Exploring the Role of Product Development Capability for Transforming Marketing Intelligence into Firm Performance

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study examines the role of product development capability for transforming marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets.

Methodology/Approach: The authors apply structural equation modeling to analyze survey data from 342 industrial manufacturing companies.

Findings: Results reveal that sales integration and holistic macroeconomic view are particularly important features of the marketing intelligence capability on industrial markets to gain additional insights in order to develop products successfully. Results also reveal that product development capability transforms the marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets.

Research Implications: This study offers new insights on marketing theory by extending and concretizing the concept of market orientation to a broader concept of the marketing intelligence capability for industrial markets. Further, this research reveals that the product development capability serves as a mediator to business performance.

Practical Implications: This study’s systematic and tangible outline of the dimensions of marketing intelligence and its link to the product development capability helps firms to better understand how to capitalize on market orientation’s potential values.

Originality/Value/Contribution: This research (a) reveals the relevant dimensions of marketing intelligence on industrial markets and (b) shows how the product development capability tranforms marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets.     

The British house magazine 1945 to 2015: The creation of family,organisation and markets

Abstract

This article examines the history of British house magazines from 1945 to 2015. It discusses their content, audience and function within companies. From tools of internal public relations, house magazines switched to being used as mediums of industrial relations in the 1960s and 1970s, and by the late 1980s were increasingly applied to the creation of corporate identity, organisational culture and internal marketing. They were also forced to accommodate the rise of internal communications and electronic media. The article discusses the rise and relative decline of the British house magazine, and ends by asking whether it has a future.     

Estimating Firm-Specific and Relational Properties in Interorganizational Relationships in Marketing

ABSTRACT

This research attempts to distinguish empirically between the potential influence of a manufacturer as compared to the influence of a manufacturer's salesperson over an industrial distributor. Given the existence of such a distinction, the scope of such influence is examined with regard to a distributor's business in eight different areas of potential influence: price, order quantity, product line, advertising and sales promotion, customer service, inventory, customer credit, and display. Data were collected from 412 industrial distributors in a marketing channel. The authors utilized regression analysis to distinguish between manufacturer and manufacturer salesperson power. Then, factor analysis was utilized to determine if the salesperson does have power over policy areas apart from that of the manufacturer. Research results suggest that the manufacturer's salesperson, compared with the manufacturer, possesses a different domain of power than does the manufacturer in a channel containing an industrial distributor.     

Examining the Role of Brand Equity in Business Markets: A Model,Research Propositions,and Managerial Implications

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a model of brand equity for business markets. It is argued that the potential benefits of branding and brand equity development have been neglected in business markets and that a general model and stream of relevant empirical research could be useful to managers in business markets depending on the situational nature of their market and competitive structure. The model adapts and extends existing brand equity literature to reflect the unique aspects involved in a business-to-business marketing context. The model developed considers marketing strategies as antecedents, two different classes of moderator variables, brand equity as a perception by the buyer or the market, a series of consequences of brand equity perceptions, and perceived risk as a moderator of the brand equity-consequences relationship. Propositions have been defined and discussed to help facilitate research and provide guidelines for industrial marketing managers.     

Relationships between Entrepreneurs in Business Incubators. An Exploratory Case Study

Purpose: Business incubators are areas created to help firms find their feet and are devised to promote entrepreneurial initiatives. From the relationship marketing approach, the present study seeks to identify the key differentiating variables involved in relations between entrepreneurs located in the same incubator.

Methodology/approach: The research process is grounded on an exploratory qualitative analysis, based on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs who belong to two Spanish public business incubators, which form part of the Chamber for Business Creation and Development (INCYDE) network of incubators.

Findings: Findings allow us to highlight aspects such as complementarity of resources, awareness and shared values, frequent contact, and a psychological commitment, as well as certain specific aspects of the relations to emerge in such contexts.

Originality/value/contribution: The article contributes to the literature on business-to-business relationships by developing a conceptual framework of relations among entrepreneurs located in incubators. Moreover, it provides an agenda for future research on the process whereby value and social capital is created through business incubators.     

