Value differences as determinants of importers’ perceptions of exporters’ unethical behavior: The impact on relationship quality and performance

The article focuses on the value drivers of the unethical marketing behavior of exporters, as seen from the perspective of their importers, and how this in turn affects the quality of their working relationship and performance. Based on a sample of 189 Cypriot importers, the study revealed that similarities in national, corporate, and personal values between importers and their foreign suppliers are negatively related to unethical marketing practices of the latter as perceived by the former, and vice versa. Perceived export marketing unethicality, in turn, negatively influences the exporter–importer relationship quality (as expressed in terms of cooperation, communication, trust, and commitment), which subsequently has harmful effects on the performance of the relationship. In addition, the existence of a high similarity in both value strength and ethical codes between importers and their export suppliers was found to positively affect the quality of the working relationship. Finally, the association of both corporate and personal values similarity with perceived export marketing unethicality was found to be moderated by network ties, although this was not evident in the case of national values similarity. The findings of the study have important implications for import managers in terms of properly selecting and handling relationships with their foreign suppliers.     

Business Customers' Behaviour – A Challenge for the Relationship Marketing Concept?

While B2B relationship marketing has been enthusiastically endorsed, business customers' behaviour suggests that suppliers should be cautious when establishing relationship marketing strategies with customers. In particular a supplier should be sure that customers see value in the maintenance of the relationship.

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The Impact of Service Supplier’s Unethical Behavior to Buyer’s Satisfaction: An Empirical Study

In today??s marketing conditions, it becomes really vital for companies to establish an appropriate relationship with suppliers and salesperson based on ethical values in order to survive. Besides, ensuring an effective relationship between the parties would contribute to increase buyer satisfaction along with economic and social satisfaction. In this study, the direct effects of suppliers?? and salespersons?? unethical behaviors on buyer satisfaction, and the moderator effect of communication between buyer?Csupplier relationships are examined. The results of the study have revealed that unethical behaviors of suppliers and salesperson affect buyer satisfaction negatively and the communication variable has moderately affected. The results are providing important advantages for buyers who want to improve the relationships between the suppliers and their salesperson for pharmaceutical enterprises.     

Relationship Marketing and the Orientation Customers Require of Suppliers

Increasingly firms are being encouraged to move away from traditional, transactional marketing towards building long-term relationships with customers. The majority of the literature examines the benefits to suppliers of adopting this philosophy. It was decided, therefore, to examine whether the interacation between customer requirements of the marketing style exhibited by their suppliers and customers’ perception of style delivered by suppliers might influence service quality satisfaction. To examine possible interactions, a mail survey of 500 .small UK manufacturing firms was undertaken to determine perceptions of services provided by accountants. The survey tool used two new scales developed specifically to measure requirements and perceptions of relationship marketing style. Service quality satisfaction was rneasured in relation to overall expectations versus perceptions, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibility. Applying ANOVA to the responsiveness from 141 firms suggests that service quality satisfaction will be highest where there is convergence between the marketing style required of a supplier and a customer's perception of the style exhibited by the supplier: The implications of these findings in relation to the need for further research are discussed.     

When Do Relationships Pay Off for Small Retailers? Exploring Targets and Contexts to Understand the Value of Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing has taken on a significant role in both retail practice and academic study. However, from the introduction of the concept of relationship marketing into the literature scholars have noted that relationship building may not be beneficial to all firms under all conditions. In this study, we investigate this issue attempting to gain a greater understanding of the value of relationship marketing activities across targets (i.e., customers and suppliers) and within contexts (i.e., competitive intensity and three elements of market dynamism) on a retailer's ability to develop the capability of market responsiveness. Our findings, based upon a sample of 172 small retailers, demonstrate that differences do in fact exist in the value delivery to retailers from relationships with different targets and across different contexts in which the retailer operates. As such, the results of this study extend the extant relationship marketing literature, refining our understanding of the value of relationship marketing. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.     

