How business customers judge customer success management

In business-to-business markets, customer success management is gaining growing practical importance. The concept comprises customer-related activities that aim at monitoring, securing and enhancing customer success as well as the implementation of the corresponding organizational structures and processes within the supplier firm. In contrast to existing research, this article takes a customer perspective to customer success management and investigates how business customers judge respective supplier activities; first, to reveal the quality dimensions business customers apply when assessing suppliers' customer success management activities, and second, to investigate how the quality of suppliers' customer success management activities leads to business customers' perceived value. Addressing these questions, this research contributes to literature by exploring customer success management from a customer perspective. The findings elucidate that customers' perceived value in use does not simply develop over time. Rather, through the implementation of customer-related activities of customer success management, suppliers can actively influence customers' value-in-use experiences thus fostering customers' rebuy decisions. From managerial perspective, the findings support suppliers in successfully shape their customer-oriented customer success management activities as well as the necessary internal structures and processes.     

Supplier-customer engagement for collaborative innovation using video conferencing: A study of SMEs

Co-creation of innovation, as transcending perspective of marketing, is of growing interest in recent years. Developing new products through collaboration is recognised as beneficial to suppliers as well as customers. Businesses face challenges as to how to build and develop close and long-lasting collaborative relationships for innovation success. Owners/managers need to know about which platform to use appropriate for different engagement aspects in the relationship development. The advancement in virtual technology may offer new platforms in enabling customer engagement apart from traditional platforms. This study explores how suppliers and customers are engaged in videoconferencing in their engagement processes in collaborative innovation. Based on an empirical study of in-depth interviews with seventeen owners/managers in biotech SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprise), from a supplier's perspective it reveals that the engagement is processual and has two dimensions for the successful collaborative relationships. Videoconferencing is a platform for engagement when distance is a barrier, it's used in both dimensions of the engagement, and to facilitate cognition and support affect which help form and cement trusting relationships. The authors explain the process of videoconferencing engagement by a ladder of engagement model through social networking theory in building and applying social capital.     

Asymmetric customer–supplier relationship development in Taiwanese electronics firms

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship development stages of asymmetric customer–supplier relationships. The structure of relationships between larger customers and smaller suppliers has been the focus of a number of studies in IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group) research. But, there is a paucity of research that examines development stages in relationships where a difference in size between the parties exists. The paper links the characteristics of asymmetric customer–supplier relationships and the relationship development stages through a literature review. The findings from a set of five in-depth case studies of asymmetric customer–supplier relationships in the Taiwanese electronics industry are presented. The case studies involved 50 semi-structured interviews with customer and supplier executives and, in addition, multiple observations of customer–supplier interactions within each case study. Individual and cross-case analysis was conducted to examine the links between the characteristics of asymmetric customer–supplier relationships and relationship development stages. The findings revealed that asymmetric customer–supplier relationships in the Taiwanese electronics industry were very unbalanced and vulnerable in the exploratory stage of development. In the developing stage relationships were more likely to develop if suppliers and customers mirrored each other's behaviour and echoed each other's priorities. In the stable stage suppliers and customers worked on shared and balanced contributions to the relationship. The paper contributes to the understanding of how smaller suppliers and larger customers can identify and develop key sets of relationship characteristics through the exploratory, developing and stable stages of asymmetric relationship development from both customer and supplier perspectives.     

Exploring the concept of asymmetry: A typology for analysing customer-supplier relationships

In seeking to understand relationships between smaller suppliers and larger customers, there is a growing interest in examining the characteristics of asymmetry in relationships. However, there is a paucity of research that looks at the consequences of size asymmetry for smaller suppliers. Building on IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group) research, this paper presents a typology for analysing the consequences of size asymmetry in customer-supplier relationships from the smaller supplier's perspective. The paper reports on the findings from a study involving a total of 48 interviews and eight in-depth case studies of suppliers in the UK textile industry involved in relationships with larger customers. The findings from the study show that the consequences of size asymmetry may vary widely across different relationship characteristics, with both positive and negative outcomes for suppliers. The implications of these findings are that suppliers may take advantage of the positive and constructive consequences of size asymmetry to capitalise on developing their current relationships with customers. In addition, by focusing on the positive consequences of size asymmetry, suppliers may develop the confidence and assurance to develop constructive and more balanced new customer relationships. The paper concludes by identifying the managerial implications for the development of opportunities and customer relationship options for suppliers in asymmetric relationships and proposes that it is important for suppliers to have an assessment instrument to identify the extent of asymmetry or symmetry across their customer relationships.     

