B2B relationship management in complex product systems (CoPS)

The management of complex product systems (CoPS) has been studied in the academic literature, so far, from a process, organizational, external environment, and technological perspective. Little research has investigated stakeholders' perspectives, particularly when the management of innovative customized solutions is involved. When firms are engaging more and more in complex projects, to create a competitive advantage, academic research should focus on stakeholder interactions and the detailed processes they use, to reinforce stakeholder engagement and to co-create value. Hence, this call for paper was an invitation for scholars to submit papers to study CoPS from a relationship management perspective.     

A service design perspective on the stakeholder engagement journey during B2B innovation: Challenges and future research agenda

Innovation in business-to-business (B2B) contexts deals with highly dynamic, complex, and heterogeneous constellations of stakeholders with a diversity of goals, motives, and capabilities that further challenge successful management of B2B innovation processes and outcomes. Complex challenges, such as sustainability and digitization trends, push these B2B firms to embrace new innovation methods that help them manage disruptive change. Service design thinking has emerged as an innovation management practice emphasizing a human-centered innovation process of user interactions, creativity, and learning mindsets. In this article, we aim to evaluate the challenges and develop a research agenda on how service design can effectively enable stakeholders' engagement during the B2B innovation process. We argue that to advance service design opportunities for stakeholder engagement, we need to address the unique complexities and challenges of stakeholder engagement during innovation from a systemic and dynamic process perspective. From a systemic perspective, we zoom in on the building blocks of stakeholder engagement and address multi-level stakeholder engagement platforms (i.e., innovation networks). From a dynamic process perspective, we treat stakeholder engagement as an emerging process and zoom in on the temporal and relational connections and hybrid orchestration to allow for both structural and emerging stakeholder engagement during innovation. We develop a stakeholder engagement journey in which we integrate service and innovation stages and propose how service design activities can support and facilitate the aforementioned challenges and complexities. Finally, we identify concrete research questions and, accordingly, develop a research agenda for future research on stakeholder engagement in B2B innovation trajectories.     

Technology readiness in a B2B online retail context: An examination of antecedents and outcomes

This paper develops and empirically tests a model that examines the role of technology readiness (TR) in the business-to-business (B2B) context. The research investigates how retailers' TR, and its antecedents, impacts their evaluation of a credence based B2B service, namely web solution service providers (WSSPs). It responds to previous research calls by extending the TR construct from the business-to-consumer (B2C) perspective that is traditional in the extant literature into the B2B domain. The findings of a survey conducted with 133 firms in the retail industry are that TR is an important contributor to the eventual achievement of service quality and satisfaction. The contributions of this study are; first it develops and validates a measure of TR in a B2B context; second it investigates the antecedents of TR in this domain, demonstrating the impact of past inexperience, industry trust and switching costs on firms' level of technology readiness to adopt online operations; and third, it finds that service quality and satisfaction are outcomes of TR. The key management implication for WSSPs is the need to address the TR levels of existing and potential clients if they wish to deliver successful e-business solutions to them. Their clients' TR can be better managed by making the offering more easily understood, building relational rapport, reducing risk perceptions and adopting a client centric perspective throughout the process.     

Marketing capabilities: Antecedents and implications for B2B SME performance

The study provides a new perspective on SME marketing strategies in the B2B context. Using a resource-based view of the firm, the study develops a structural model linking marketing capabilities and marketing performance. A study of 367 SME Australian firms reveals that two key marketing capabilities, namely branding and innovation, have major performance outcomes in the SME B2B context. This is the first SME study to evaluate concurrently the contribution of innovation and branding marketing capabilities, with innovation capability the strongest determinant of SME performance. The study also finds market orientation and management capability act as enabling mechanisms for building marketing capabilities. Disaggregation tests indicate that the same findings apply to three size categories denoting micro firms (less than 20 staff), small firms (20-99 staff) and medium-sized firms (100-499 staff).     

Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales

Social media have changed how buyers and sellers interact, and increased involvement through social media may yield positive results for sales organizations if salespeople utilize it in facilitating their behaviors. Through the perspective of value creation, we test the mediating effects of salesperson information communication behaviors between social media use and customer satisfaction. Using salesperson-reported data, within a B2B context, we empirically test a model using structural equation modeling. Salesperson's use of social media is found to impact information communication behaviors, which enhance salesperson responsiveness and customer satisfaction. Also, salesperson responsiveness is found to have a positive relationship with customer satisfaction. Findings suggest that social media plays an important role in communicating information to customers, but as an antecedent enhancing salesperson behaviors to increase customer satisfaction rather than a direct factor. This encourages managers to carefully assess goals related to social media use of their sales force.     

Interpersonal influence strategies in complex B2B sales and the socio-cognitive construction of relationship value

The investigation of how exactly salespeople create value at the individual level of interaction is still incomplete. While there have been lively debates on value creation and co-creation processes at the organizational level in the business marketing literature, researchers have paid much less attention to the fact that such processes almost always start at the interpersonal level of buyer-seller interactions. Through utilizing a symbolic interactionist perspective and the ethnographic research method of shadowing, the present study moves research insights into value creation in sales forward by depicting the detailed activities and tactics that influence customers’ value perceptions during the sales encounter. We complement the sales influence literature with three additional tactics: disrupt, reassure and dedicate. We also expand the framework of value creation in sales interactions by identifying three value strategies that change, strengthen or expand customer value perceptions through different socio-cognitive mechanisms.     

Evolution of B2B relationship stages in China: A study of confucianism philosophy

This study aims to explore the development of business relationships from an interactional perspective, which challenges the conventional time-based view in Western contexts. Twenty in-depth interviews with Chinese SME managers reveal the uniqueness and importance of the operationalization of Confucian virtues, the guiding principles, and mechanisms for social interactions and trading practice, in developing Chinese business to business (B2B) relationship stages (i.e., discernment, authentication, stabilization, and decoupling). Given the role of Confucian virtues and their dynamics for the development of business relationships, we further argue that the evolution of a relationship depends on the shifts in concerns of transactional and relational governances among business partners. Our propositions advance the literature by showing that distinct constructions of Confucian virtues mark a vantage point for business operators and practitioners in formulating effective B2B relationship strategies in China, and raising future research questions of the impacts from sub-evolutions in Confucian virtues on B2B relationships.     

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.     

Study on the influencing of B2B parasocial relationship on repeat purchase intention in the online purchasing environment: An empirical study of B2B E-commerce platform

With the meteoric progress of digital technology and the advent of network economy, there has been increasing interest in the business model of purchasing with B2B network among B2B e-commerce platforms and customer firms. Based on the perspective of parasocial relationship and dual-process theory, this study constructs a model of cognitive and emotional influences on customer firms' behavior, and analyzes the influence of features of entrepreneur endorser and online purchasing platform on B2B parasocial relationship, and how this relationship can affect repeat purchase intention. Furthermore, this paper examines the moderating effect of trust in the relationship between B2B parasocial relationship and repeat purchase intention. Findings indicate that perceived interactivity and trustworthiness of entrepreneur endorser and the service and product quality of online purchasing platform have a positive impact on B2B parasocial relationship. B2B parasocial relationship has a significant and positive impact on repeat purchase intention, while trust moderates the relationship between B2B parasocial relationship and repeat purchase intention.     

Value co-creation in industrial AI: The interactive role of B2B supplier,customer and technology provider

This research explores the interactive role of supplier, customer and technology company in business-to-business (B2B) marketing when they develop and use industrial artificial intelligence (AI). From a value co-creation perspective and following a service-dominant logic, this study aims to identify essential value types that are created collaboratively by B2B professionals (namely suppliers, customers and AI providers), and critical capabilities that contribute to their value co-creation practices. Nineteen in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups of B2B stakeholders in six companies that involved in an industrial AI development and usage project. The data was then analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The results of this research contain a categorisation of four value types and three sets of capabilities, together with the interrelationships between them. This study contributes to the literature of value co-creation, information system and B2B marketing by bridging these three disciplines within the context of industrial AI development and usage.     

