Collaborative marketing

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Knowledge sharing is critical to the success for B2B firms looking to gain competitive advantage through greater levels of customer focus. 10; 10; Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Evolution of customer focus: from artisans and family businesses to CRM-systems

The process of evolution of such phenomenon as customer focus and its impact on the formation of trade relations has been considered. In order to study the phenomenon as a whole and the factors that influenced the changes in particular, a retrospective analysis from the era of craftsmanship to the present day has been made. Special attention has been paid to industrial revolutions as stimulators of change, and to the peculiar boundaries of the periods of using different approaches to trade and business interaction. The article also touches on the topic of direct marketing, as a prototype of today’s business relations. In addition to the history of marketing and the impact of industrial revolutions on the development of the relationship between seller and buyer, the paper considered and analysed such a phenomenon as the automation of production in order to create a fullfledged picture, reflecting the reasons for the creation, the essence and relevance of CRM-systems in the modern world. CRM-systems in this article have been considered as one of the tools of customer focus methodology, which facilitates the interaction between participants in business relationships, as well as serving as a centralized directory of information about the customers. The initial and, consequently, the ultimate goal of the study was to create an interconnected scheme for the formation of a modern system of customer focus and definition of the role of CRM-systems in the whole process.

Achieving Business Excellence for Luxury Brands

Luxury brands possess specific characteristics which are different from that of other brands and require special considerations for marketing and promotion. The target market of luxury brands constitutes of high-end customers who have high aspirations and dreams which they wish to fulfill by possessing luxury products. Marketers of luxury brands require developing and implementing specific strategies for achieving business excellence. Luxury brands should have a strong customer focus and in-depth understanding of customers. Luxury brands require specific pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies. Pricing strategies include charging price premiums and having price-quality inferences. Luxury brands should communicate a unique value proposition and should justify high prices. Proper distribution strategies reflect exclusivity and uniqueness of luxury brands. Adopting and implementing such strategies will help luxury brands to convince their high-end customers, establish the brands, and achieve business excellence.

INFLUENCE OF CUSTOMER FOCUS ON COMPETITIVENESS OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

Purpose: Manufacturing firms are critical to the economic growth and development through provision of products and employment. Their competitiveness is therefore critical. The firms have been facing steep competition from foreign companies due to increased globalization. Strategic drivers have been found to be key enablers of firm competitiveness and performance. It is on this basis that the study sought to establish the influence customer focus on the competitiveness of food and beverage processing companies in Kenya. Methodology: The study was informed by commitment trust theory. Empirical studies were reviewed to provide the basis for research gaps to be filled by the current study. Descriptive research design was employed while the target population was the 187 food and beverage processing firms in Kenya. A census was used where all the 187 companies were contacted. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain the primary data which was analyzed through mixed method analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. Inferential statistics were used to analyze the relationship between variables through the regression model. The findings were presented in form of tables, pie-charts and bar-graphs. Findings: It was established that customer focus was upheld in most of the surveyed food and beverage processing companies where after sale services, customer engagement and customer contacting were the main platforms applied. It was concluded that while most of the food and beverage processing firms recognized key strategic drivers (customer focus) as a major aspects of competitiveness, most of the firms did not practically embrace the drivers which could explain their continued lack of competitiveness. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that for the food and beverage processing companies to take their place in the local and global market, the management should embrace and keenly focus on customer focus.

Total Quality Management and Organizational Performance of Deposit Taking Micro Finance Institutions in Nyandarua County, Kenya

In Kenya, micro finance institutions have continued to grow though most of them continue to face serious financial difficulties and poor performance. The micro finance institutions have barely been able to grow the customer base and have faced stiff competition from other players in the financial sector. The firms have experienced internal inefficiencies in customer focus as the financial sector transforms powered by innovations with a change customer demand. While studies indicate that total quality management is important for businesses, there still exists a dearth of information on its effect on the organizational performance of deposit taking microfinance institutions in Nyandarua County. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised 86 managers of 11 micro finance institutions in Nyandarua County, Kenya. A census approach was adopted. Primary data was collected through semi structured questionnaire and administered through the drop and pick method. Secondary data was extracted from the managements and financial reports and corporate handbooks. The study findings indicate that all the four Total Quality Managements practices (management commitment, customer focus, employee engagement and continuous improvement) affected the performance of micro finance institutions in Nyandarua County. Continuous improvement had a significant effect on the micro finance institutions performance. However, the effect of management commitment, customer focus and employee engagement on micro finance institution performance were lowly rated. The study thus concluded that among the Total Quality Management practices under considerations, continuous improvement had the most significant effect on the performance of the micro finance institutions in Nyandarua County. The study recommended that the micro finance institutions should re-evaluate the policies for quality improvements to ensure that management is fully supported to influence desired total quality. Clear guidelines on quality goals achievement should be fully disseminated to the managers to ensure that the right strategies are adopted and implemented.

IMPLEMENTASI TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT(TQM) DI LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN TINGGI ISLAM