A Cultural Perspective of Relationship Orientation: Using Organisational Culture to Support a Supply Relationship Orientation

Relationship marketing theory maintains that firms can engage in a multitude of relationships oriented towards key stakeholders such as customers and suppliers. This study explores one type of relationship orientation from the viewpoint of the relationships firms have with their suppliers, referred to as a Supply Relationship Orientation (SRO). We take an organisational culture perspective positing that an SRO is manifested through the basic assumptions, values, artifacts and behaviours of the organisation and introduce a measurement tool for SRO. Based on a study of buyers' perceptions of their firms' relationship orientation towards suppliers, the results indicate that an organisational culture perspective of relationship orientation appears valid and enhances previous studies of relationship orientation by providing support for being culturally embedded     

Relationship Value in Thai Business-to-Business Marketing

This study focuses on value in the business-to-business relationship among buyers and sellers. Relationship value has long been one of the key research areas in marketing for business to business. By examining from the perspective of the buyers, this research identifies how business buyers can use marketing benefits, product benefits, technical benefits, logistics benefits, financial benefits, risk-reduction benefits, information benefits, and strategic benefits to predict buyer–seller relationship. The study confirms significant relationships among marketing benefits, product benefits, and value in retailer–supplier relationship. The analysis from this study supports that benefit in a business-to-business relationship can be created if suppliers work on mutual benefits with customers. The results also confirm that Thai business customers will look for business partners who can provide risk reduction and marketing benefits for their business.     

Supplier-Retailer Relationships in Grocery Distribution in Malaysia: Indications of Dominance,Conflict, and Cooperation

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study sets out to assess the presence of dominance, conflict and cooperation in channel relationships between grocery suppliers and retailers in Malaysia. There have been extensive studies on these channel issues in markets of developed countries but very little is known in markets of developing countries such as Malaysia. The initial assessment identifies traces of dominance, conflict and cooperation in the Malaysian channel environment. The findings suggest that the retailers perceive the suppliers as being more in control of the grocery distribution channels as indicated by the extent of influence they exert on channel functioning. The suppliers also acknowledged their roles in channel functioning as they felt that most channel issues are within their control. There also appears to be evidence of relationship characteristics identical to aspects of relationship marketing.     

Wal-Mart: Supplier performance and market power

This research seeks to further the understanding of the relationship between Wal-Mart and its suppliers. 1988-1994 demonstrates Wal-Mart's market power in relation to manufacturers [Bloom PN, Perry, VG. Retailer power and supplier welfare: the case of Wal-Mart. Journal of Retailing 2001; 77( 3): 379-396.]. Wal-Mart suppliers for that period had lower profits than non-suppliers, which indicate a dependency model of market power when suppliers give concessions to a stronger retailer in order to obtain or maintain the relationship. Wal-Mart's dramatic growth and increasing marketing power since the 1988-1994 period offer an opportunity to retest previous findings and further the understanding of a major retailer's strategy for managing suppliers through the use of the strategic profit model. Initial results indicate that gross margin is significantly less for Wal-Mart suppliers than non-suppliers indicating pricing concessions and a dependency model of market power. However, a fixed-effects model controlling for unobservable firm characteristics such as strategic choice suggest that Wal-Mart suppliers are self-selecting or are implicitly pre-screened such that Wal-Mart suppliers have a low-cost strategy and choose lower returns as a market strategy. Findings indicate that small firms do experience a dependency model in that they have lower gross margin, lower operating income, and higher turnover. However, considering fixed-effects for these firms, small manufacturers experience only higher turnover as a result of doing business with Wal-Mart, thus indicating more of a partner-type model of market power.     

Close to the customer: But is it really a relationship?

Everyone is developing relationships. Customers are being invited to have relationships with telephone companies, banks, auto dealers, airlines, and other suppliers of products and services. Relationship marketing is being touted as an effective strategy to guide companies into the next millennium. Recently there has been widespread reference to relationship marketing in the popular literature, and the concept has been embraced by many companies and organizations. There is little consensus, however, on what the concept means and even less consistency in how it is practised. What is relationship marketing? Practising marketers and articles in the trade press use the term in one way, while authors in academic journals seem often to be referring to something quite different. This paper reviews how the concept has been viewed by marketing authors and draws from social psychology to shed light on the characteristics of relationships. Some insights are drawn from a preliminary analysis of the results of focus group interviews that suggest how consumers describe their relationships with businesses.     

A checklist for managers to enhance influencer partnerships and avoid potential pitfalls

Influencer marketing continues to be popular with marketing managers because of its effectiveness as a marketing tactic for raising brand awareness and ROI. To date, much of the literature on influencer marketing focused on its benefits, but it also bears potential risks: not all influencer marketing experiences are positive. While influencer marketing is still emerging in the digital space, managers should not forgo supplier managerial principles when hiring influencers. This article provides a checklist to help managers navigate this marketing tactic and avoid potential mistakes by encouraging the same due diligence they would with other suppliers. The checklist asks nine questions during the life cycle of an influencer relationship—including selection, performance and contract management, and reputation management—and is corroborated by the marketing literature but should be applied by managers. To demonstrate this, several case studies were examined in which managers should have considered supplier management when engaging with influencers. By employing the checklist amid influencing marketing efforts, managers can avoid the mistakes identified in the case studies.     

