Marketing role in B2B settings: evidence from advanced, emerging and developing markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Mora Cortez ◽  
Wesley J. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Developing Economies ◽  
Marketing Capabilities ◽  
Advanced Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
B2b Marketing ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine predicted business-to-business (B2B) marketing capabilities for the next three to five years by companies in advanced, emerging and developing economies. Findings The authors identify the prevalent marketing capabilities in industrial companies operating in an advanced economy (USA), two emerging economies (Chile and Peru) and one developing economy (Bolivia), consolidating the themes in firms’ orientations. The study offers a taxonomy of the marketing role in different stages as per country development. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative approach based on grounded theory. Originality/value This manuscript contributes to the understanding of B2B marketing across different levels of market development. The authors offer theoretical and practical implications regarding the paradigms reigning the role of marketing. The coding scheme emerging from the data illustrates how companies and markets evolve in a two-way interaction.

Property investment: gearing and the equity rate of return

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick French
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Investment Project ◽  
Equity Returns ◽  
Rate Of Return ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bank Rate ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to comment upon the relatively straightforward but often misunderstood role of gearing (or leverage) on the potential equity return of a property investment. Design/methodology/approach This education briefing is an explanation of the upside and downside risk of borrowing (at different levels) to successful investment. Findings The use of gearing can greatly enhance equity returns but at an increased risk. Practical implications The process of borrowing at a bank rate below the return rate on an investment project can increase the equity return of the project as long as all incomes and discount rate remain at appropriate levels. Originality/value This is a review of existing models.

Crisis communication in key account relationships

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satu Nätti ◽  
Suvi Rahkolin ◽  
Saila Saraniemi
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Account Management ◽  
Key Account ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – A deliberate and planned crisis communication strategy is an important part of key account management. The purpose of this paper is to draw links between key account managers (KAM) and crisis communication and explore the elements critical to crisis communication in key account relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is qualitative. Data were gathered from people experienced in crisis communication and responsible for strategic accounts. The paper analysed managers’ stories of crisis processes and related communication in relationships. Findings – Successful crisis communication requires an open and active crisis communicator, one willing to solve problems, and also the company being a partner worth trusting and the retention of the relationship being worthwhile for the customer. Research limitations/implications – The present study focuses on the managerial view, and therefore a dyadic approach is suggested for future studies. Practical implications – The role of the KAM as a crisis communicator and primary identifier of the crisis is emphasized. Originality/value – Existing crisis communication discussions have been very media focused. This study focuses on the key account relationship and the related crisis communication. In addition, although earlier studies examine the influences of crises on business relationships (e.g. Salo et al., 2009; Thiessen and Ingenhoff, 2010; Tähtinen and Vaaland, 2006), research on crisis communication in business-to-business key account relationships is still scarce. The results will help to understand the characteristics of crisis communication in key account relationships and enhance communication with strategic accounts.

Analysis of content creation in social media by B2B companies

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 761-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Huotari ◽  
Pauliina Ulkuniemi ◽  
Saila Saraniemi ◽  
Minna Mäläskä
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Personal Relationships ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Content Type ◽  
B2b Marketing ◽  
Content Creation ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
Social Media Tools ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose – The present study aims to examine how business-to-business (B2B) marketers can influence content creation in social media. Social media tools are becoming an interesting component of B2B marketing because of the roles of personal relationships and interactions in these markets. However, research has not approached social media content creation from a B2B marketing perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Social media tools are becoming an interesting component of B2B marketing because of the roles of personal relationships and interactions in these markets. However, research has not approached social media content creation from a B2B marketing perspective. The present study examines how B2B marketers can influence content creation in social media. Findings – The paper proposes that B2B firms engaging in social media as part of their marketing efforts should carefully consider the roles and activities of various users, which are directed to and by different internal and external users. B2B companies can influence content creation in social media directly by adding new content, participating in discussions and removing content through corporate user accounts and controlling employee social media behavior or indirectly by training employees to create desired content and performing marketing activities that influence other users to create content that is favorable for the company. Originality/value – The study contributes to the theoretical discussion over B2B marketing communication and the role of social media in it.