The use of asset specific investments to increase customer dependence: A study of OEM suppliers

Making asset specific investments without sufficient economic safeguards is usually seen as a poor managerial practice according to transaction cost economics. However, in practice, many suppliers still invest in asset specificity to satisfy their major customers' requirements, who do not make sufficient investment commitments. The objective of this study is to explore how suppliers that make asset-specific investments maintain long-term relationships with their customers and even make their customers reliant on them. Empirical analysis of data from a sample of Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers shows a significant positive indirect effect of asset specificity on the dependence of customers on suppliers, mediated through joint learning capacity. In addition, a positive link between a proactive market orientation and the degree of customer dependence on the supplier was found. This investigation finds evidence that joint learning capacity and proactive market orientation play critical roles in linking asset specificity to customer dependence.     

Assessing customer orientation in the context of buyer/supplier relationships using judgmental modelling

Retail buying is a particular form of industrial buying, one characterised by buying for the purposes of reselling to the ultimate customer, rather than for use. Retail buyers have a complex role. They are responsible for meeting the requirements of their target customers and they also have to manage relationships with suppliers in order to obtain the best terms and conditions.Modern retailing is also characterised by a high degree of concentration and centralisation of the buying function. Buyers can operate autonomously or within a buying group. Those selling or marketing to commercial buyers need to understand the needs of the buyer in order to be effective. They need to understand the buyers' businesses and how to develop relationships with them.A mediator in the development of a customer relationship is customer orientation. A customer orientation is a central factor in being market orientated, but despite the importance of customer and market orientation there has been little research into how well suppliers understand their customers in a commercial context.In the research reported here retail buyers of textile products were personally interviewed with the aid of decision analysis software to identify the significance of criteria they use in a defined buying situation. The same methodology was repeated with suppliers to identify how well suppliers understood the decision making of buyers in their market. The decision-making process was modelled using a compensatory approach, assuming six decision criteria in a choice of sourcing options. These criteria were partly selected from a pilot conducted with eight retailers in the UK and partly from the literature review and in particular the works of Nilsson and Høst [Nilsson J, Høst V. Reseller assortment decision criteria. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1987] and Weber et al. [Weber CA, Current JR, Benton WC. Vendor selection criteria and methods. Eur J Oper Res 1991;50(1):2-18].The study found that while buyers were able to understand the relative importance of decision-making criteria adequately, they underestimated the importance of certain criteria. The results demonstrate the potential for judgmental modelling in the appraisal of customer orientation.     

Understanding the role of service innovation behavior on business customer performance and loyalty

Providing new services to customers gives firms a competitive advantage in the market. Consequently, firms strive to develop innovative service that delivers new value propositions to customers and leads to customer satisfaction and the acquisition of new customers. The authors investigate the relationship between the innovative behavior of service providers, business customer performance, and business customer loyalty in the safety industry. The study's results show that technology-oriented and co-creation-oriented innovative behavior leads to business customer performance. Business customer performance is closely related to recommendations and re-contracts. Moreover, the degree of safety involvement has a moderate effect between service innovation and business customer performance. The findings have important theoretical and managerial implications for service innovation for researchers as well as service providers.     

