Changes in marketing environment have made it feasible for functions and roles of marketing subjects who participated in marketing routes to be changed. However, there has not been a study to prove it or to deal with newly required functions. Hereupon, this study has specifically investigated and analyzed marketing functions and performance on marketing associates for seafood in Busan in order to identify how marketing functions influenced on marketing performance. In addition, they have been grouped, sub-divided, compared, and analyzed in each level of performance, participation, business type, and transaction objects. Results of the study are summarized as follows.
Hypothesis 1. Marketing function will only influence on marketing performance. According to the result of verifying this hypothesis, not the support function but only the main function turned out to influence on marketing performance. Therefore, the hypothesis was partially accepted.
Hypothesis 2. Marketing function might differently influence on the performance depending on the difference of marketing performance. According to the result of verifying the hypothesis, different marketing functions turned out to be influential depending on dependent variables. Marketing, product development, and evaluation functions as a main function turned out to commonly influence on dependent variables. Especially, trade function from support function was analyzed to influence on the performance of improving capability as well as of enhancing function. Therefore, a contrasting result from ''hypothesis 1'' was obtained.
Hypothesis 3. Marketing function will differently influence on the performance depending on the difference of the level of participation. According to the result of verifying the hypothesis, companies turned out to voluntarily take the lead when differently setting independent variables and verifying the effect from the level of participation. However, marketing, investment, collection, evaluation, and finance function turned out to be influential in the stage where trading companies made a final decision. In the co-participating stage where trading companies took the lead, but companies participated in all the procedures and shared the decision, marketing, collection, product development, information-sharing, and trade functions turned out to be influential. Lastly, marketing, product development, collection, sorting, and finance functions turned out to be influential in the stage where companies actively participated in the same level with trading company. Therefore, hypothesis 3 was accepted.
Hypothesis 4. Marketing function might differently influence on the performance depending on the difference of business type. Results of verifying the hypothesis are as follows. As for variables that influenced on wholesale dealer groups, marketing, product development+investment, information-sharing, and trade functions turned out to be influential. Among wholesaler groups, marketing, sorting, collection, market frontier+product development, integral distribution, information-sharing, and finance functions turned out to be influential. Therefore, hypothesis 4 was accepted.
Hypothesis 5. Marketing function might differently influence on the performance depending on the difference of transaction objects. Results of verifying the hypothesis are as follows. Marketing, product development, collection, evaluation, and information-sharing functions turned out to influence on vendors. Marketing, evaluation+information -sharing, product development, collection, sorting, and trade functions turned out to influence on general groups. Therefore, hypothesis 5 was accepted.
In summary of the results from hypothesis 1 to 5, not the support function but only the main function turned out to influence on marketing performance. However, according to the result of analyzing them in each marketing performance, level of participation, business type, and transaction objects, it was confirmed that various distribution functions differently influenced on them depending on various situations and business types.
According to the aforementioned results, academic and institutional implications for improvement of marketing performance through marketing function on marine products are as follows.
First of all, this research is highly usable in the follow-up study by suggesting a new research model and developing measuring questionnaires in spite of lack of previous studies.
Secondly, this study has derived core results from sub-dividing the concept of performance.
Third, this study has adopted the concept ''level of participation'' while re-classifying and measuring the level of participation among companies in the course of distributing marine products.
Fourth, it seems that institutional support is required to promote marine product companies. Various institutional supports are required for diversification of source for profit and cultivation of leading companies through the improvement of management performance.
Lastly, more sub-divided research is required on marketing members of marine products, and continuous support on institutional research on changes in their roles and functions is also needed.