Strategically Embedding the Marketing Department within Management: Drivers, Models, and Leadership Perspectives

Abstract

This article examines the paradox facing marketing in contemporary organizations: it is increasingly tasked with driving growth and innovation while remaining structurally and strategically marginal in many organizations. Synthesizing academic studies and recent business insights, the article maps the drivers, models, and leadership dynamics that determine whether the marketing department is embedded within top management. The review finds persistent misalignment between expectations and authority for marketing leaders: Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are responsible with growth yet have short tenures and limited access to board-level forums. Three enablers recur across the literature: (1) structural fit between the organization’s strategy and the marketing department, (2) contextual alignment with industry and life-cycle stage, and (3) leadership commitment and role clarity, especially in the partnership between Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs). The article also outlines how CMO mandates and team configurations should evolve as organizations move between development stages, from early ventures to developing and mature stages. Practical implications include giving marketing leaders a clear mandate, matching their goals with how their performance is measured, and ensuring they have a voice in the company’s most important decisions. Future research opportunities include board representation effects and longitudinal dynamics of CEO–CMO alignment.