Customer approaches to product development with suppliers

It has long been accepted that a realistic view of what happens between customer companies and their suppliers cannot be achieved by examining single purchases alone. Instead, a single purchase can only be understood as part of a supplier-customer relationship which both affects and is affected by it. Also in business markets, a customer's purchase behaviour is not simply a passive response to the marketing actions of a supplier, but part of the interaction between an active customer and supplier. A major element in this interaction is likely to arise from the efforts of the customer to develop its own products interactively with a network of suppliers. This paper reports on a study into the ways in which customers employ the skills of their network of suppliers and attempt to direct that network in product development projects. The paper suggests that customers are likely to use either of two alternative strategies for product development, that we term “network delegation” and “network intervention”. The paper draws on four in-depth case studies to highlight the types of situation where customers are most likely to employ each of these strategies and draws conclusions for marketers about the implications of each approach.     

Trigger issues in emerging relationships

Classic IMP research always emphasizes the important role of actor bonds. Relationships involve the development of social bonds over time between two or more actors, and in most relationships there is great variation in terms of the time it takes for these actors to develop perceptions about each other. Interestingly, however, there is much less research about how business relationships come into being. ‘Business relationship emerging flow’ describes a potential process by which business relationships come into being, from a starting situation through the trigger issues which motivate the matching process, to the establishment of new relationships. This paper places its focus on the trigger issues which could boost emerging relationships. The birth of an important relationship with a Hungarian company is discussed using retrospective interviews with parties, suppliers and customers. For deeper understanding of these trigger issues and to make them more tangible and applicable, a theoretical, logical framework is developed using two dimensions: space and time. Trigger issues are analyzed along these two dimensions. The paper closes by considering theoretical and managerial applications and further research issues.     

Customer retention: A source of value for serial acquirers

Customer retention, in most cases, is regarded as an indicator of acquisition performance, but factors influencing it have rarely been studied in the serial acquirer context. As a consequence, this paper presents a model of the linkage between serial acquirers and customer retention by drawing on serial acquirer and customer relationship marketing and management literature. The paper proposes that the serial acquirers' focus on retaining acquired firms' business customers per acquisition deals may enhance the post-acquisition value. Furthermore, serial acquirers' acquisition experience (skills), managerial overconfidence/hubris, own customers' behaviour and technological context are identified to impact the customer retention of the acquired firm. Moreover, two dual-purpose variables—acquired firms' customer experience and acquired firms' customer relationships—are proposed to moderate the effects of serial acquirers' acquisition experience (skills), managerial overconfidence/hubris, own customers' behaviour and technological context on acquired firm customer retention and also to autonomously influence acquired firms' customer retention. The implications for serial acquirers and practice are discussed.     

Mobilizing suppliers when starting up a new business venture

Prior research has shown that new ventures can complement their capabilities and extend their limited internal resources by drawing on suppliers. Yet, our knowledge of the supplier mobilization process in new ventures is limited. In this paper, we take a relational perspective on the mobilizing process, which entails investigating the scope for mobilizing suppliers in new ventures and new ventures' attractiveness to suppliers. Drawing on three new venture cases, we posit that for new ventures the scope for mobilizing suppliers: 1) ranges from the use of suppliers for the procurement of well-defined existing inputs to the co-development of various resources and capabilities with suppliers; 2) varies across ventures, reflecting the new venture's distance to market; and 3) depends on the supplier's assessment of the new venture's attractiveness as a customer. We also argue that the attractiveness of new ventures as customers to the suppliers is based on elements that differ from those found in studies of ongoing businesses, and include: 1) stimuli to innovate and develop new competencies, 2) reputational benefits and prestige, and 3) personal satisfaction.     

Supplier adaptation: A qualitative investigation of customer and supplier perspectives

Differing views and goals in the buyer–supplier dyad can create underlying tension in supply chain relationships. Although research recognizes that adaptation is often expected from both customers and suppliers in exchange relationships, researchers have not adequately explored the long-range relational implications of customer adaptation requests. This research uses data from two qualitative focus groups to examine the interaction of customers and suppliers surrounding adaptation, as prior research has not yet considered how the customer's response to adaptation may change if they are aware of how the supplier actually perceives and evaluates specific adaptation requests. The first focus group included 20 active participants representing both customer and supplier perspectives, while the second focus group included five participants to provide a more in-depth examination of issues that emerged in the first focus group. Results suggest that customers' and suppliers' adaptation expectations differ; each has difficulty recognizing adaptation conflict because of perceived benefits and biases surrounding adaptation. Results suggest several adaptation conflict management behaviors are utilized to minimize its negative impacts on supply chain relationships, including blameshifting, justifying and negotiating techniques. Results suggest that trust can create blind spots in relationships, potentially causing customers and their suppliers to have difficulty recognizing conflict until it deteriorates relationships' foundational trust.     

