Evaluation of the Innovation Cluster of Businesses From the Marketing and Management Perspective in the Covid-19 Pandemic Process

Today, change has become continuous in production and service environments. In the face of rapid changes, business managers have to seek a sustainable development path in order to survive in challenging market conditions, and this road passes through the continuation of innovation activities. The product, which is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, becomes more preferred only if it is adapted to changing customer demands and needs. On the other hand, being able to realize innovations that are compatible with customer expectations not only in terms of marketing but also in terms of management is considered as a very important obligation in terms of competitive advantage. Management innovation is a concept that has the ability to significantly differentiate the way practices are done from those of the traditional methods. The purpose of this research is to consider the innovation cluster of businesses from a marketing and management perspective during the Covid-19 pandemic process. In this context, the research has been evaluated in the context of an innovation cluster consisting of business, product, strategic and management innovations. Content analysis, one of the qualitative analysis methods, was used in the study. In this context, one-on-one meetings were held with the managers of private education institutions operating in Konya. The data obtained were coded using the MAXQDA 18 program, which is frequently used in qualitative research methods, and then the data were analyzed. As a result of this research, it was determined that during the Covid-19 pandemic period, enterprises carried out various innovations in terms of current and future projections for management and marketing within the scope of the innovation cluster.