The English cotton spinning industry, 1780–1840, as revealed in the columns of the London Gazette

We investigate the early development of English cotton spinning by analysing about 700 bankruptcies and 1300 dissolutions of partnership reported in the London Gazette, 1770–1840. The data show three temporal cycles, peaking in the early to mid-1800s, in the later 1820s and again in the later 1830s, near the ends of investment booms. Both earlier peaks were absolutely higher than the later ones, despite industry expansion. Over time both bankruptcies and dissolutions show rising concentration of spinning in greater Lancashire, and within greater Lancashire in the surrounding towns rather than in Manchester. The industry was throughout dominated by single proprietors or firms with only two partners. Integration with weaving was increasing steadily. The paper demonstrates the potential of the Gazette, now searchable online, as a source for business and industrial history.     

如何利用社会关系来有效控制机会主义行为——基于外部环境不确定性的调节作用研究

由于契约的不完备性以及权力使用所存在的局限性,文章以中国情境下最为典型的治理手段--社会关系（包括商业关系和政府关系）为切入点,深入探讨了其对机会主义行为的影响。同时,治理手段的有效性是取决于作用情境的,因此,文章进一步讨论了行业环境与法律政策环境不确定性的调节作用。通过对172个企业间关系样本的分析发现：（1）经理人的商业关系和政府关系都可以有效地抑制机会主义行为;（2）随着行业环境不确定性水平的提升,经理人的商业关系和政府关系对机会主义行为的抑制作用会增强;（3）而随着法律政策不确定性的提升,经理人的商业关系对机会主义行为的抑制作用会增强,而政府关系对机会主义行为的抑制作用会减弱。文章结论对于如何有效地利用经理人的外部社会关系来抑制机会主义行为有着重要的理论和实践意义。     

台湾经济波动与产业结构变动的实证研究:1961-2008

经济波动与产业结构变动之间存在相互影响的动态关系。文章利用Moore结构变动指数测度了1961年至2008年间台湾总体产业结构变动情况,并采用CF滤波分离出台湾总体产业结构变动与经济波动的数据指标,并对其进行Granger因果关系检验、脉冲响应函数及方差分解,论证了台湾产业结构变动与经济波动的因果联系和相互影响的动态关系。     

东道国劳资关系对FDI构成影响吗？——基于中国数据的经验分析

本文运用1985-2008年中国相应数据，检验了中国劳资关系因素对外国直接投资的影响。结果表明，由于中国劳资关系制度仍不健全，工会力量较薄弱，因此其对FDI不构成显著影响，一些传统因素如GDP、工资以及对外开放政策等仍然是影响FDI的显著变量。但可以预见，随着中国劳资关系规制的健全、工会谈判力量的增强以及行业、地区水平集体谈判的推进，劳资关系因素对FDI的影响将逐步显现。     

Cultural Themes in Brazilian and U.S. Auto Ads: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Abstract

Do Brazilian and U.S. advertisers employ different themes in print advertisements? If so, what can we conclude about cross-cultural differences in values? In our study of automobile ads that appeared in the business magazines of Brazil and of the U.S. during the 1970s, we found that (1) urban themes were used more frequently in Brazilian ads than in U.S. ads, (2) leisure themes were used more frequently in U.S. ads than in Brazilian ads, (3) work themes appeared as frequently in Brazilian ads as in U.S. ads, and (4) work themes appeared more frequently in U.S. ads as the 1970s progressed. Thus, our study suggests that values differ between the business subculture of Brazil and that of the United States. Importantly, our latter two findings disaffirm the theories of many historians and sociologists. Because the application of historical and sociological theories may produce erroneous advertising decisions, we advise advertisers to research carefully each national market before using a “standardized” advertising theme.     

The Effects of Relationship Marketing on Share of Business: A Synthesis and Comparison of Models

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The article synthesizes the extensive empirical work on relationship marketing (RM) and compares the various conceptualizations to give a better understanding of the relational factors (i.e., characteristics of the business relationship) that improve a seller’s objective performance (i.e., share of business) in a business-to-business (B2B) services context. These conceptualizations, taken from the literature, link relational antecedents (i.e., communication, domain expertise, relational value, and mutual goals) to relational mediators (i.e., trust, satisfaction, commitment, relationship quality) to explore how they in turn affect a seller’s share of business.

Methodology/approach: All 4 models derived from the literature review were assessed using a dataset drawn from a survey of 948 client firm representatives of a Portuguese hotel chain in a B2B services context.