Antecedents of importer relationship performance in Latin America

Emerging market importers are increasingly engaging in relationships with foreign suppliers. Nevertheless, characteristics of the institutional and cultural environments of countries may affect relationship behavior. Furthermore, research on relationship marketing primarily focuses on the marketing activities of exporters from developed countries and much less attention is paid to the import side of the exchange process. Thus, the objective of this study is to empirically examine importer relationship performance in a Latin American context. This article proposes and tests a conceptual model that includes the antecedents and outcomes of trust and commitment with a survey of Chilean importers. The model uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to develop the construct measures and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the driving forces of trust and commitment and their influence on importing firms' performance in an emerging market context.     

Managing Multi- and Omni-Channel Distribution: Metrics and Research Directions

The increase in the variety of channel formats, and the progression from single, to multi-, then to omni-channel marketing has made shopping and buying more convenient for consumers, but trickier to manage for marketers—both upstream suppliers and downstream retailers. The first step in managing multi- and omni-channel distribution is to find the specific metrics that will facilitate reliable analysis of the relationship between distribution and marketing objectives. That is our primary goal in this article—to present the metrics, both old and new, that marketers, both suppliers and retailers, need to monitor, and that academic researchers, both theoretical and empirical, should incorporate in their models. We present a basic framework for managing distribution, and summarize the metrics that are relevant to each element of the framework. Then, we lay out what we believe are important questions that multi- and omni-channel marketers are grappling with, refer the reader to what existing academic research has to say about them, and suggest how future research can build off our framework and metrics to supplement what is known and address what is not.     

Distribution of Marketing Research Material to Universities: The Case of Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR)

ABSTRACT

The aim of this note is to understand how content relating to marketing and market research is distributed to and within universities. The focus of the study includes the behavior of all those in this market for information, namely suppliers (whether content generators, aggregators, packagers, or distributors of content) of marketing research, university staff, and students. The case study method was implemented to collect data. The case study focuses on UK Higher Education. Specifically, the authors use the case study of the newly developed Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) to explore how content relating to marketing and market research is distributed to and within universities. The research involved personal interviews with 15 librarian senior managers selected from 14 universities.

The interviews with librarians provided insight into how AMSR could be distributed to university libraries and how it could be accessed. The findings highlight the role of university academics in specifying the content of marketing and market research. They focus on ‘real world’ management problems to deliver research with impact and relevant teaching. Therefore, they need company and industry information and are more likely to use current sources. The study maps the process of acquisition of marketing and market research content by universities and identifies the different roles involved in this process. The study is in line with the emerging literature that focuses on the role of education in explaining the relevance gap in marketing research. The study contrasts between the situation in the university market and industrial buying and adds to our understanding of the complexities associated with the distribution of the marketing research material. The result is expected to be a much sharper focus for the marketing of the archive material, leading to greater use of recent high-quality market research by marketing educators, and changes to marketing and market research syllabuses.

This note provides insight into how suppliers (whether content generators, aggregators, packagers, or distributors of content) of market and marketing research should market to universities and ensure the use of their information resources by students and teachers and how they should. The findings of the study contribute to understanding customer needs and shaping a new service product proposition. In addition, the study provides insight into how university students and staff access and should access commercial research on marketing from the market research industry (in particular from the Archive of Market and Social Research) and use it in their learning, so that their knowledge will be more up to date and their employability will be increased. Adding several insights to the issue of distribution of marketing research material to universities. The paper relates to the marketing of information resources to universities, specifically to the work of the Archive of Market and Social Research, in marketing their information assets to universities, and more specifically the relationship between the “push” of suppliers, libraries, journal and textbook suppliers and information aggregators (such as EBSCO and JISC) and the pull coming from academic researchers and lecturers, who might use this information in their teaching and research. The present study can be seen as a classic case study of understanding buyer behavior, but in a modern world of information platforms, aggregation, and the digital economy.     

