Towards a framework of customer value assessment in B2B markets: An exploratory study

This paper examines the key processes and activities of customer value assessment in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Given that an increasing number of B2B firms are providing combinations of products and services, or integrated solutions, the present study examines customer value assessment from the solution supplier's perspective. Specifically, based on an exploratory field study and in-depth interviews with 18 managers in three different firms, the present study identifies five key processes (i.e., value potential identification, baseline assessment, performance evaluation, long-term value realization, and systematic data management) and 11 related activities involved in customer value assessment in B2B markets, and integrates them into a managerially grounded framework. The findings from this study contribute to the literature on customer value and solution research, and provide useful insights for managers on how to assess the value delivered by their offerings to customers.     

The role of Internet auctions in the expansion of B2B markets

In the wake of the advent of the World Wide Web, businesses are scrambling to take advantage of changes in their markets. While the consumer side of the Web explosion has been much touted, it is the business-to-business (B2B) market that has quietly surpassed expectations. An important business model that is responsible for this new market expansion is the Internet or Web auction. Businesses are adapting traditional auctions to the instantaneous “real-time” advantage of the Net to reach new markets that were previously cost-prohibitive by reducing transaction costs. Advantages such as the size and scope of the audience are giving Internet auctions a major role in the emerging global economy. This article examines the enormous impact of Internet auctions on B2B markets. We look at the kinds of auctions being conducted and their relevance to emerging business paradigms. We examine the circumstances under which you choose to conduct Web auctions and their impact on pricing mechanisms, information asymmetries, and channel relationships.     

Industrial brand value and relationship performance in business markets — A general structural equation model

This paper develops a general model of industrial brand value and relationship performance in business-to-business markets from the perspectives of consumer and industrial marketing literature. The structural equation model integrates the analysis of industrial brand value and relationship performance. The model describes the extent to which supplier-buyer transaction performance is influenced by the eight important factors: supplier competence, purchasing value, customer satisfaction, switching cost, brand trust and loyalty, relationship quality, commitment, and transactional performance.The general model is applied to organizational buyer groups of comprehensive industrial markets (Electronics, Chemicals, Equipment, etc). The analysis finds that supplier competence directly affects purchasing value and customer satisfaction, and via purchasing value and customer satisfaction, it indirectly affects commitment, switching cost, brand trust and loyalty. The managerial implications of the study results are also discussed.     

B2B service brand identity: Scale development and validation

Several brand identity frameworks have been published in the B2C and the B2B brand marketing literature. A reliable, valid and parsimonious service brand identity scale that empirically establishes the construct's dimensionality in a B2B market has yet to be developed. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted amongst 421 senior executives working in the UK IT Service sector to develop and validate a B2B Service Brand Identity Scale. Following established scale development procedures support is provided for a B2B Service Brand Identity Scale comprising five dimensions; employee and client focus, visual identity, brand personality, consistent communications and human resource initiatives. Concluding remarks discuss theoretical and managerial implications with limitations and directions for future research.     

The impact of degenerative episodes on the sponsorship B2B relationship: Implications for brand management

Sponsorship B2B relationships generally are entered into by sponsors seeking brand-related benefits through association with a sport entity brand. Negative incidents involving athletes representing the sport entity may threaten the brands of both the sport and sponsor and can weaken or even dissolve the partnership. The management of these episodes is critical in protecting the sport entity's brand equity, as well as the sponsor's brand, and ultimately the relationship. This study explores multiple stakeholders' perspectives on these degenerative episodes and the potential relational outcomes using a series of depth interviews with major sponsors and sport entities. We identify key constructs such as attribution of blame, societal norms, zone of tolerance and perceived severity which influence whether this behavior acts as a degenerative episode in the relationship. Factors such as existing relationship quality and episode management can affect the impact on the relationship as well as the extent of relational change.     

The evolution of generic brands in industrial markets: the challenges to owners of brand equity

The paper suggests that generic brands can develop in industrial markets as easily as they can in consumer goods markets. It briefly examines the issue of branding in industrial markets and then describes the problems that firms can face if their brand name becomes used in a generic manner. It suggests actions that such firms can take as responses to this situation.     

Antecedents and consequences of the quality of e-customer-to-customer interactions in B2B brand communities

The opportunities that interactions in business-to-business (B2B) brand communities offer companies as well as brand community members have already been recognized by B2B firms, but are still an underexplored field of B2B academic marketing research. To provide a first step in analyzing B2B brand communities, we develop a conceptual framework of the quality of customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions in B2B brand communities by drawing on several theories and concepts (e.g., social exchange theory, uses and gratifications approach and value-in-the-experience). Based on an online survey (n = 330) spanning three virtual B2B brand communities in the IT-sector, we test our framework using structural equation modeling. Our results reveal that brand trust has a positive impact on brand community trust. Brand community trust leads to an increase in the quality of C2C interactions in B2B brand communities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the quality of C2C interactions in B2B brand communities has a positive impact on functional, experiential, and symbolic brand community benefits, which, in turn, foster brand loyalty.     