Capturing value creation in business relationships: A customer perspective

Collaborative relationships in business markets are of growing importance to customers and suppliers alike. Customers need to decide whether to invest in a new supplier relationship, to maintain and develop a valued relationship, or to divest from a low-value relationship. Suppliers, in turn, face growing commoditization of products and seek to differentiate themselves through relationships. The measurement of value creation in buyer-seller relationships is still in its infancy, and a sound understanding of how firms create and deliver value in business relationships is needed. Emerging studies investigate relationship value based on dimensions derived from theory and lack a managerial perspective. Therefore, the present research explored relationship value from a grounded theory perspective. In-depth interviews with purchasing managers identified eight value drivers in manufacturer-supplier relationships. Implications for the measurement of the concept are discussed, and directions for further research are suggested.     

How institutional pressures and systems characteristics shape customer acceptance of smart product-service systems

This research examines how institutional pressures (mimetic, normative, and coercive), which provide shared expectations of and norms for legitimate behavior, and system characteristics influence business-to-business (B2B) customer acceptance of smart product-service systems (PSSs). This is important because many B2B customers are still reluctant to adopt smart PSSs. Drawing from a cross-industry survey with 160 managers of B2B firms and controlling for other major adoption drivers (e.g., privacy risk, organizational innovativeness), we find a non-linear effect of normative pressure on customers' intention to adopt smart PSSs. Furthermore, normative pressure particularly increases adoption intentions when customers perceive a high relative advantage from smart PSSs. Mimetic pressure positively affects adoption of customer input-oriented PSSs, whereas this effect is highly non-linear (U-shaped) for customer output-oriented PSSs. We extend adoption literature by analyzing non-linear effects of institutional pressures as well as its context dependence. From a managerial perspective, these findings show how suppliers can adapt their sales and communication efforts to effectively market smart PSSs.     

Development and implementation of customer solutions: A study of process dynamics and market shaping

A broad, dynamic network perspective on solution processes remains scarce. This article presents the process of developing and implementing customer solutions and its effects on the wider business environment by investigating customers and suppliers in the global mining industry (Australia, Chile, and Sweden), analyzing the deployment of a new customer solution, and assessing the changes to the competitive environment and focal firms' relationships with other customers and suppliers. It shows that the forces that drive customer and supplier interests and motivation to co-develop customer solutions may change over time, thus redefining the aim and scope of solutions and creating failure risks. Customers present problems; suppliers respond, on the basis of not only the feasibility of the customer-specific solution but also of their evaluation of future solutions in a broader market; then suppliers aim to standardize successful solutions across markets. Customers want close supplier relationships and unique solutions but also like standardized and repeatable solutions, so they can share development costs with competitors and expose the supplier to competition to avoid lock-in effects. From a network perspective, a novel solution can have a market-shaping effect and evoke reactions from other actors who want to enhance their market position. However, these changes are not necessarily deliberate, and the dynamics that market introductions of solutions trigger may be difficult to predict.     

Linking key account management practices to performance outcomes

Many suppliers practice relational strategies that aim to achieve competitive advantage through a collaborative business relationship with their customers. Key account management (KAM) is one such relational strategy that suppliers rely upon to manage their relationships with strategically important customers. Yet suppliers still struggle to put such programs into practice effectively, most likely because academic investigation has yet to report on what actions explain the performance of KAM initiatives. Aiming to fill this gap, we first identify a set of key KAM practices at the strategic, organizational, tactical and control levels of management. Next, we examine how these practices explain the performance of KAM through the mediating effect of the supplier's relational capabilities and the relational outputs that such capabilities produce. The results provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships, showing that the identified practices positively affect performance and dyadic outcomes through the mediation coming from the variables examined. From a theoretical perspective, the study adds to our understanding of the factors underlying effective KAM practices. From a managerial perspective, the results provide insights into how suppliers can achieve KAM effectiveness through relationship-oriented activities, skills and outcomes.     

