Sumeet PahwaNew Delhi, Jan. 31 -- Marketing departments today command more tools, more data, and more activity than at any point in corporate history. Campaigns roll out at speed across digital platforms, dashboards update in real time, and content flows continuously. Yet in many large organisations, marketing's ability to shape core business decisions has weakened, even as its operational footprint has expanded.
The contradiction has become increasingly visible in boardrooms. Marketing is often deeply involved in execution but only marginally involved in direction. Strategic choices about markets, pricing, product focus, or long-term positioning are frequently settled elsewhere, with marketing brought in later to promote and amplify decis...