Establishing brand equity among business-to-business referral sources in the emerging markets: The case of specialty medical practice

The goal of this study is to establish brand equity among business-to-business (B2B) referral sources in the emerging markets. We consider the case of specialty medical practices (SMPs) within these markets to achieve this objective. In this regard, we conducted a qualitative study among doctors/managers involved in SMPs in a developed market to understand the functioning of an SMP, and observe the process of building brand equity among referral sources. Based on the insights, we propose a conceptual framework to establish brand equity for SMPs in the emerging markets that focuses on B2B relationships. This is one of the first studies to explore the SMP industry in the emerging markets. We also highlight future directions and call for empirical validation of the proposed framework.     

Adding value in global B2B supply chains: Strategic directions and the role of the Internet as a driver of competitive advantage

The Internet increases the likelihood of “disintermediation” in global B2B supply chains. At the same time, opportunities for intermediaries to generate incremental value for other channel members are opened up. The discussion highlights three such strategic directions — “information rich”, “relational exchange” and “joint-learning” — with the focus on the role played by the Internet in the implementation of these strategies. Particular attention is also given to the experience of a leading Hong Kong intermediary to illustrate the alignment of the Internet with each of these strategies for enhancing the competitive position of intermediaries in global supply chains.     

From strategy to tactics: Building, implementing, and managing brand equity in business markets

Industrial marketers have long argued that brands play little role in the decision making process. Several macro-level changes have occurred challenging these notions some of which are reviewed. We review past research on brand building and brand management in business markets and identify that less research has focused on key strategic and tactical issues in relation to building, managing, and refreshing business brands. We then introduce six studies that add to our understanding of the nature and importance of branding in the business-to-business context. Finally, these studies provide important avenues for further research.     

Integration,knowledge creation and B2B governance: The role of resource hierarchies in financial performance

Knowledge is a critical competitive resource for firms that increasingly exploit resources and capabilities combined with those of channel partners to create new knowledge. However, the opportunism risks inherent in any B2B relationship require firms to employ governance mechanisms to protect their interests. These tensions call for further study of how B2B partners exploit combined resources to produce new knowledge. This research employs a Resource Hierarchy View of resource bundling to describe the ways that firms integrate internal and external processes to achieve financial performance through knowledge creation, and the role that relational governance approaches play in enabling those resource combinations. The study finds that normative and formalized governance forms both enable complex combinations of knowledge creation and integration resources in a way that affects financial performance more than either resource could in simpler combination. However, there are differences in how knowledge is created through internal and external process integration.     

Managing service quality in high customer contact B2B services across domestic and international markets

This research aims to examine the nature of the moderating influence of empowerment on the effect of service training and internal marketing on service quality in a high customer contact B2B setting, and to investigate the differential effects of internal marketing, service training, and empowerment on service quality across domestic and international operations. Data from 880 customer-contact employees show several direct and interaction effects. Our analysis shows that the three focal variables, internal marketing, service training and empowerment positively relate to service quality. Our results support a positive moderating influence of empowerment on the relationship between internal marketing and service quality, and between service training and service quality. Finally, our hypotheses for the moderating influence of type of service operations (domestic/international) on the effect of internal marketing and service training on service quality were also supported. Our results suggest that offering service employees the skills, ability and power to do their job is essential in both domestic and international operations, and also helps maximize the effects of a firm's internal marketing efforts and service training. Overall, the findings inform managers as to how their employee focused strategies for service quality can be managed effectively across domestic and international markets.     

Dynamic supply chain coordination under consignment and vendor-managed inventory in retailer-centric B2B electronic markets

This study examines the dynamic performance of vertically decentralized two-echelon channel coordination for deteriorating goods under consignment and vendor-managed inventory (VMI) contracts with revenue sharing from retailer-centric business-to-business transactions in both traditional markets and electronic markets (EMs). The research presents the profit-maximization problem and devises a method for making cross-enterprise dynamic joint decisions by combining calculus with dynamic programming for a retailer-led Stackelberg supply chain under cooperative and non-cooperative game settings over a multi-period planning horizon. The applicability of the proposed model is assessed using a case study involving a highly perishable product, sliced raw fish, in a supply chain comprising a regional seafood supplier and a local store belonging to a large national retail chain. The analytical results show that, in a cooperative setting, the EM with a consigned revenue-sharing VMI contract tends to achieve lower retail prices, larger stock quantity, improved channel efficiency, and increases in both retailer and supplier profits through an additional one-part tariff. Additionally, consumers benefit from lower retail prices and society benefits from increased overall channel profits in the cooperative channel and EM.     