Linking account portfolio management to customer information: Using customer satisfaction metrics for portfolio analysis

When appropriate variables are used, account portfolio analyses engender a convenient framework for the relationship composition of companies and allow management to reconsider which customers and relationship dimensions need attention. Based on an industrial company's key account relationships, the portfolio approach considered in this study employs Customer Satisfaction (CS) metrics as a portfolio dimension and suggests a new and more customer oriented approach to account portfolio analysis. Proposed portfolio matrices provide insights into the strength and stability of customer relationships. Furthermore, the matrices force managers to adopt a future perspective on customer relationships by evaluating the business potential of customers along with CS information and allow prioritization with respect to resource allocation. The study attempts to put forward customer heterogeneity in industrial markets and offers a managerial guideline embracing customer specific marketing actions. In addition, the paper proposes a new use for CS information in strategic decision making.     

The supplier's side of outsourcing: Taking over activities and blurring organizational boundaries

Since most of the literature on outsourcing focuses only to the buying (outsourcing) company, this paper aims to highlight the supplier's side from a relational perspective. The paper stresses the importance of business relationships between suppliers of outsourced activities and their customers. The paper's purpose is specified in two research questions: (1) how is value created within outsourcing and (2) how does the supplier interact with the outsourcing company? Our method relies on an in-depth qualitative case study of Logoplaste, a Portuguese packaging company which supplies large consumer goods manufacturers through complex outsourcing activities. Our analysis identifies three key dimensions of outsourcing relationships: (1) value co-creation via inter-firm coordination (as opposed to unilateral externalization of activities); (2) mutual dependence between supplier and customer due to the supplier's taking over activities; and (3) the blurring of organizational boundaries because of mutual dependence. These dimensions manifest themselves, even though in different degrees, after the initiation of any outsourcing relationship: these variables are new to the literature on outsourcing, which focuses on the ex ante dimensions that influence the customer's pre-relational choices such as “make or buy” and relationship type.     

Customer value anticipation, customer satisfaction and loyalty: An empirical examination

A service-dominant logic by definition is inherently customer oriented and relational, reflecting deeper and more complex connections between suppliers and customers. The service mindset driving increased collaboration enables suppliers to have deeper insights to what customers' value. Customer value perceptions are dynamic, sometimes in constant flux, necessitating anticipatory capabilities on the part of suppliers. Yet, there is a notable lack of discussion about customer value anticipation and related empirical evidence of whether or not customers care if suppliers anticipate what they value. The authors report on two survey studies that test using structural equation modeling the notion that suppliers good at anticipating what customers will value realize higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. Understanding this relationship is critical for marketing managers wrestling with allocation of limited resources. We find that customer value anticipation is a strong driver of satisfaction and loyalty, with satisfaction acting as a mediator for loyalty.     

Managing value in use in business markets

Suppliers in business markets are increasingly providing complex offerings, which is reflected in concepts like hybrid offerings, servitization and solution business. Such complex offerings are characterized by value propositions in which the value that emerges throughout the entire customer usage cycle builds the core element. To secure and increase this value in use, as perceived by the customers, suppliers need to establish activities of value-in-use management. This value-in-use management comprises monitoring the delivery of the promised value, and enhancing customer value in use throughout the entire lifecycle of a complex offering. This article investigates which value-in-use management activities are currently implemented by suppliers, how these activities are linked to other business processes, and what differences in value-in-use management activities exist between various types of complex offerings. By addressing these questions, this research contributes to literature by exploring post-deployment processes that affect value in use customer experience when using complex offerings. Moreover, from a managerial perspective, it reveals in which constellations measures of value-in-use management are currently implemented in practice and therefore are of particular importance. Furthermore, the results of the study may serve as a starting point to elucidate how measures of value-in-use management can be implemented successfully.