Value Creation and Category Management through Retailer–Supplier Relationships

Abstract

This article discusses category management interactions in supplier–retailer relationships based on conceptual insights about value in business markets. Much category management literature has studied supplier–retailer relationships, but despite value creation being central to category management the conceptual approach is often the power-trust controversy. Based on value concept, category management and supplier–retailer relationship literature this study develops a model and hypotheses of retailer perceived benefits and sacrifices from category management collaboration. The article proposes that closer supplier-retailer interactions through the category management process hold the potential for increased value creation through application of complementary information resources, an improved coordination of tactical efforts, and an alignment of category aims and strategies explicitly linked to retailers' value systems. Further, the perceived necessity of trust in these relationships meshes with retailers' perceived sacrifices regarding negotiation power and full control of category marketing variables, thus establishing a trade-off for retailers between benefits and sacrifices.     

Manufacturing for overseas private labels: A win–win strategy for retailers and producers

Abstract

The study discusses the use of private labels, both for retailers and manufacturers, within the context of international markets. It is proposed that agreements between manufacturers and retailers from different markets may solve or mitigate some abiding frictions and serve the interest of both parties. Using data collected through 101 in-depth interviews among marketing managers, qualitative and quantitative procedures were used to explore producers' attitudes and behaviour in regard to agreements to manufacturing for overseas retailers' private labels. The study revealed that lower transaction costs, quicker penetration into new markets and retailers' reputations among customers are the dominant motivators while short-term strategy, appropriate mainly for grocery items, increases dependency on retailers and deters manufactures from contracting with overseas retailers' private labels. The study also found that gaps exist between manufacturers' perceptions and actual behaviour, mediated particularly by firm size and product categories. The findings, which reflect observed practice, are interpreted through theoretical propositions related to earlier studies. Managerial implications are provided.     

The Influence of Customer Relationship Marketing Strategies on Supply Chain Relationships: The Moderating Effects of Environmental Uncertainty and Competitive Rivalry

Purpose: A firm's customer relationship marketing strategy also may affect its attitudinal loyalty toward its main supplier. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty and competitive rivalry could moderate this relationship. This research investigates both questions.

Methodology/Approach: The empirical study involves a structured survey of 141 industrial firms. A structural equation technique with EQS 6.1 estimated the causal model. Multi-sample analysis revealed whether environmental uncertainty and/or competitive rivalry act as moderators.

Findings: The influence of customer relationship marketing on attitudinal loyalty toward the main supplier is positive but indirect, working through effective communication, satisfaction, and trust. However, when environmental uncertainty is high, the negative direct effect becomes significantly more intense, and when competitive rivalry is high, the positive indirect effect through satisfaction and trust is less intense.

Originality/Value: This study explores potential new paths in the relationship marketing field. Most scholars focus on the influence of a firm's relationship marketing strategy on customers' loyalty, but no previous works consider its potential influence on the firm's relationship with other partners in the supply chain, notably its strategic suppliers.

Research Implications: Structured academic research on this topic is lacking, even though many firms have implemented customer relationship programs. Supply-side researchers must evaluate the effects of such programs. Furthermore, this study combines different theoretical approaches.

Practical Implications: Practitioners can use the findings to segment their customer base and develop specific programs adapted to each target.     

Master's Level Education in Business Marketing: Quo Vadis?

ABSTRACT

Given the paucity of knowledge on the state of business marketing education at the master's level, we conducted an exploratory survey of instructors at selected universities in North America and Europe. We supplemented results from this survey with discussions with our colleagues who teach business marketing at the master's level, and a review of articles on master's level programs.

Through our investigations, we discovered that there is a shortage of management cases that address contemporary issues in business marketing. We learned that nearly half of survey participants do not use a textbook and that the remaining participants use a wide variety of textbooks. We observed that many instructors still teach business marketing courses from a traditional functional perspective. Instead, we believe that business marketing courses must address a host of emerging issues such as value and its assessment, business process reengineering, global marketing, working relationships and business networks, and cross-functional coordination issues, among other things.

We believe that scholars can rejuvenate the discipline by tailoring business marketing courses to the new generation of accelerated master's programs, by creating a network for sharing information on new cases and teaching materials, and by writing more relevant and timely business marketing cases. Finally, we believe that the time is right for a faculty consortium on teaching business marketing.     

Integrated Marketing Communications and Market Planning

Abstract

This article links the integrated marketing communications (IMC) concept to the planning process in marketing. Following the current conceptualizations as a combination of various marketing communications tools, IMC strategy is applied to an established strategic market planning model named the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s growth-share matrix. Advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and direct marketing are defined as crucial elements for the core scheme. Alternative strategies for brands in different stages are identified from the product portfolio analysis. The view may also be thought of as the ongoing process of building and maintaining brand equity for consumers in the long-term period. Conceptual discussions are expected to help marketers think more strategically as they plan IMC programs for their products or services.     

