Stealth marketing as a strategy

Stealth marketing has gained increasing attention as a strategy during the past few years. We begin by providing a brief historical review to provide some perspective on how this strategy has been practiced in a myriad of ways in various parts of the world, and how it has consequently evolved in the emerging new marketplace. A more inclusive definition of stealth marketing is then proposed to conceptually understand its use in various contexts. Specifically, we propose a new typology of stealth marketing strategies based on whether businesses or competitors are aware of them, and whether they are visible to the targeted customers. We further provide suggestions of how firms can counter the stealth marketing strategies used by their competitors. Contrary to conventional wisdom, evidence is also provided about how such strategies can be used for “doing good” for society. Finally, the assessment of efficiency and effectiveness of stealth marketing strategies, and their related ethical implications, are discussed.     

Relational roles and triangle dramas: Effects on power play and sentiments in industrial channels

This study compares behavioral characteristics — power, influence, and satisfaction — in channels with different levels of commitment to long-term, collaborative exchange within the supply network to dealers in the office furniture industry. Supporting exchange theory and Emersonian power theory, power, influence, and satisfaction are positively associated with cooperation between traders. Furthermore, the data support expectations for how interaction processes in one dealer-supplier exchange are affected by the character of the dealer's linkages to another supplier in the network.The authors contributed equally to this research and are listed alphabetically. They thank Robert Dahlstrom, Sejo Oh, Fritz Russ, and Ann Welsh for comments on previous drafts of this article.     

As time goes by: Examining the paradox of stability and change in business networks

Stability and change may seem contradictory features but in business networks, they coexist [Hakansson H, Snehota, I. Developing Relationships in Business Networks. London, Routledge; 1995]. This article explores the paradox of the coexistence of stability and change in an Australian context. Previous research illustrated that stability over time can exist in specific business relationships [Sutton-Brady C, Donnan, M. Nexus nonsense or is it? Conference Proceedings, 19th Annual IMP Conference, Lugano, Switzerland September 2003; 2003]. This research study further investigates time as a proxy variable of stability [Halinen A, Tornroos, J-A. The meaning of time in the study of industrial buyer–seller relationships. In: Moller K, Wilson DT, editors. Business Marketing: An Interaction Approach. Norwell, Mass: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1995.] and attempts to uncover other variables, which may influence the stability of the relationship. Given the exploratory nature of the research a case study approach was utilized to gain an in-depth understanding of the variables, which may contribute to the stability. This article further advances the concept of time as a proxy variable for stability while investigating what other variables may be crucial in understanding this concept. From analysis of the case studies, the findings show that other variables do play a role in determining the stability and change in the relationships and networks, these included location, product/service quality, technology, cooperativeness, adaptations and cost. The major contribution of this article is the reopening of discussions on time as a proxy variable for stability and attempts to broaden this to include other variables.     

Seeking funding in order to sell: Crowdfunding as a marketing tool

Websites such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter have attracted much attention for their ability to enable organizations and individuals to raise funds from ordinary people who contribute for a number of reasons. This phenomenon is called crowdfunding. Crowdfunding permits organizations and individuals to obtain investments they otherwise might not receive from more traditional sources such as banks, angel investors, and stock markets. A number of now well-known startups had their origins in crowdfunding. More recently, established organizations have begun to use crowdfunding websites not only as a source of finance, but also as marketing platforms. In this way, they have been able to ensure a ready market for their new offerings, with full sales pipelines, and to use the platforms as vehicles to boost brand image and gain support for brand-related causes. This adaptation of crowdfunding for marketing purposes is not without its problems, however, and organizations would be well advised to consider not only the opportunities these platforms provide, but also their limitations and risks.     

A prototyping analysis of relationship marketing constructs: what constructs to use when

As relationship marketing research evolved, a number of key constructs emerged. Some scholars have argued that these constructs are not conceptually or empirically distinct. We investigate this phenomenon based on the premise that sustained research effort towards studying conceptually overlapping/redundant constructs, while treating them as independent, can hamper the development of the field. We use prototyping, a method adopted from psychology, to examine consumers’ views of these constructs, and then identify relationship contexts where constructs are distinct or redundant.     

The process of internationalization: how Swedish food retailers perceive their domestic supplier relationships

This paper focuses on how retailer–manufacturer relationships are influenced by the process of internationalization. Empirically, we study the Swedish food sector. It has previously been domestically oriented and concentrated. As Sweden joined the EU in 1995, however, a lot of entry barriers have disappeared and Swedish food retailers have been given new purchasing opportunities. We investigate how these changes have affected the retailers' relationships with their suppliers.Theoretically the paper is based on a network perspective and resource dependence theory.It develops and tests a set of hypotheses on howa retailer's relationships to its domestic suppliers will change when it gets a greater access to foreign products and suppliers, using a survey of 621 Swedish food retailers. Among other things, the study reveals that while being prepared to buy fewer products from Swedish manufacturers, the retailers still consider it very important to co-operate on a long-term basis with domestic suppliers.     

