An emerging stream of research on the process underlying knowledge utilization in firms suggests that organizational factors play an important role in the dissemination and utilization of research within firms. This dissertation investigated the effects of organizational and informational factors on the assessment and utilization of externally conducted research studies in large organizations.; Drawing on literature on knowledge utilization from several disciplines, a model of the organizational and informational factors influencing the use of marketing research knowledge was developed. Seventeen research hypotheses intrinsic to the model were tested using data gathered from senior managers at large corporations. The questionnaires used to collect this data were distributed at the Strategic Planning Institute conferences held at Boston and London in 1988. Respondents were asked to use as a frame of reference for their answers, the most recent research project contracted to external suppliers. The data was analyzed using LISREL7 path analysis procedure. The analyses showed that the proposed model fit the data, thus lending empirical support for the proposition that organizational factors affect utilization of research within firms.; Seven of the seventeen hypotheses were supported by the results of the analyses. Overall, the empirical evidence suggests that organizational factors affect the utilization of research through their indirect effects on the communication and information flows within a firm. While organizational factors (such as degree of organization structure, pro-information culture and managerial task complexity) do not affect research use directly, they are all significantly related to communication flows within the firm. Also, high communication flows was found to have a strong positive influence on the assessment of a newly introduced research study. A study introduced into an organization with high communication flows is more likely to be perceived to be credible and useful. Studies perceived as credible and useful are more likely to be used in managerial decision-making activities.; In summary, the study provides further support to the perspective that organizational factors significantly affect the research utilization process. However, the generalizability of the study findings are limited due to certain limitations. Directions for future research on the knowledge utilization process in organizations are proposed.
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