This thesis is concerned with the process of knowledge acquisition and utilisation through marketing research in tourism. Its main objective is to determine the factors that lead to a marketing research orientation in tourism organisations. A conceptual model of antecedents and consequences of marketing research in tourism is constructed within a framework of theories of the sociology of knowledge and the diffusion of innovations. The model is tested using data gained through structured personal interviews with marketing and marketing research executives in a sample of the largest Australian tourism organisations.