Influencer marketing: Social media influencers as human brands attaching to followers and yielding positive marketing results by fulfilling needs

While the literature related to this topic has predominantly focused on investigating the influence mechanism that social media influencers (SMIs) impose over their followers, less is known about their attachment mechanism. Given that social media platforms were originally designed to facilitate personal bonding and not product or brand recommendations, we posited that social media followers' emotional attachment to SMIs is an important precedent that affects the followers' behavioral inclination to accept the SMIs' endorsements. We thus drew new attention to the relationship between SMIs and their followers by focusing on their attachment development mechanism and its casual factors and effects. In doing so, Study 1 inductively analyzed the key causal factors, both with respect to SMI persona- and content-driven attributes, that make followers feel attached to SMIs. By integrating the findings of Study 1 with the human brand theory, Study 2 provided empirical evidence after analyzing 325 U.S. consumers' responses about how SMIs' personas (i.e., inspiration, enjoyability, and similarity) and content curation abilities (i.e., informativeness) affected followers to perceive the SMIs as human brands who fulfill their needs for ideality, relatedness, and competence—all of which resulted in an intense attachment to SMIs. It was this positive emotion shaped with SMIs that transferred to SMIs’ endorsements and positively influenced the followers to acquire the products/brands that the SMIs recommended.     

Moving resources across permeable project boundaries in open network contexts

This paper discusses how firms develop and use resources across a permeable project boundary and conceptualizes how a project can create value for a focal parent organization. Inspired by ideas on interaction and open innovation, we suggest a framework for analyzing the flow of resources based on the two dimensions; direction, whether the resource starts inside or outside the project, and mode, whether the resources cross the boundary once (uni-directionally) or twice (bi-directionally). The dimensions lead to four situations: Inside-out, Outside-in, Boomerang and Passing on. The framework is based on a single case study of an inter-organizational research project in plant biotechnology in a Swedish context. Through these four situations, the results show that a focal parent organization can create direct, indirect, relational potential and transactional potential value. The complex pattern of value creation in an open network context, raises the challenging question of how to capture the value created.     

Rituals in managing extrabusiness relationships in international project marketing: a conceptual framework

The current craze for the so-called relationship marketing in business markets must not mask the fact that, beyond economic and technological interdependencies between companies, business relationships are also made up of social interactions. This social dimension often escapes the attention of marketing theorists although it is of major importance in the management of business relationships. On the basis of an investigation into international project activities, this article develops a ritual approach for managing the extrabusiness phase of business relationships. This ritual approach allows us to build a framework designed to encapsulate and, possibly, manage the many faces of the social dimension of business relationships.     

Chinese immigrants in network marketing business in Western host country context

Many Chinese immigrants start their entrepreneurship business by joining major network marketing businesses in Western host countries. The willingness of these Chinese immigrants to undertake network marketing rests on the influence of the social environment of the network marketing organization. Network marketing specific self-efficacy, social competence and motivation for establishing one's own business are also hypothesized to play an important role in their engagement in entrepreneurial actions. Drawing upon Bandura's social cognitive theory and the immigrant entrepreneurship literature, the present study investigates whether the social environmental influence of a network marketing organization affects the extent to which Chinese immigrants develop the self-efficacy, social competence and motivation to establish their own business and how these variables affect the actions undertaken in the host country. The study is based on the sample of 194 Chinese immigrants in their adopted host country, Australia. The findings of the survey suggest that the social environment within network marketing organizations positively affects self-efficacy, which in turn positively affects the entrepreneurial actions undertaken by Chinese immigrants in conducting their network marketing business. Social environmental influence impacts positively on their motivation to establish their own network marketing business and social competence. However the effects of motivation and social competence on entrepreneurial action were not supported. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Resolving the empty core: trust as a determinant of outcomes in three-party negotiations

This research examined how trust affected resource allocation in a three-party negotiation. Negotiators were presented with an empty core problem in which their theoretical share of resources exceeded the resources available for distribution. We tested which of three components of trust—reliability, predictability and empathy—predicted negotiators’ outcomes. We distinguished between absolute and relative trust. We found that relative trust was a more consistent predictor of individual outcomes than absolute trust and that the most trusted party in a network obtained the highest individual outcomes. This finding highlights the importance of social context in shaping trust judgements. The component of trust that predicted individuals’ outcomes was affected by structural power. High and low power negotiators benefited from conveying empathy (identity-based trust), whereas moderate power negotiators benefited from conveying predictability (knowledge-based trust). Low power parties also benefited from appearing unreliable (low calculus-based trust). The research reported in this paper was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2002 International Association of Conflict Management Conference, Park City, Utah.     

Network development in international project marketing and the impact of external facilitation

This article reports on an experiment in external facilitation of international project marketing activity. The case involved a large, World Bank funded project in China aimed at upgrading grain storage and handling facilities. An organization was established in Australia to bring together and support efforts by Australian firms to win a share of this project. Network-building, at a number of levels both in China and Australia, emerged from the qualitative study as a critical factor in effective project marketing. External facilitation played a positive role in the network-building process.     