Findings: The best of the models in terms of model fit and prediction of share of business shows that only customer commitment directly drives a seller’s share of business, and simultaneous interrelated changes in customer trust and satisfaction, as well as customer perceptions of relational value, drive customer commitment, and so exert indirect effects on performance. The model that proposes that a seller’s performance is strengthened by simultaneous interrelated improvements in customer trust, satisfaction, and commitment (i.e., with these three mediators being conceptualized as a single, combined, higher-order mediator, termed relationship quality [RQ]) shows inferior fit. No combination of mediators (satisfaction, trust, or commitment) improves the seller’s objective performance over and above their individual effects (i.e., there are no synergistic effects).

Research implications: The literature review suggested four ways of modeling RM antecedents, mediators, and their effect on performance. Complex second-order constructs such as RQ lack explanatory power when predicting outcomes and mask the effects of individual relational mediators. Correct conceptualization is important, as conclusions vary drastically even with the same set of relational mediators and same dataset.

Practical implications: B2B service providers’ investments in RM will lead to improved share of business only if customer commitment is high or there is at least the potential to improve it. This requires an understanding of how valuable

the customer believes the relationship to be, and how the customer rates the relationship with the firm in terms of satisfaction and trust. A customer segmentation approach to relationship building and maintenance is advocated and detailed suggestions are put forward.

Originality/value/contribution: Apart from the work by Palmatier, the relationships between RM antecedents and mediators have not yet been examined simultaneously and findings are fragmented. The article provides a synthesis of this expansive literature. It contrasts different interplays between RM mediators, including their interrelationships as a higher-order construct, and explores possible synergy effects. Unlike previous work, this study focused on an objective measure of seller performance (i.e., share of business), whereas previous studies have tended to examine subjective measures, especially within the B2B context. Furthermore, four full models were assessed here, each of which included the antecedents to RM mediators and their links to objective performance.     

Transnational Governance of Workers’ Rights: Outlining a Research Agenda

In twentieth century Europe and the USA, industrial relations, labour, and workers’ rights issues have been handled through collective bargaining and industrial agreements between firms and unions, with varying degrees of government intervention from country to country. This industrial relations landscape is currently undergoing fundamental change with the emergence of transnational industrial relations systems that complement existing national industrial relations systems. Despite the significance of this ongoing change, existing research has only started to explore the implications of this change for how workers’ rights are governed around the globe. This paper addresses this gap by outlining an agenda for future research into the transnational governance of workers’ rights. Fulfilling such a research agenda would be both challenging, as it requires combining the so far divergent industrial relations and business ethics research streams, and rewarding, as it provides ample scope for promising future research.

Commentary on “Business-to-Business Marketing Textbooks: A Comparative Review”

ABSTRACT

The proposal by Backhaus, Muehlfeld, and Okoye (2002) to design a business marketing text around a framework of customer-relationship types is provocative and spawns a useful debate on the issue of what should actually be taught in the business marketing course, particularly at the undergraduate level. We believe that the approach may increase the attention given to relationship marketing but do so by sacrificing coverage of core content that students and informed business marketing managers need to know. In the end, we opt for a more comprehensive approach in exploring strategy making for the business market while they chart a narrower and more specialized path.     

Relational marketing: development,debates and directions

Abstract

Relationship marketing (RM) is an umbrella term for a loose collection of ideas and concepts that emerged in different empirical contexts from the late 1970s. Informed by diverse research traditions, it represented at one and the same time an extension of existing ideas within marketing management and a very different way of thinking about marketing. Though cooperation has not been a core element of the marketing management lexicon, debates about cooperation and competition predate the 1970s. Moreover, re-engaging with relational perspectives raises important questions about managerial autonomy and about the utility of the market as a regulating force. The paper calls for the development of a more realistic theory of networks with inputs from both business and consumer marketing contexts.     

Leveraging Associations: The Promotion of Cultural Sponsorships

SUMMARY

Sponsorship of the arts is growing as a marketing communication method, and companies are using this tool to achieve various business objectives. These include branding, corporate hospitality, and building community relations. The activities that the companies engage in to promote the sponsorships are guided by the objectives they wish to achieve. Additional leveraging is supported by advertising and public relations for branding. For corporate hospitality, promotional support is vested in personal selling with public relations initiatives. For community relations, promoting the sponsorship is focused primarily on public relations activities with an emphasis on personal selling.     

Managing policy lapse risk in Sweden’s life insurance market between 1915 and 1947

Abstract

We examine the challenges that Swedish life insurers faced in managing the lapse risk of policies written on the lives of the industrial urban working class between 1915 and 1947. We observe that with the threat of State socialisation of insurance in the 1930s, industrial life insurers modified their business practices to better control policy lapses. Using firm-level data, we also analyse the effect of socio-economic changes, such as rising real wages, interest rate fluctuations and unemployment on life insurance policy lapses. Our results support contemporary tests of the emergency fund and interest rate explanations for the voluntary premature termination of life insurance policies.     