Applying a relationship marketing perspective to B2B trade fairs: The role of socialization episodes

This study addresses the business-to-business (B2B) trade fair from a relationship marketing perspective. The main purpose is to comprehend buyer and seller interactions in the context of the trade fair, evaluating their impact on relationship quality and on the development of the relationship in the long-term. A research model is proposed with the underlying rationale that socialization episodes (i.e., social and information exchange) at B2B trade fairs are important catalysts for relationship quality and development. An empirical study was conducted to test the theoretical model. Data was collected at an international trade fair in Portugal and gathered information about visitor-exhibitor interactions. Findings reveal that the typical atmosphere of the B2B trade fair setting encourages socializing behaviors useful to generate bonds and commitment and, ultimately, enhances the relationship quality. Product importance moderates the relationship between information exchange and relationship quality, and relationship age moderates the relationship between social exchange and relationship quality. The study draws managerial implications for exhibitors, visitors and trade fair organizers and proposes avenues for future research.     

Development of new B2B venture corporate brand identity: A narrative performance approach

The development and role of brand identity in new B2B ventures is not well explored despite the challenge for such organisations in establishing reputational legitimacy. Previous research defines corporate brand identity as stable and endogenous to the organisation based either on the reputational capital of the organisation or the founder. We challenge this view in this paper from a conceptual and empirical perspective. Combining narrative theory and performativity theory this article suggests brand identity develops as a narrative performance. The study employs a narrative case analysis of interviews and archival data generated during a three-year period to examine the development of corporate brand over time. This study shows that the development of corporate brand identity and the context of the development of new B2B venture are closely intertwined processes and provides a framework for understanding the phenomenon. Brand identity is not a stable core emanating from inside the company but develops over time through a reciprocal sensemaking and dynamic interactions between company and the key external stakeholders in its context. We conclude that brand identity is built not only upon the reputational capital of past behaviours but of the brand itself as it explores and interacts within its brand eco-system.     

Joining hands for the greater good: Examining social innovation launch strategies in B2B settings

The practice of forming brand alliances is common among companies in business-to-business (B2B) settings that seek to launch social innovations. Research evidence on the efficacy of such practice is, however, scarce. Based on the perspective of organizational buyers, we examine how social innovations should be launched by companies in B2B settings, whether through alliances with nonprofits or for-profits, or via independent ventures, across two experimental studies. Underpinned by the stereotype content model, we find that alliance launch strategies with nonprofits or for-profits result in greater purchase intentions, along with perceptions of warmth and competence, when compared to independent ventures. Further, we demonstrate that communicating societal benefits accruing from a social innovation favors an alliance launch strategy over an independent venture. Alliance strategies show comparable advantage to independent ventures when both societal and company-focused benefits are communicated. Our research advances knowledge on organizational buyers' evaluations of alliances and social innovations, the psychological mechanism underlying organizational buyers' evaluations of social innovations launch strategies, and in communication management. Our findings provide insights for companies seeking to launch social innovations, and guidelines on partner selection.     

The value of branding for B2B service firms—The shareholders' perspective

Increasingly fierce competition in many B2B service industries led managers to seek a competitive advantage through branding, as many firms operating in B2C markets have done. Although advertising spending in B2B service industries has soared and branding could be relevant for customers' purchase decisions, the distinct characteristics of B2B service transactions can make the creation of brand equity challenging. Conceptual arguments thus both support and question the net financial value of B2B service brands and, since empirical research on that value is missing, managers are left with no agreed upon and validated guidance. Drawing on observations of the brands and shareholder values of 380 U.S.-based public B2B service firms, this study introduces a shareholder perspective to empirically examine the financial value of B2B service brands. Results reveal that B2B service brands have positive value to shareholders. However, the extent of that value depends on a firm's branding strategy (corporate branding vs. multi-branding) in conjunction with the type of services offered (professional services vs. other B2B services) but not in conjunction with the breadth of services offered (degree of diversification). This research provides new insights for researchers and managers with regard to B2B service brands' value and important contingency factors.     

Unpacking value creation and capture in B2B relationships

Although the relationships among different dimensions of value creation, characteristics of dyadic relationships and value concepts are well studied, they have been conceptualized independently and without much linked theorizing. Hence, little is known about how these concepts and their effects interplay with each other. This article takes a configurational approach and investigates how different dimensions of value creation and relationship factors affect value capture. The study draws on an embedded case study encompassing relationships of a focal customer in the financial payments industry with six specialized service suppliers, followed by a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of 29 relationship conditions. For both buyers and suppliers, value creation is based on “core” value dimensions, and relationship characteristics, such as power and change in supply strategy. Five different configurations of these constructs represent sufficient conditions to increase value capture, by either negotiating better prices or shifting volume among the parties involved. Focusing on both buyer and supplier perspectives of the same phenomenon, the study increases knowledge on how contextual variables interact in influencing value capture. From a practical perspective, the proposed configurations help managers to choose adequate supply strategies, or better allocate resources according to specific conditions of a business relationship.     

