98

Skunkworks are secret and autonomous organizational structures, sponsored by the general management of large companies and dedicated to quickly and radically creating innovation. In the light of the contradictory debates on their outcomes, this study examines the conditions necessary to their success and the role that marketing can play. Two case studies in the automotive industry serve to open up discussion on the paradoxical characteristics of skunkworks. When compared to the literature, our analyses lead us to propose two avenues of managerial recommendations. One relates to the systematic inclusion of the marketing function in the early stages of skunkworks; the other to creating favorable conditions for integrating the benefits of skunkworks into the central organization. In these two situations, the marketing manager may help to bring together skunkworks’ innovation objectives and the market orientation of the company.