Branded lives: The production and consumption of meaning at work

Over the last number of decades, as a result of regulatory, technological and changing consumer dynamics, many service organisations operate in an increasingly competitive and dynamic external environment. These changes have led to service companies trying to both recruit and retain profitable customers. In order to compete effectively, do companies focus on transaction and relationship marketing activities only or on the balanced delivery of both? Apart from a small body of work (Brodie et al. 1997; Coviello et al. 1997; 2002), the literature has treated transaction and relationship marketing in an isolated and non-integrated fashion. In particular there has been limited consideration of the pertinent issues facing service organisations trying to integrate these two perspectives in practice. This article describes an in-depth study of a service organisation's transaction and relationship marketing activities. In this study theory was used in the development of a conceptual model. This model was used as a framework to guide the study and data collection using one retail bank case. The data were analysed in relation to the transaction and relationship marketing focus and activities of the bank. The findings indicate that resource investment in some aspects of transaction and relationship marketing activities, in practice, was unbalanced compared to the resource investment in a wide range of support activities. The study has implications for research and theory and to those attempting to deliver both transaction and relationship marketing in the context of dynamic and competitive environments.     

基于改革视阈的零售业营销创新模式研究

后金融危机时代,零售业竞争直面残酷,营销创新是实现其可持续发展的正确选择。零售业的营销创新表现为营销实践探索与理论应用过程,总结西方国家和我国零售业营销改革创新的实践经验及零售业的营销创新的模式,可以探索营销理念创新、发展规模创新、营销管理创新、营销技术创新和营销服务创新等多种模式。必须通过优化创新环境、建立激励机制和制定弹性计划,为零售业的营销创新创造良好的条件。     

Drivers of sales and marketing collaboration in business-to-business selling organisations

This paper focuses on identifying and exploring the antecedents and consequences of collaboration between the sales and marketing functions within organisations and empirically tests the resulting model. There is evidence to show that collaborative sales and marketing functions have benefits to an organisation in terms of improved business performance, but many organisations have not yet achieved collaborative internal functions. The study identifies five antecedents to collaboration between sales and marketing and tests the proposition that greater collaboration between sales and marketing is linked to benefits in terms of improved business performance.     

Operational planning and competitive strategies of male and female retailers

Interest in the managerial practices of females in business has increased over the past decade due to women's increased representation in business. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that women approach decision making differently from men. The purpose of this study is to determine if gender differences regarding managerial strategies exist in the retail setting. Targeted managerial strategies focused on short-term planning processes (personnel, financial, inventory and market planning) and competitive strategies in operation (differentiation, cost leadership and focus). In a sample of 459 retailers from a twelve-state region, MANOVA was used to determine if significant differences in managerial strategies existed between genders. The data on retail competitive strategies suggest that men and women more likely than male business owners to recognize in the importance of differentiation and focus as retail competitive strategies in their business operations. Gender differences were also found in the operational planning areas of market and inventory planning.     

'The IKEA Saga': How Service Culture Drives Service Strategy

Not much attention has been devoted to the relationship between service culture and service strategy, including services marketing strategy. The assumption that service culture drives service strategy has not been empirically examined. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the strategic role that service culture and service strategy have for business development in a long-term perspective. The empirical basis for our discussion comes from IKEA, the largest retail furniture firm in the world. Our results clearly show the importance of a strong and dynamic service culture for market and business success.     

Improving Marketing Communication & Innovation Strategies in the Small Business Context

This paper is derived from another which was awarded the bestpaper prize at the 9th International Entrepreneurship Conference. Its theme is that while inventions and innovations make significant contributions to the growth and competitiveness of national economies, there are problems in the U.K. surrounding independent inventors (often a small, one person business) and their marketing, where there has been failure to stimulate and exploit inventions compared to other industrialised countries. There are long term implications for economic competitiveness when new ideas are lost. Organisations pursue innovations as an important route in the search for competitive advantage, but this route is fraught with difficulties for independent inventors in getting organisations to accept their products and to market them. This paper reports from and builds on an earlier study from a small business perspective which focuses, firstly, on the importance of capitalising on this source of embryonic talent and secondly, the problems within the marketing communication process between potential adopter marketing organisations and independent inventors. A purposive, non-random sample was drawn, consisting of prominent independent inventors (exemplars of good practice) who marketed both nationally and internationally and the potential adopter manufacturing and marketing organisations (customers). Trade associations with a role in facilitating the adoption process were also contacted. The method of enquiry in the study was by personal and telephone interviews. The findings from these three different groups seem to suggest that stereotypical views of independent inventors held by potential business adopters coupled with the often weak marketing communications and interpersonal skills reportedly possessed by independent inventors present very real barriers to the adoption of new ideas by the business community. The paper concludes that small businesses may be better placed to "exploit" ideas from independent inventors by virtue of their simpler organisational structure. Recommendations for the improvement of strategies to facilitate adoption of inventions with commercial potential are made for both types of small businesses (inventors and small business adopters).     