Multi-sided platforms in B2B contexts: The role of affiliation costs and interdependencies in adoption decisions

Multi-sided platforms, enabling interactions between different user sides, hold an important place in the contemporary economy. Current literature, focusing on established and successful platforms, has neglected to study B2B multi-sided platform adoption mechanisms. In this article, we analyze these mechanisms by investigating the case of dematerialization platforms for B2B transactions between the multiple actors involved in public works contracts. Various qualitative materials, including 28 semi-structured interviews, were gathered over a thirty-month period. Adopting a business user perspective, this study contributes to the literature on multi-sided platforms in various ways. We show that platform adoption, in project-based B2B contexts, is mainly constrained by a high level of affiliation costs and the existence of tight-interdependencies between users' activities at project level. Thus, a consecutive adoption path would result in negative cross-group network externalities and undermine the platform's attractiveness. Conversely, a concurrent adoption path would activate positive network externalities and encourage platform adoption decisions.     

A transition from goods-dominant to service-dominant exchange logic in a B2B relationship: A relationship positioning perspective

The study complements the dominant interpretations of positioning in marketing management research by introducing a relational perspective on positioning in the industrial markets. Instead of focusing on products, brand, or company image only, the study focuses on the exchange logic of the relationship. The study suggests that exchange logic of the relationship i.e. relationship logic comprises a fundamental unit of positioning in the industrial markets. Accordingly, the study defines that relationship logic stems from the dynamics of the action, structural and management dimensions that integrate the buyer and supplier organizations into their mutual relationship. Through a longitudinal empirical study of a relationship between buyer and supplier companies in the food service industry, we show how the relationship has been repositioned from goods-dominant to service-dominant relationship logic. The results reveal elements on the action and structural dimensions, their mutual dynamics and managerial reframing actions that catalyze changes in the relationship logic, i.e., reposit the relationship. The results are organized into a framework that delineates the relationship positioning dimensions, and discusses the implications of such relationship positioning to guide further academic research and managerial practice.     

The relationship between buyer and a B2B e-marketplace: Cooperation determinants in an electronic market context

“Stop thinking like a supplier and start thinking as a customer.”

The authors argue that cooperation may be achieved by augmenting the core product with technology-based services. Given the growing importance of real time information exchange and interactivity, a better understanding of the use of technology to the establishment and development of the buyer-supplier cooperative relationships is essential for knowledge advancement. This paper argues that firms should aim to put themselves into their customers' shoes and use the “voice of the customer” to take their major relationship management decisions. To do so, the authors use a sample of nearly 400 SMEs' purchasing managers, to better understand cooperation determinants from the buyers' perspective. The study reveals that in an electronic marketplace, cooperation is positively affected by termination costs, supplier relationship policies and practices, communication and information exchange, and negatively affected by product prices and opportunistic behavior. Moreover, both relationship commitment and trust play a major role in mediating the relationships between these five determinants and cooperation. Surprisingly, resources relationship benefits do not show a significant impact on either commitment or cooperation. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

It's all B2B…and beyond: Toward a systems perspective of the market

The delineation of B2B from ‘mainstream’ marketing reflects the limitations of the traditional, goods-dominant (G-D) model of exchange and a conceptualization of value creation based on the ‘producer’ versus ‘consumer’ divide. Service-dominant (S-D) logic broadens the perspective of exchange and value creation and implies that all social and economic actors engaged in exchange (e.g., firms, customers, etc.) are service-providing, value-creating enterprises; thus, in this sense, all exchange can be considered B2B. From this perspective, the contributions of B2B marketing (and other sub-disciplines) can be seen as applicable to ‘mainstream’ marketing. This generic, actor-to-actor (A2A) orientation, in turn, points toward a dynamic, networked and systems orientation to value creation. This article discusses this systems-oriented framework and elaborates the steps necessary for developing it further into a general theory of the market, informed by the marketing sub-disciplines, marketing practices, and disciplines external to marketing.