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[5]Preface

The St. Gallen Management Model created a comprehensive orientation framework for the management of companies and organizations of all kinds. Business processes play a special role in the model. They enable the real core function that justifies the existence of a company or organization, which is to deliver goods and services to third parties, usually for money.

This book is guided by the St. Gallen Management Model and, therefore, focuses on business processes. It also follows the approach of the marketing concept as an overall planning-and-designing approach, not just for marketing, but for all business functions. The content of this book thus offers an introduction to marketing as well as the design of business processes as a whole.

The book addresses two targets and thus two target groups: To begin with, it serves as a basis for the introduction to business administration as part of the Marketing Management curriculum during the Assessment Year at the University of St. Gallen. It covers the subject areas of marketing, performance and innovation.

At the same time, it is designed to appeal to the public at large as a basic text for study or practice. It serves as an introduction to or an update of knowledge in the areas of marketing and performance/performance process, while also presenting the marketing concept as a pragmatic thought-and-action approach used by generations of (marketing) managers.

The outline of the book follows the usual structure of a marketing concept and is also the basis for the division into six lecture blocks at the University of St. Gallen:

1.	Business Processes and Marketing Concept within the St. Gallen Management Model — an Introduction
2.	Market Analysis — from a Static to a Dynamic Point of View
3.	Marketing Strategy — from Market Segmentation to Positioning Strategy
4.	[6] Marketing Tool Application 1: Product Design and Performance
5.	Marketing Tool Application 2: Pricing, Promotion and Distribution
6.	Innovation and Controlling — Meta Processes of Business Activity

As a topical guide for decision makers and as teaching material on a university level, the book’s aim is not maximum depth and the transfer of detailed knowledge. Rather, the goal is contextual knowledge and new perspectives in thinking. As a textbook, it primarily points out the key sources.

At the same time, the integrative approach cultivated at the University of St. Gallen will be taken into account. This results from a focus on the St. Gallen Management Model as well as from methodically including the approach of networked thinking in the market-analysis section and by cross-referencing other disciplines, especially economics and law.

In part, this book is based on principles, concepts and text blocks of the book “Einführung in die Managementlehre” by Dubs, Euler, Rüegg-Stürm and Wyss (2009), which was used previously as a textbook at the University of St. Gallen and to which the author also contributed. The following authors also worked on the previous book in the area of business processes: Günther Schuh, Thomas Friedli, Torsten Tomczak, Fritz Fahrni and Sven Reinecke.

I want to thank Mrs. Margareta Brugger for transcribing the manuscript, student assistant Jessica Schulten-Baumer for revising and editing the text, and my wife Barbara for critical reading. I also thank Samuel Heer for his valuable support, not only in revising this book but also in our efforts to offer actual and method-oriented lectures on the assessment level of the University of St. Gallen. I also thank my colleagues o. Univ. Prof. Dr. Johannes Rüegg-Stürm and assistant professor Dr. Simon Grand for stimulating discussions, the good cooperation, and many valuable inputs.

May 2015

Thomas Bieger