The Role of Soft Factors in Implementing a Service-Oriented Strategy in Industrial Marketing Companies

ABSTRACT

It has been recognized that in today's highly competitive industrial markets, one of the few ways left to gain differentiation from competitors is by offering value-added services. To do so, however, requires a service-oriented strategy and the active implementation of this strategy which includes significant internal changes in management philosophy and approach. Unfortunately, no study has examined the implementation aspects of a service-oriented strategy. In this context, our research focuses on two important “soft factors,” corporate culture and human resource management, that are necessary for a successful implementation of a service-oriented strategy in industrial marketing companies. We analyze the mediating role of these two soft factors in the causal chain leading from a service-oriented strategy to organizational performance. We find that the soft factors play an important mediating role in the link between a service-oriented strategy and organizational performance.     

“Made in Italy”: The Italian Contribution to the Development of Business Marketing Discipline and Practices

Purpose: The authors analyze the main contributions of Italian literature in the business-to-business field as it relates to the characteristics of the Italian industrial manufacturing system. Even if not directly labeled as business-to-business marketing, Italian and other scholars who have studied Italian business experiences have largely faced the topic of business marketing management with innovative approaches and distinctive benchmark examples. In particular, the analysis of the Italian contribution to business marketing relies on the specific nature of the Italian industrial structure as recognized by the international literature. In this respect, the authors argue that three main areas of interest progressively arose from the peculiarities of the Italian industrial system: industrial districts, subcontractors/subcontracting relationships, and mid-sized manufacturing companies. These three research topics have been thoroughly investigated by both Italian and international scholars. They analyze the contributions that Italian researchers provided to advance business marketing discipline and practices.

Methodology/approach: The authors reviewed the literature of the main contributions developed in the three individual areas of research that have a strong focus on the Italian experience. The methodology was in three steps. First, the review planning process was guided by the three areas of research that were assumed to have a major contribution to business marketing discipline. Second, the SCOPUS database was used as a primary source for paper identification by using a keywords search method. Third, the dataset was refined by excluding non relevant contributions (not focused on business management and marketing or not specifically dealing with the three areas of interest) and validating/integrating the original dataset by using other complementary sources (e.g., Google Books, Google Scholar). Finally, a set of 268 products were taken into account in the analysis.

Findings: The results of the analysis suggest that the Italian contribution to the field of business marketing is valuable in light of the three chosen areas of research. These three empirical arenas—industrial districts, subcontractors, and mid-sized firms—contribute to providing a better understanding of business market structure and dynamics as well as the improvement of business marketing studies.

Originality/value: The article is an original and first attempt to elaborate and reflect on the contribution of the Italian business experience literature to the advances of business marketing discipline. The authors develop an original comprehensive review of “Made in Italy” business marketing and management research that has not been used in previous studies. The review will increase international knowledge of Italian practices and theoretical frameworks that can contribute to the reinforcement of the business-to-business marketing discipline.     

Perceptions of Governance in Africa

Abstract

This paper reviews a survey of 800 business leaders and civil servants in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Like most African countries, these eight countries have undertaken governance reforms over the past decade, trying to include a wider range of views expressed by organized interest groups in the formulation of economic and commercial policies. This survey aimed to learn how business and government leaders perceive those recent governance reforms.

First, do managers and civil servants see local trade associations successfully representing the broader business point of view with decision makers, and keeping their members informed of current and proposed public policies? Second, to what extent do perceived principal/agent tensions divide companies from “their” business associations? Third, how does industry structure affect perceptions of business association perfor mance? A fourth issue is whether perceptions exist of “bureaucratic capture” or of excessive state power over business associations in the sample countries.

Most respondents see major problems with governance, though across countries they report the impression of improvement and expect further gains. This raises the risk of unmet expectations should the pace of reform slacken. Business associations are reported to work reasonably well as policy advocates for better governance. They are seen as doing a fair job of keeping members updated on the policy environment. There was little difference in opinion between larger and smaller companies, and surprising overlap between the public and private sectors. These findings are grounds for wary optimism about business-government relations in the region.

Progress will not occur automatically, however. Companies in Africa need to redouble their government relations and policy advocacy activities. The region's industry and trade associations are promising vehicles for expressing the interests of the business community.