Factors of determining long-term orientation in interfirm relationships

Marketers have witnessed a paradigm shift in which establishing, maintaining, and forging long-term buyer–seller relationships are considered the core of marketing activities. Accordingly, investigating a long-term orientation (LTO) has become a steady research stream in the marketing literature. Building on this on-going research stream, this study confirms that an essential precursor of a manufacturer's LTO is trust that, in turn, is formed by relational norms and satisfaction with supplier performance. Interestingly, however, the seemingly strong trust–LTO path is moderated by both power asymmetry and environmental uncertainty in buyer–seller relationships. The empirical findings suggest that regardless of emerging relationship marketing where buyer and seller are portrayed as parts of a team, power is still in use to control suppliers. In addition, a manufacturer facing uncertainty is less likely to form LTO toward its supplier for fear of losing flexibility in the time- and quality-based competition.     

How Do Chinese Firms Deal with Inter-Organizational Conflict?

Based on social exchange and customer relationship marketing theory, this study examines how ethical leadership contributes to inter-organizational conflict management (task conflict (TC) and relationship conflict), and the moderating role of task interdependence in these relationships. Data was collected from 81 suppliers and 45 corresponding managers of a large group company in China. Results show that ethical leadership is negatively associated with the levels of inter-organizational conflict, whether task or relationship. Task interdependence significantly moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and TC. Managerial implication in terms of creating sound buyer–supplier relationship through an ethical perspective is discussed.     

Buyer/supplier partnering in British industry: The automotive and telecommunications sectors

Practitioners and academics in the fields of marketing and purchasing management share an interest in the effective management of inter‐firm buyer‐seller relationships. Buyer/supplier partnering has been advocated as an effective approach to the management of key customer or supplier relationships. Within both the automotive and telecommunications sectors of the British economy there is intense interest among major buying organisations in the development of durable partnerships with key suppliers. However, within both industries the major UK and American owned firms have to operate under the shadow of traditionally antagonistic relations with suppliers. The current state of buyer/supplier partnering within the two industries is evaluated within this historical context, and the key problem identified is the need to overcome antagonism within the inter‐organisational culture. The costs and benefits of partnering approaches to both marketing and purchasing are discussed, and implications for marketing managers seeking to develop partnerships with major customer organisations are outlined.     

Acquisition Pattern Analysis for Relationship Marketing: A Conceptual and Methodological Redefinition

Traditionally, relationship marketing focuses upon the interaction between suppliers and consumers. In this article, the authors propose that relationship marketing cannot ignore another type of (long-term) interaction: the one between consumers and products. Both types of interaction should be taken into account when assessing the nature and the quality of the relationship. The relevant literature on consumer–product interactions is limited. Existing theoretical concepts, including brand loyalty, cannot adequately cover the full notion of consumer–product interactions. Acquisition pattern analysis (APA) seems capable of providing an alternative. It provides an insight in the structure of product sets and acquisition orders. However, the available techniques for APA cause confusion by their emphasis on either the structure or the order of product acquisitions. The authors propose a methodological improvement, which has analytical implications as well. A study on purchases of financial products demonstrates the proposed alternative approach, and managerial implications are discussed.     

In search of marketing equilibrium: Relationship marketing versus hypercompetition

This paper is a discussion on work in progress concerning the development of relationship marketing (RM). It is particularly focused on the concept of marketing equilibrium which is a marketing management correspondence to market equilibrium, the traditional concept of neoclassical economics. The paper starts with a brief introduction to the author's approach to RM. It proceeds‐ with a summary of the concept of marketing equilibrium. The next section is a discourse on hypercompetition, a particularly intense type of competition that has been observed by several authors. RM offers a marketing theory based on collaboration with various stakeholders through long‐term relationships, customer retention and loyalty. In contrast, hypercompetition claims that customers will switch between suppliers at an increasingly faster rate and that competitors will become increasingly hostile to one another. Two basic questions are raised: do RM and hypercompetition represent two conflicting but coexisting trends that are both growing in intensity? and How can this coexistence or conflict be conceptually handled? The aim of this paper is not to be complete and provide an answer, only to draw the reader's attention to hypercompetition as an opposite trend to RM and to offer a platform for further analysis and constructive and reflective scholarly dialogue.     

The impact of electronic point of sale technology (epos) on marketing strategy and retailer‐supplier relationships

EPOS is an established and rapidly growing feature of the UK retail scene with a wide range of potential impacts across the whole value chain. This paper focuses upon the more immediate impact of EPOS on the marketing strategies of retailers and their suppliers and on the retailer‐supplier relationship. Emphasis is given to the potential which EPOS presents for the development of new approaches to channel co‐operation and for the building of new patterns of strategic alliance.