North Carolina's Social Marketing Matrix Team: Using Social Marketing Concepts to Institutionalize Social Marketing Capacity in a State Health Department

SUMMARY

The North Carolina Division of Public Health has employed traditional marketing concepts to increase the capacity of its programs to use the social marketing process. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Turning Point grant enabled this capacity building. During a three-year period there has been over a two-hundred-percent increase in programs attempting to use social marketing in the division. This article describes the division's application of social marketing concepts, reviews other theories useful to the incorporation of a social marketing approach in a social-change organization, makes suggestions for their application, and presents lessons learned.     

“I don't like wonky carrots”- an exploration of children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables

Children's perceptions of suboptimal fruits and vegetables have not been studied in the suboptimal foods domain. Using two qualitative research methods, this study investigates children's (N = 97) edibility perceptions of suboptimal produce with varied appearance defects. The results show that unlike adult samples previously studied, children are more accepting of suboptimal produce. Defects in shape, size, and certain colour defects were positively perceived, reflecting retailers' opportunities to market suboptimal produce. High levels of brown discolorations and superficial blemishes were not acceptable, implying that produce with such defects could be repurposed as ingredients in foods prepared and sold in-store. These implications reflect retailers' opportunities in marketing suboptimal produce to children, who by their familial influence may also be able to get families to buy and consume suboptimal produce. The importance of familiarity in improving suboptimal food acceptance is also recognised for future research to explore.     

Measuring Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance Across Cultures

ABSTRACT

In the context of a severe economic crisis, the objective of this research is to examine to what extent the economic crisis and austerity's measures have generated new marketing strategies in food companies. We develop a comparative analysis though multivariate analysis of variance, consisting of 10 food product categories across eight European countries, distinguishing between countries that needed financial support—the so-called rescued countries—and the countries with better economic development. Our findings show an increasingly trend toward increasing product prices and price per quantity in the rescued countries, along with an increase in the package content. Our findings suggest that food companies have been raising prices through the recession, as consumers continue to pare their spending and demand.     

The Small Food Manufacturing Sector in the Irish Grocery Market

Abstract

This paper seeks to explain the continuing reduction in the number of small food manufacturing companies in Ireland by examining food manufacturers' self perceived performance and investment intentions in the context of retailers' supplier selection processes. The paper finds that the greatest and most immediate risk to small suppliers survival is their under—performance in generating retailers' sales andmargins. The paper also identifis a set of inconsistencies in suppliers' investment intentions. It is argued that small manufacturers, while appreciating their relative under—performance in commercial performance, are failing to divert resources into this area. The study also raises concerns about small food manufacturers understanding of their market and the principles that direct their innovation efforts.     

Enhancing Trade Promotion Effectiveness

T~~ success of trade promotions depends heavily on trade support. This paper examines the factors affecting retailers' decision to support promoted products and ways that marketing managers can do to gain trade support. A framework for improving trade promotion programs is proposed.     

An Exploratory Analysis of the Impact of Salesperson Customer-Orientation on Sales Force Productivity

Abstract

Consumer sovereignty is a concept that is well-established in the marketing literature. It is widely assumed the customer satisfaction is a crucial variable in determining the long-run prosperity of a business. Since the sales force often has the most contact with the customer, it seems logical that their efforts toward satisfying the client would be imperative. The selling orientation-customer orientation (SOCO) scale developed by Saxe and Weitz (1982) was used to determine the customer-orientation of 180 real estate sales personnel. The results of the research indicate that real estate sales representatives can practice customer-oriented selling without fear of losing sales due to their being too “soft” in their selling methods. In addition, the results indicate that companies wishing to enhance their sales personnel's level of customer-orientation may do so through professionally designed sales training programs.     

Country Resources,Country Image,and Exports: Country Branding and International Marketing Implications

ABSTRACT

A country's economic, political, and socio-cultural institutions have always been regarded as important determinants of a company's exports and international marketing strategies. With the recent thinking about countries becoming more like a brand, these factors should impact a country's marketing and branding strategies. There has been a call for more research on how countries can use their institutions and resources to enhance their globalization efforts. This study intends to fill this gap by examining the relationships between country institutions and resources, country image, and exports based on institution theory and resource advantage theory. Both archival and primary data for 24 countries over 12 years (1995–2006) were used to assess a random-effects panel data model. The results reveal the significance of economic development and communication infrastructure on exports. In addition, country image was found to indirectly affect exports. The theoretical and practical implications on country branding and international marketing conclude the article.     

Sensemaking About Business-to-Business Strategies and Relationships: A Commentary on Reid and Plank's Review

ABSTRACT

Weick (1995) describes retrospection as a distinguishing characteristic of sensemaking: “people can know what they are doing only after they have done it” (p. 24) and “how can I know what we did until I see what we produced” (p. 30). While each of us engages in sensemaking implicitly, applying explicit sensemaking tools-such as written retrospection-helps to clarify and deepen our understanding of phenomena. Reid and Plank's business-to-business marketing retrospection of more than 2,500 journals, proceedings, and book references from 1978–1997 serves well as a sensemaking tool. A strength of Reid and Plank's retrospection is its breadth of coverage of topics and sources. Limitations of their review include the lack of coverage of key findings from the cited empirical studies and the failure to develop theoretical propositions on relationships and strategies. By reading Reid and Plank's review, both new and lifelong students of business-to-business marketing will find useful references and insights for improving sensemaking capabilities.     