Lessons from the COVID19 pandemic: The case of retail and consumer service firms

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted business operations in every industry and sector around the world. Scholars, practitioners and policymakers continue to engage in understanding the effects of lockdowns, social distancing measures and other restrictions on trade; the impact of government stimulus and support measures, and how businesses have adapted their operations. The dynamic nature of the virus, and the changing socio-political and economic landscape, provide the opportunity for empirical scholarly research examining how retail and service firms have responded to the challenges and potential opportunities presented by the pandemic, and how owner/managers have pivoted in an (often) uncertain trading environment. This paper presents the findings of an applied study involving business owners (N = 268) of SME retail and service firms in the island state of Tasmania, in Australia, during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Findings show: (1) despite over 65 per cent of respondents reporting a downturn in revenue during 2020, almost 80 per cent indicated they had confidence in business survival heading into 2021; (2) whilst on average, businesses did not rate the level of environmental hostility as being particularly high, there was a significant correlation between perceived environmental hostility and assessment of business performance and with the level of confidence of business survival; (3) Australian federal government support and other stimulus measures were deemed crucial for business survival during 2020 with three quarters of businesses accessing the ‘JobKeeper’ scheme, and (4) businesses adapted their operations during the pandemic in terms of new products and services, increased marketing, pivoting their use of technology and promoting ‘localness’.     

A Behavioural Analysis of Co-operative Marketing Organisations

Most research to date on co-operative marketing has focused on large organisations. This paper explores co-operation that takes place between smaller businesses for the purpose of marketing the generic elements of their product. A review of literature discusses the business and social objectives of co-operative marketing organisations. It is suggested that the social element of such groups may be more important than in the strategic alliances of larger organisations. A proposition is developed that co-operative marketing groups have a tendency to begin life with a business focus, but over time a social focus becomes more important. The proposition is tested by a qualitative study of co-operative tourism marketing groups. While business objectives were cited by most co-operative groups as their primary goal, evidence within this study suggests that a drift toward more social objectives occurs as associations mature. Adopting a social role may be a means of extending the lifecycle of an association, while the missionary zeal of newer associations provides a focus for co-operation which has more clearly defined business objectives.     

How Australian organizations use global communications

Global communications technology offers those organisations that embrace it many strategic advantages in conducting business overseas. Despite this, it has not been a technology that Australian organisations have rushed to implement.This paper investigates several Australian organisations and looks at their use of global communications technology. The organisations chosen are a mix of those that are Australian owned and foreign companies. Some of the organisations have been exporting their products or services for a number of years, whilst others are new to business operations on a global scale.Whilst the number of organisations researched is small, there appears to be a clear indication that global communications is a technology that all the Australian organisations (included in the research) have investigated. However they have then only proceeded to implement the technology, provided that it offers some definable form of competitive advantage when conducting business overseas.The organisations included in the research may not have had a definite management strategy in place for global communications initially, but, as the technology has become more efficient, has proven to be advantageous or has been accepted by an organisation's competitors, it has been included in management's strategic planning.The results also show that the implementation of global communications has enhanced profitability. However, the additional profit is not always derived from an increase in revenue but often a reduction in costs.The research shows that those foreign organisations with headquarters overseas have been much quicker to implement the technology for one or more of the following reasons: to increase their competitive advantage to improve company reporting to lower the costs of communication to provide more efficient methods of sharing common information.     

The Adoption of a Retail-Oriented Marketing Mix for Bank Branch Operations

This article considers the major emphasis currently being placed by the retail banks on the distribution element of the marketing mix. In particular, it demonstrates that the retail banks within the UK have recognised the importance of the branch network in achieving a competitive advantage and are currently active to a greater or lesser degree in adopting a retail-oriented marketing mix for bank branch operations. The article goes on to argue that the mix has not yet been successfully co-ordinated as a result of the limited remit of marketing personnel within the banking sector.     

Friendly flexible working practices within the internal marketing framework: a service perspective

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the existence of work flexibility and its relevance to internal marketing. Friendly forms of work flexibility are critical to an improved understanding of the role internal marketing should have to achieve better service quality performance. This exploratory study is based on a sample of 2997 private-sector organisations provided by the CRANET survey. The results show the divergence in industry business patterns in the use of friendly and unfriendly flexible work arrangements. Service companies tend to use friendly flexible working practices in larger proportions. The analysis reveals a small negative relationship between unfriendly practices and service quality. These findings may suggest that service organisations tend to create more supportive environments when offering flexible work arrangements that are friendlier for individual workers and their families.     

The Influence of Internal Communities of Practice on Customer Perceived Value in Professional Service Relationships

Effective customer-related knowledge transfer can be seen as the cornerstone of customer value creation in collaborative relationships between professional service organisations and their customers. Our intention in this paper is to describe how different work groups within organisations (communities of practice) influence the perceived customer value. We approach this phenomenon from a relationship management perspective and use literature from relationship marketing, organisation research and knowledge management as a theoretical basis. Empirically the paper is based on an information-rich explorative case study of a professional service organisation, operating in the consultancy and training business, and its relationship with one of its customers.     

