development that is viewed with skepticism. Similarly, Pheng (1991) observed that marketing has attracted only little attention among professionals. Peck (1994) further indicated that some consulting firms are still struggling to understand and implement effective marketing programmes. The findings of these marketing studies indicate that marketing has been reluctantly adopted and implemented as a management tool by the professional service firms of which quantity surveying firms are no exception. Marketing is a mature subject as various dimensions of it have been researched over several decades in many industries such as manufacturing, production, distribution, services etc. However, Barwise and Meehan (1999)