Study from Spain shows how clan and adhocracy cultures help to foster the internal CSR practices which improve worker happiness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Market Culture ◽  
Company Culture ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Employee Happiness

Purpose The authors felt there was a lack of prior evidence about the antecedents of internal CSR and its relationship with employees’ happiness. The study considered the role of organizational culture as a determinant of internal CSR actions. Design/methodology/approach The authors questioned 921 employees of companies from various sectors in Spain. The respondents mainly worked for service and industrial companies with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover above 250,000 euros. They were mostly men, mainly well-educated and the average age was 38.5. They were surveyed using a questionnaire with 59 questions assessing internal CSR processes (20 items), organizational culture (24 items) and employee happiness (15 items). Findings The results showed that clan and adhocracy cultures are positively and significantly associated with internal CSR practices. In the case of hierarchy culture, it is positively related to adaptability to change and occupational health and safety. But the results did not support the hypotheses related to market culture as only its relationship with adaptability to change was positive. The data also indicated the significant and positive effect of internal CSR on employee happiness. Originality/value The authors believe their study has implications for practitioners and policymakers. They argue that organizations should try to develop cultures that help to promote internal CSR, which means adhocracy and clan. Meanwhile, there are also practical implications for researchers. First, the model integrates happiness, which is rare in CSR studies. Second, the study addresses a gap in the research about how company culture acts as an antecedent to internal CSR. Third, the study generates knowledge about internal CSR from the perspective of employees.

scholarly journals Process validation: coping with three dilemmas in process-based single-case research

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poul Houman Andersen ◽  
Anna Dubois ◽  
Frida Lind
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Process Validation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
B2b Marketing ◽  
Case Research ◽  
Single Case Research ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Recent research suggests that the interest in process-based single-case studies is increasing in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This paper aims to discuss research validity issues and dilemmas encountered by process-based single-case researchers in B2B marketing. Design/methodology/approach This is a methodology paper that builds on an integration of experiences, ideas and literature. Findings In the paper, three dilemmas are suggested that researchers need to deal with in process-based single-case research. These relate to the casing process: crafting the case, communicating the case and describing the process of the study. Furthermore, process validation is suggested as a research quality concept concerned with how these dilemmas are handled. Research limitations implications Based on the notion of process validation, the authors provide suggestions for how casing, as a process-based single-case approach, can be conveyed and advanced in its own right. Practical implications This study can be used to convey insights that can help new and experienced researchers in conducting single-case studies in B2B. Originality/value Coping with issues of research quality in B2B marketing is of relevance to researchers dealing with process-based single-case research and process validation issues, as well as to journal reviewers evaluating the qualities of process-based single-case research.

Leaders in industrial marketing research: 25 years of analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 586-601
Author(s):  
Leslier M. Valenzuela-Fernández ◽  
José M. Merigó ◽  
Carolina Nicolas ◽  
Michael Kleinaltenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Research ◽  
Marketing Management ◽  
H Index ◽  
Content Type ◽  
B2b Marketing ◽  
Industrial Marketing ◽  
Graphical Visualization ◽  
Trust Business ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to present a bibliometric overview of the leading trends of the journals in industrial marketing during for 25 years. Thus, the purpose is to carry out an analysis about contributions that industrial marketing or business to business (B2B) marketing discipline has done for scientific investigation, presenting a ranking of the 30 most influential journals and their global evolution by five-year periods from 1992 to 2016. Moreover, this study presents the amount of citations, who quotes who from the top 15 ranking and self-citations. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes 3,587 documents classified as articles, letters, notes and reviews from Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science for the period 1992- 2016, by bibliometric indicators such as H-index, total citations (TC), total papers (TP), TC/TP. Furthermore, this paper develops a graphical visualization of the bibliographic material by using the visualization of similarities viewer software for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks in leading journals, publications and keywords with bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis. Findings Industrial Marketing Management is the leader of the ranking, representing 34 per cent of the total manuscripts considered in this study. The most influential journals were classified by periods of five years and the top five for the period 2012-2016 were in ascending order: Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Journal of Business Research and Journal of Marketing. Therefore, in this last period, the considered specialized journals of industrial marketing have increased the quantity (TP) and quality (better H-index) of marketing contributions. The main node on the keywords was of “business-to-business marketing.” The most frequent keywords were “industrial marketing,” “trust,” “business-to-business,” “B2B,” “relationship marketing” and finally “electronic commerce”. Practical implications The information presented in this paper is useful to academics, publishers, academic institutions and other interested groups in industrial marketing because it makes available a global and current picture of this discipline that could be used to make decisions about publishing strategies and journal position. Originality/value This study aims to analyze the progress of industrial marketing discipline, reviewing the contribution of several scientific journals for 25 years. In fact, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study focused on the only purpose of ranking the most influential journals and keywords analysis using bibliometric techniques and networks theories.