Achieving sustained competitive advantage in retail and consumer service firms: The role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage

The vital role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage in creating sustained competitive advantage in retail and consumer service firms is increasingly acknowledged in modern markets. Using data from 246 retail and consumer service firms (hereafter R&CSFs) in Japan, this paper develops and empirically tests a framework delineating how entrepreneurial-oriented R&CSFs strategically combine existing resources while managing risks to differentiate their service portfolios to be competitive. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage influence differentiation advantage and risk management, which, in turn, is associated with creating a sustained competitive advantage (hereafter SCA). This paper adds novel insights to the dynamic capabilities view and retail and service marketing literature by identifying entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial bricolage, and risk management as dynamic capabilities, which allows R&CSFs to create service innovations in resource-constrained environments.     

Retail franchising: an intellectual capital perspective

Retailers appear to have found franchising to be a valuable means by which to develop their businesses, both domestically and abroad. In the UK franchising accounts for approximately one-third of all retail sales (Franchise Survey, 2003). This paper explores the implications of franchising on the intellectual capital (IC) development and knowledge management (KM) for retail organisations, given that for retail organisations asset intangibility is a particular feature. As such, this paper breaks new ground in engaging currently topical concepts from leading-edge debates in the management literature (IC and KM) to examine franchising in service sector businesses.The paper should hold considerable interest for, not only academics interested in franchising per se, but also business researchers examining fields such as innovation and intangible asset growth.     

刍议移动互联网传统零售企业营销能力的提升

面对运用现代信息技术而形成的新型商业模式的竞争,传统零售业在经营观念、人才储备、基础设施、创新精神上,都处于不利的位置。传统零售企业可以借助无线互联网技术,借鉴电子商务企业的成功经验,开展营销业务与手段的创新;开展基于LBS服务创新;通过APP占领消费者手机桌面;利用顾客碎片化时间;开设智能商店;提供移动在线客服;加大客户数据挖掘,使无线营销活动更具有针对性。     

The role of business support organisations in the process of retailer internationalisation

In the field of international retail research, there has been little attention paid to the role of business support organisations in the process of internationalisation. Given the barriers to foreign market expansion, the focus of this study is to investigate the importance of facilitating factors, in the form of business support organisations, which can assist retailers in the process of international expansion. A qualitative research methodology was employed and the findings provide evidence relating to three important areas: firstly, the types of business support programmes available to retailers seeking to internationalise from the UK, secondly, the barriers encountered by retail companies expanding overseas, and thirdly, how government and private organisations can assist in helping retailers overcome these hurdles.     

充分利用网络技术为顾客服务——网络营销的价值观及其实现

互联网技术在企业经营中的应用 ,创造了网络营销这一营销新方式 ,以及网络公关这一交往新形式。网络营销应当贯彻“以消费者为中心”的营销价值观 ,应该且能够充分利用网络公关实现企业与消费者之间的双向沟通 ,应当且能够有效利用网络技术为顾客提供高效、便利、优惠、超值的服务支持。     

论我国零售银行业务的发展

我国零售银行业务在短短的几年时间内获得了较快的发展,实规了历史性的跨跃,但与发达国家相比,总体规模依然很小,零售银行业务占商业银行利润来源和业务总量的比重仍然偏低.我国零售银行业务的发展仍然存在着许多问题:商业银行的风险控制能力比较薄弱,产品同质性高.缺乏核心竞争力,银行的服务意识和营销能力不足,公司治理不完善,缺乏有效的激励约束机制.拓展国有商业银行零售银行业务,应强化风险管理,构筑风控体系,完善公司治理结构,健全激励约束机制,加强客户关系管理,实施差别化服务,从而更快更好地创造客户价值,实现银行价值与客户价值的有机统一.     

基于网络经济的顾客保留策略

通过网络营销的交互性和良好的顾客服务手段,增进顾客关系成为网络营销取得长期效果的必要条件。顾客保留对于开发顾客的长期价值具有至关重要的作用,以顾客保留为核心的营销方式成为企业创造和保持竞争优势的重要策略。     

Internal brand commitment,a multi-dimensional construct? Case study evidence within a collaborative independent retail network context

Commitment and other relational constructs have predominantly been examined within the organisational studies literature, and in more recent times within the relationship marketing literature, but have been largely neglected within the retail and branding literatures. There is little empirical evidence of commitment as a multi-dimensional construct within the marketing domain. Brand commitment studies have largely adopted an external consumer-based perspective, with little attention afforded to internal brand commitment, and the dimensionality of the construct. This study addresses this deficit, and aims to explore the dimensionality of the internal brand commitment construct within the business-to-business context of a collaborative independent retail network. A qualitative case study methodology is adopted based primarily on interviews with owner-managers. The study provides empirical evidence of the multi-dimensionality of the internal brand commitment construct, with both attitudinal and behavioural dimensions. Although the importance of internal branding has been acknowledged for service sector organisations, this is the first empirical evidence to document the complexity of internal brand commitment in a retail context. The study concludes that while calculative commitment builds organisational commitment, internal brand commitment requires an affective dimension, which leads to what can be interpreted as brand citizenship behaviour and/or conceptualised as the formation of a brand community.