A comparative analysis of marketing management in British and Germanuniversity libraries: the results

Abstract

This research was originally introduced in this publication in 1994 (issue 61). It focused on a comparison of marketing management in British and German university libraries in the context of their respective environments. The project consisted of an extensive literature review of all aspects of marketing management, which served as a framework for a set of interviews with library managers in both countries. Ultimately, 23 in-depth interviews with senior managers in both countries were conducted. The most prominent result of this research was that the differences in the practice of marketing management in British and German university libraries were not nearly as great as the literature review suggested, particularly when the differing environmental conditions were taken into account. One of the more surprising aspects in this context was the extent to which east German libraries had caught up with their west German and British counterparts. Although they have to work under very difficult conditions as far as buildings and provision of space are concerned, they achieve performance standards which are comparable with western libraries.