Understanding the role of marketing-purchasing collaboration in industrial markets: The case of Russia

This study aims to investigate the role of interfunctional collaboration between marketing and purchasing functions in industrial companies. Interfunctional collaboration is considered as a measure of the internal alignment and partnership between departments in the firm, which in turn contributes to the creation of sustainable advantages via improved external partnerships and facilitating demand chain integration. We test the impact of customer orientation as well as the interactions between departments (specifically marketing and purchasing) as collaboration antecedents, and analyze the direct impact of marketing-purchasing collaboration on business performance. The model is tested on a sample of 148 industrial companies in Russia with two key respondents in each firm, incorporating the purchasing as well as the marketing perspective. The results show that marketing-purchasing collaboration mediates the effects of interfunctional interaction as well as customer orientation on business performance. Alternative model testing shows that the direct effects of these antecedent constructs on performance are non-significant in the context of Russian industrial companies.     

The outlook for Asian dairy markets: The role of demographics,income, and prices

The paper first presents a 10-year outlook for major Asian dairy markets (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) based on a world dairy model. Then, using Heien and Wessells’s (1988) [Heien, D.M., Wessells, C., 1988. The demand for dairy products: structure, prediction, and decomposition. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 70, 219-28] technique, dairy product consumption growth is decomposed into contributions generated by income growth, population growth, price change, and urbanization and these contributions are quantified. Using the world dairy model, the paper also analyzes the impacts of alternative assumptions of higher income levels and technology development in Asia on Asian dairy consumptions and world dairy prices. The outlook projects that Asian dairy consumption will continue to grow strongly in the next decade. The consumption decomposition suggests that the growth would be mostly driven by income and population growth and, as a result, would raise world dairy prices. The simulation results show that technology improvement in Asian countries would dampen world dairy prices and meanwhile boost domestic dairy consumption.     

Emerging capital markets: A case study of equity markets in Pakistan

The Pakistan financial system displays all the classic characteristics of an emerging market: market capitalisation amounts to only 5.5% of GNP; less than 0.3% of the population are shareholders, resources mobilised through the capital market are insignificant compared to that through the banking system, and equities account for about 4% of the assets of the financial system.The pricing of both equity and debenture capital is administratively set by the Government. This has resulted in the shares of well-managed companies being issued at below market clearing price. Consequently, new shareholders benefit at the expense of original shareholders. Underwriters are denied any useful function and underwriting commission does not reflect perceived issue risk.There is a paucity of stock of well-run companies. The market also suffers from inadequate information flow and faces some fundamental institutional weaknesses. If the share buying habit is to increase and if savings are to be channelled into financial markets, appropriate mechanisms need to be developed for both broker and investor protection.The views expressed in this paper are those of its authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the International Finance Corporation. The information presented here in has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to completeness or accuracy.     

An exploratory investigation of the elements of B2B brand image and its relationship to price premium

Much of the extant work on brand equity in business markets has focused on predicting brand loyalty, as in what brand image elements that make buyers prefer to buy a brand. The question what drives buyers to pay more or less for brands has however been somewhat overlooked, despite price premium being a distinct and economically important outcome of a favourable brand image. In an attempt to answer this question, this paper suggests that the corporate brand image determinants of price premium can be conceptualised into six dimensions: brand familiarity-, product solution-, service-, distribution-, relationship- and company associations. Findings from a small-scale qualitative investigation, based on interviews with buyers of corrugated packaging, are used to illustrate this model as well as to explore its microelements and demonstrate why they can be assumed to be mentally related to buyers' willingness to pay.     

Outward-looking and future-oriented customer value potential management: The sales force value appropriation role

The management of customer relationships based on customers’ value to the selling firm has been a central topic in marketing research for decades. Yet, extant research has devoted only scant attention to the management of customer future value potential, focusing mostly on advanced statistical modeling based on firm-internal and historical data, which often lacks relevance in B-to-B settings. We employ a longitudinal intervention study, rooted in a constructive research approach, to assess the relevance of a novel customer value potential management model in business markets. The results, based on realized sales and customer portfolio dynamics, demonstrate that a firm can effectively manage customer value potential by adopting a non-statistical, sales force-driven analysis perspective. Further, the study presents evidence for the effectiveness of combinative outward-looking and future-oriented value potential criteria in value potential analysis. Finally, the findings demonstrate how a supplier can proactively manage customer portfolio dynamics in the long run by systematically enhancing its competitive position and capitalizing on customers’ organic growth at individual customer account level, through the interplay of organizational value management and sales force value appropriation efforts.