A longitudinal examination of the effects of retailer–manufacturer brand alliances: The role of perceived fit

Abstract

One resource that has been identified as a valuable source of competitive advantage is the equity associated with an organisation's brands. Organisations devote considerable resources to developing strategies that allow them to build and/or maintain strong brand names. This study investigates brand alliances between retailers and manufacturers. The role of perceived fit between the partnering brands is explored. In addition, the study examines the influence that retailer–manufacturer brand alliances have on: retailer equity; manufacturer brand equity; the intention of consumers to frequent the stores of the retailer involved in the brand alliance (shopping intention); and the intention of consumers to purchase products from the manufacturer involved in the brand alliance (purchase intention).     

Market Segmentation for Fast-Food Restaurants in an Era of Health Conciousness

Abstract

Recent societal changes toward heightened interest in health and nutrition indicate consumers' health- and nutrition-related attitudes and behaviors may be important for segmenting the market for fast-food restaurants (FFR's). This research conducted a recent survey of 387 consumers to investigate the extent to which these variables, as well as demographics, predict patronage of FFR's. Findings indicate that consumers who do not patronize FFR's have the strongest involvement with health-related issues, while frequent patrons have the weakest involvement. Thus, marketers could use a combination of general health- and nutrition-related attitudes and behaviors to supplement demographic information when plotting their marketing strategy.     

Examining consumers' continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile applications

This paper examines the variables influencing a consumer's satisfaction and continuous use of a multichannel retailer's mobile application. Drawing upon the Expectation Confirmation Model for Information Technologies, post-adoption literature, and consumer behavior literature, we assess pertinent factors on the continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile apps. Through a sample of 1009 consumers who retained a retailer's mobile app for more than 6 months and conducting Structural Equation Modelling, the findings illustrate that utilitarian variables (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and personalization), hedonic variables (perceived enjoyment), and a brand-related variable (consumer loyalty intention toward the retailer's brand), play a significant role in influencing continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile apps. In contrast to e-commerce research, the study outlines that escapism plays a negative role in both consumer satisfaction and intention to continue to use a multichannel retailer's mobile app. Previous research points to the fact that consumers' retention of retailers' apps is low. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on consumers' continuous use of retailers' mobile apps through enhancing our understanding of technology and non-technology-related variables.     

Customer Selection and Prioritization

Abstract

That a firm benefits most when customers stick around for the long haul is a central premise of relationship marketing. This conviction has manifested itself over the past decade in the form of numerous formal loyalty programs that aim to seek and foster customer relationships. Scant evidence for the success of such programs has accrued since. This has lead firms to re-evaluate their investments in customer relationship management. Optimal resource allocation models address issues of relative investments in customer acquisition versus retention, and on managing relationships with profitable customers so that the value of a firm's customer base is maximized.     

E-Business Education in Transition

ABSTRACT

The present study built on previous research to explore the development of e-business education in North America. Data was collected from college and university web sites on master's and bachelor's e-business programs. Findings suggest that the number of both types of e-business programs is increasing. The proportion of technical e-business courses in such programs also appears to be growing. This may reflect a move toward balanced treatment of technical and nontechnical e-business course content.     

To Share and Protect: Using Regulatory Focus Theory to Examine the Privacy Paradox of Consumers' Social Media Engagement and Online Privacy Protection Behaviors

Consumers' personal information often informs retailers' marketing efforts in terms of creating value in the online marketplace. This study examines four factors related to consumers' social media engagement and online privacy protection behaviors. Regulatory focus, social exchange, and marketing relationship theories explain the online consumer personal information share-and-protect model developed. Consumers aged 18–64 years across the United States participated in this survey research. The results suggest that while personal privacy violation experience and perceived secondary control of one's personal information are influential antecedents, privacy concerns and trust in social media websites mediate each of these respectively. The findings suggest that promotion- and prevention-related behaviors regarding personal information align with the orientation of the antecedents, indicating that regulatory focus theory shows promise for examining the privacy paradox. We conclude by developing a matrix that integrates regulatory focus and social exchange theories to guide future research.     

Local Heroes,Regional Champions or Global Mandates? Empirical Evidence on the Dynamics of German MNC Subsidiary Roles in Central Europe

SUMMARY

In this paper we analyze the influence of a subsidiary's external environment, of its task and of its mode of ownership and its mode of market entry on the development of its role for the case of German subsidiaries in Central Europe. We define a subsidiary's role as a three-dimensional construct, consisting of a subsidiary's tasks, its value chain activities and its respective geographical scope. Drawing on a sample of 99 subsidiaries from the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, we find that a subsidiary's host country, its tasks and its mode of market entry influence the development of its role. We find no evidence for the influence of subsidiary's mode of ownership. Especially, “geographical market proximity seeking”-subsidiaries seem to follow a different path of development than subsidiaries where this task is of minor importance as they tend to perform a smaller number of value chain activities and tend to expand these value chain activities with regard to their geographical scope more incrementally.