Technological capability dynamics through cluster organizations

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-606
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Lis ◽  
Malgorzata Rozkwitalska
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Initial Level ◽  
Technological Capability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Trajectories ◽  
Organizational Inertia ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to portrait how members of cluster organizations (COs) perceive the role of COs in enabling them to accumulate technological capability (TC) significant for their innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors report the findings from their qualitative study based on an analysis of four COs. The organizational inertia and absorptive capacity theories are the theoretical underpinning of the research.FindingsThe study shows that the dynamics of TC of the cluster companies included in the study sample relates to their initial level of TC and cluster cooperation. The companies with relatively low initial TC increase it through COs if the clusters offer comparatively high benefits. On the other hand, those COs' members that present relatively high initial TC advance it, provided that the external knowledge and other benefits they can absorb in their clusters are suited to their technological trajectories.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is preliminary in nature and portrays how firms with different levels of TC cooperate within COs and how this cooperation translates into TC improvements. The findings add to the state-of-the-art knowledge on the link between TC and absorptive capacity of companies involved in COs by depicting the role of COs in providing knowledge and other cluster benefits that help cluster companies to accumulate TC and improve their absorptive capacity. Nevertheless, the applied methodology does not allow the authors to generalize the findings.Practical implicationsThe coordinators of COs should skillfully shape the levels of cluster cooperation, matching them to the desired level of the cluster companies. They should create smaller subgroups composed of companies with similar TC, which may translate into its higher dynamic.Originality/valueThe knowledge about the role of COs in providing cluster benefits that help cluster companies to accumulate TC and improve their absorptive capacity is still insufficient. The study shed new light on the key role of the levels of cluster cooperation and the types of commitment related to them (i.e. technological effort), which may be a matter of importance in the dynamics of TC accumulation.

Partnering hierarchy of needs

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 1907-1927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Jacobsson ◽  
Timothy L. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Building Blocks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Collaborative Climate ◽  
Interpersonal Level ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Large Case

Purpose – First, the purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the role of the components in the creation of a partnering way of working; second, to illustrate how the achievement of such collaborative state is dependent on a hierarchy of constructs. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on a large case study of a successful Swedish partnering project. The case, studied through extensive interviews and observations, was process-oriented and analyzed using a theoretically driven thematic analysis. Findings – It is shown that components exist on different levels and constitute different types of building blocks in striving toward a “true” collaborative climate. It is also shown that as the project progressed, even the non-partnering sub-projects were infused with a collaborative way of working. To this end it is suggested that there might be a certain stickiness related to this way of working. As trust, openness, and mutual understanding are constructs on an interpersonal level, it is on the interpersonal level partnering endeavors are won or lost. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a new conceptualization of the partnering components and also an understanding of how the components contribute to the creation of a collaborative climate. Because the research was built on a case study, one has the limitations common with that approach. Practical implications – The importance of understanding that individual expectations are the basis for the action and learning that interact in a constant feedback loop, as the partnering pyramid is climbed. Originality/value – This understanding should be of interest for both practitioners and academics working with partnering.

Linking leader humor to employee creativity: the roles of relational energy and traditionality

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Yang ◽  
Fu Yang ◽  
Chao Ding
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

PurposeThe current study examines the effects of leader humor on the creativity of employees by focusing on the mediating role of relational energy and the moderating role of traditionality.Design/methodology/approachThis study used three-wave data from 302 employee–supervisor dyads and tested the hypotheses using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.FindingsThe results indicated that leader humor was positively associated with employee creativity, relational energy mediated this influence. Besides, traditionality not only moderated the relationship between leader humor and relational energy but also attenuated the indirect relationship between leader humor and employee creativity through relational energy.Practical implicationsLeadership training programs can be used to assist leaders in improving their humorous skills. In addition, supervisors should implement humorous behaviors according to the different levels of traditionality of employees.Originality/valueIntegrating conservation of resource theory, this study provides solid evidence that the extent to which relational energy mediates the relationship between leader humor and employee creativity depends on traditionality. It provides a new direction for leader humor.

An extension to the EVLN model: the role of employees’ silence

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-282
Author(s):  
Ana Sabino ◽  
Fernanda Nogueira ◽  
Francisco Cesário
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Individual Response ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose Individuals’ intentional responses to declining job satisfaction have been associated with the EVLN model. Employees’ silence, as an independent construct, can be understood as an individual, intentional and deliberate decision to retain important information for the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze employees’ silence, which can be understood as a fifth individual response to job satisfaction declining, along with the remaining four responses proposed in the EVLN model. It is proposed as an extension to the original model through the introduction of employee silence; the model is referred to as the EVLNS model. Design/methodology/approach The present study is quantitative, hypothetical-deductive, correlational and transversal. The sample is composed of 756 professionals working in the higher education sector. The paper used structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to test its hypotheses. Findings Results showed that employees’ silence has a dual factorial structure, which is composed of an adhesion dimension and a rejection dimension. The study also finds that these two dimensions can be integrated as an extension of the original EVLN model. It is found that, although they are related, these dimensions also capture a certain degree of independence, with different levels of influence of job satisfaction. Practical implications An important implication is that silence is a complex phenomenon, suggesting that this is more than the simple absence of voice and may have different motives. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that job satisfaction can contribute to different individual responses and managers must act accordingly. Originality/value The study contributes to a better understanding of the individuals’ potential responses to declining job satisfaction through the extension of the original EVLN model with the introduction of a fifth response – the employees’ silence.

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