Total Quality Managementmerupakan sebuah konsep yang pada awalnya berasal dari dunia bisnis dan diterapkan dalam dunia perusahaan, tetapi seiring berjalannya waktu TQM juga diterapkan dalam dunia pendidikan. Penerapan TQM dalam pendidikan merupakan sebuah upaya untuk meningkatkan mutu pendidikan. Prinsip umum Total Quality Management(TQM) meliputi beberapa hal, yaitu: mengutamakan kepuasan pelanggan (customer focus organization), keterlibatan seluruh anggota organisasi (people organization), pendekatan yang menekankan pada perbaikan proses (proses approach), pendekatan sistem (system approach), perbaikan secara terus menerus (continual improvement), pengambilan keputusan berdasarkan fakta (factual approach to decision making), dan hubungan dengan supplieryang saling menguntungkan (mutually beneficial relationship). Prosedur dalam mengimplementasikan TQMdalam lembaga pendidikan pada dasarnya menempuh tiga tahapan sebagai berikut: (1) tahap persiapan, yaitu membentuk tim dan melaksanakan pelatihan bagi tim, (2) Pengembangan sistem, yaitu melakukan pelatihan dan sosialisasi kepada tim yang telah ditentukan, (3) Implementasi sistem, yaitu melaksanakan berdasarkan siklus PDCA (plan, do, check, act). Jika penerapan prinsip-prinsip Total Quality Manajemendilaksanakan dengan baik dan serius oleh lembaga pendidikan, diyakini peningkatan kualitas outputyang diharapkan dapat tercapai dan dapat bersaing dengan lembaga pendidikan lain baik di tingkat Nasional maupun Internasional

Malcolm Baldrige Approach in University Management: An Importance – Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA)

Academic management is an important activity in managing a university. Failure in managing academic and student affairs can void a university credibility and program accreditation by MQA. Ineffective management approach will halt the university’s progress in achieving the academic excellence and creating Society 5.0. To overcome the issue, various approaches can be applied and one of them is the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) approach which includes six important elements in management. Malcolm Baldridge model emphasizes Leadership role, Strategic Management, Customer Focus, Data Measurement, Human Resource Focus and Work Process in order to improve organizational performance (Result). However, there is a question on what factors should be given the priority in ensuring excellence in organizational management. Therefore, this study has been conducted in order to see what is the main factor among these six elements in MBNQA approach that is considered more important in achieving organizational goals. A sample of study have been conducted on 129 staffs in Universiti Teknologi MARA Kelantan Campus (UiTMCK). Hypothesis testing revealed that 5 out of 6 factors of management elements are having a positive relationship. While IPMA analysis shows that the Human Resource Focus is the most important factor, followed by Data Measurement, Work Process Focus and Customer Focus factors that influence the effectiveness of organization. Leadership factor gained the highest performance despite its less importance compared to other factors in IPMA analysis. Keywords: Academic management, Customer focus, Data management, Malcolm Baldrige, Leadership, IPMA.

Total Quality Management Practices and Performance of Deposit Taking Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Mombasa County, Kenya

Savings and credit cooperatives are a crucial part of Kenya’s financial system. Compared to commercial banks, this is smaller but its significance is far much greater. Despite their important contribution towards the growth of the economy, many challenges are faced by the Saccos. Key among the drawbacks facing Savings and credit cooperatives is increased level of competition in the financial sector. The Savings and credit cooperatives to remain driven and focused in achieving their objectives, they have re-strategize their direction. The study sought to how Mombasa County deposit taking Saccos are impacted by TQM practices. Particularly, the study sought to examine how Mombasa deposit taking saccos’ performance was affected by Customer focus, employee involvement, supplier partnerships and commitment of top management. Performance was addressed from increased market share and revenue growth point of view. Quality improvement theory, Knowledge-based theory and RBV theories guided the research. A descriptive research design was employed. Board members and top managers of all the thirteen deposit taking Savings and credit cooperatives in Mombasa County were targeted. A census approach was used in identifying and subjecting all the County’s operational and registered Saccos. The preferred study respondents were then purposively selected CEOs, Branch managers, Operations Managers, Credit Managers and 4 Executive Board Members. As a result, the total respondents of the study were104, eight from each deposit taking Sacco. Primary data collection was by questionnaires and secondary data gotten from the Saccos’ financial statements and other reports. Analysis was by inferential and descriptive statistics and the primary analytical models were regression and correlation analysis. A wide performance disparity in the Saccos was discovered. It was demonstrated that Mombasa deposit taking saccos’ performance was affected by Customer focus, employee involvement, supplier partnerships and commitment of top management. The Determination Coefficient is at 0.785 implying that a variation of 78.5% in the SACCOs’ performance is explained by independent variables’ variability; customer focus, employee involvement, supplier partnership and commitment of top management. Pearson Correlation Analysis indicated that all TQM practices variables studied i.e customer focus, employee involvement, supplier partnership and commitment of top management and performance of deposit taking SACCOs positively related. Given that the study focused only on deposit taking saccos in Mombasa county, the results may not apply to all Saccos across Kenya. Therefore, it is recommended that a study is done cutting across all the Saccos in Kenya that would allow for broader generalization of findings. The findings will be beneficial to Managers, academicians, Investors, researchers, and the government as it will inform their decisions regarding the important subject of performance.

Impact of customer focus on technology leadership via technology development capability – a moderated mediation model

Purpose This study aims to develop and empirically examine a model that investigates the mediating role of technology development capability (TDC) on the relationship between customer focus (CF) and technology leadership (TL). Design/methodology/approach The analysis and interpretation of a partial least square model include the following two stages: the first stage focuses on assessing the reliability and validity of the measurement model, while the second pertains to evaluating the structural model. Findings The general understanding prevailing in practice and literature is that management sponsorship (MS) has a positive impact on the relationship between CF and TDC. It is also generally understood that MS has a positive impact on TL initiatives. However, the findings of this study contradict these assumptions. Specifically, the study indicates that MS has a negative moderating effect on CF and technology development capabilities, and has no impact on CF and TL relationships. Originality/value CF, TDC and MS, and their interplay and impact in enhancing firms’ TL position, have not been explored thus far in an integrated manner in the context of the automobile industry in developing countries. The research relating to CF, technology development capabilities, technology innovation capabilities, MS and TL reported in the literature has drawn inferences from case studies, anecdotal evidence and experiences of industry leaders, experts and consultants. This study attempts to fill the gaps mentioned above by presenting and testing a new moderated mediation model that shows the relationship between CF, TDC, MS and TL.