Social capital of entrepreneurs and small firm performance: A meta-analysis of contextual and methodological moderators

Despite a surge of studies examining the role of social capital in the entrepreneurial process, no quantitative assessments exist of the empirical evidence to date. To resolve seemingly conflicting results, we conducted a meta-analysis of the link between entrepreneurs' personal networks and small firm performance and identify new moderators affecting this relationship. Analyses of 61 independent samples indicated that the social capital–performance link was positive and significant (r_c = .211). Effect sizes of weak ties were smaller than those of structural holes, while network diversity had the largest positive effect on performance. Results also showed that the social capital–performance link depends on the age of small firms, the industry and institutional contexts in which they operate, and on the specific network or performance measures used. Based on these findings, we develop recommendations for future research on the contingent value of social capital for small firms.     

网络营销浅析

网络营销是知识经济和网络技术相结合的产物,是市场营销发展的新领域。具有营销成本低,经营规模不受限制,支付手段的高度电子化等特点。同时,网络营销在信任、信息安全、物流等方面尚有缺陷。应建立专门的物流企业,负责商品的存储和传递,利用互联网平台合理分配运力,降低运输成本,减少资源浪费。     

Midstream value creation in social marketing

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to develop improved understanding of how value is created at the midstream (meso) level in a collaborative smoke-free homes and cars social marketing programme. The study adopts a qualitative approach including interviews and observation. The findings show that the co-creative organisational model adopted for the Smokefree programme affords access to resources and capabilities of midstream actors and provides opportunities for reshaping and mobilising existing value networks. The focal organisation has a key role in coordinating, connecting actors and providing resources to facilitate value co-creation at the network level. The study illustrates that the service interaction allowed for customer-centred cues for action which took into account their context and the existence/lack of resources for value creation. The implications of this study are discussed, in particular, in terms of the role of focal organisations in managing value networks, the social context, configurational fit and resources of actors involved in community-based social marketing and the need for policies and practices to provide health professionals with role support for health promotion.     

The use of visual warnings in social marketing: The case of tobacco

Despite strong interest on the part of tobacco health practitioners, the effect of graphic warnings inserted on cigarette packs is unclear on several levels. First, the most effective themes for such messages have not been clearly identified by researchers. Second, no research has identified the ideal combination of self-efficacy and fear appeal warnings that should be inserted on cigarette packs, according to Protection Motivation Model principles. The exploratory study we conducted with French consumers to test the effectiveness of new graphic warnings proposed by the European Union in 2004 clearly demonstrates that visual messages, as opposed to text warnings, are more effective. This study also enabled us to identify the most effective themes of the European set: health warnings and social messages. Regarding future public health applications, if fear appeals are used, they need to be combined with self-efficacy and cessation support messages since they provoke avoidance reactions.     

Consumer social voice in the age of social media: Segmentation profiles and relationship marketing strategies

Service failures, once handled quietly by customer service departments, are now played out on a highly public social media stage. These failures can result in not only the loss of a loyal consumer but also can negatively affect relationships with those watching the dialogue between disgruntled customers and organizations. The phenomenon of seeking resolution to service failures online is distinct from both traditional word-of-mouth and voice behaviors. This article introduces social voice: public complaining behavior that aims to change the behavior of the organization. A qualitative methodology defines eight dimensions of social voice and categorizes them by the strength of the relationship to the organization. Results indicate that appropriate response strategies differ based on social voice segment.     

Improving marketing success: The role of tacit knowledge exchange between sales and marketing

Successful organizations adapt their marketing strategies to marketplace changes. Boundary spanners, such as salespeople, because they are able to embed themselves in social networks outside the organization, play a key role in developing marketplace knowledge. However, if this knowledge remains solely with the boundary spanners, it cannot be used effectively to improve firm performance. This study investigates tacit knowledge exchange between sales and marketing and its ability to enhance marketing success (i.e., marketing program innovativeness, relative efficiency, and relative effectiveness). In addition, by examining five antecedents hypothesized to influence tacit knowledge exchange, it provides guidance to sales and marketing managers, who desire to improve tacit knowledge exchange, and, in turn, marketing success.     

Fear, guilt, and shame appeals in social marketing

This paper presents the results from a qualitative study of income support recipients with regard to how they feel about advertising which overtly appeals to their sense of fear, guilt and shame. The motivation of the study was to provide formative research for a social marketing campaign designed to increase compliance with income reporting requirements. This study shows that negative appeals with this group of people are more likely to invoke self-protection and inaction rather than an active response such as volunteering to comply. Social marketers need to consider the use of fear, guilt and shame to gain voluntary compliance as the study suggests an overuse of these negative appeals. While more formative research is required, the future research direction aim would be to develop an instrument to measure the impact of shame on pro-social decision-making; particularly in the context of close social networks rather than the wider society.     

Commentary on “Resource use and development across permeable project boundaries in open network contexts”

The purpose of this commentary is to analyze the paper “Resource use and development across permeable project boundaries in open network contexts”. Focus lies on commenting on the value of the paper in light of existing research on business networks. The paper is analyzed from a general, theoretical and empirical perspective. The conclusion of the commentary is that there are important contributions of the paper. It clearly adds to our understanding of resource use and development in business networks as it introduces a context involving several actors in a system of open innovation.