Proactive Marketing and Its Impact on Improving Strategic Performance

An Exploratory and Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Managers at Asiacell Mobile Telecommunications Company in Iraq A Thesis Submitted to the Council of the College of Administration and Economics, University of Karbala In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Business Administration

By

Wafa Ali Kareem Abdul Abbas

Supervised by

Prof. Dr. Fouad Hammoudi Al-Attar

The research aims to verify the impact of proactive marketing in improving the  strategic performance of Asiacell for mobile communications in Iraq. The research  problem lies in the researcher’s observation of the clear dynamic changes that have  occurred in the work of organizations, whether in their internal or external  environments. These changes have been manifested in competitive challenges, the  

continuous development in customer needs and requirements, as well as modern  technological developments. Its importance lies in increasing marketing awareness  among organizations and achieving benefits, foremost of which is occupying the top  of the competitive pyramid and possibly granting them market leadership and  ensuring proximity to the customer. The research addressed two main variables: The first is proactive marketing with its dimensions (searching for new  

opportunities – creative capability – flexibility – risk tolerance) as an  independent variable based on the model of (Abdulhadi, 2022), and the second is  strategic performance with its dimensions (financial perspective – customer  perspective – internal processes perspective – learning and growth perspective) 

as a dependent variable based on the model of (Al-Khafaji, 2022). The researcher  adopted the descriptive analytical approach and used the questionnaire as a tool for  data collection. The sample included a group of managers totaling (116) managers  in the company under study as a purposive sample out of (185) managers. In  addition, the research sought to test a number of main and sub-hypotheses related to  the relationships of correlation and impact between its variables. For analysis and  

statistical processing, a set of statistical methods were adopted in data analysis,  including confirmatory factor analysis, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and  Pearson correlation coefficient. These methods were used through statistical  programs (Amos V.25 _ SPSS V.25). The research reached a set of conclusions,  most notably that the company under study paid clear attention to applying the  proactive marketing strategy through its dimensions represented by searching for  new opportunities to be a market leader. It also encouraged its human resources to  possess creative capabilities that enhance their performance, and worked to promote flexibility in dealing with changes occurring in the business environment to ensure  competitiveness and proceed with bearing the risks of operations and organizational decisions taken. At the same time, it presented a set of recommendations and  suggestions, the most prominent of which was maintaining the application of  proactive marketing activities due to their positive impact on the company and its  long-term future, and the necessity of cooperation with international companies to  exchange experiences and improve the services provided. 

Keywords: Proactive Marketing, Strategic Performance