The Role of Compensation, Cognitive Biases, and Data in the Decision-Making of Marketing Managers During Unsuccessful Campaigns

This study examines marketing managers’ decision-making processes when initiating, conducting, or terminating a failed marketing campaign, focusing on the interplay between market data, compensation, personal motivations, and cognitive biases. We conduct qualitative interviews with marketing managers in various industries to explore their experiences with unsuccessful marketing campaigns. Our findings reveal a multifaceted decision-making landscape in which marketing managers must weigh empirical data against compensation and cognitive bias. There are 4 phases of a typical unsuccessful marketing campaign: Aspiration, recognition of failure, professional self-doubt, and recovery. This study demonstrates that unrealistic compensation aspiration can significantly sway decisions, often at the expense of objective data. Furthermore, making the wrong decision can result in severe psychological repercussions, affecting not only managers’ lives but also impacting their families. The study contributes to the literature by articulating the multifaceted nature of marketing decision-making and proposing a balanced approach that accommodates both rational and emotional factors. By recognizing the influence of personal motivations and cognitive biases, this study emphasizes the importance of developing decision-making tools that integrate emotional intelligence with data-driven insights.