Marketing by CPAs

Abstract

Until the late 1970s, the AICPA discouraged commercial advertising and some other marketing tactics by practicing accountants. This study contacted 600 CPAs in the U.S. in an attempt to discover what kinds of marketing they employ, how useful they think it is, and how appropriate do they feel the AICPA's rules and regulations are in regard to marketing an individual CPA's services. Most thought the AICPA was fair. Accountants doing the most marketing tend to be younger males. “Conflict of Interest” was the area of most current concern in light of the ongoing problems of public accounting firms doing both auditing and consulting for the same client. “Newspaper” was the preferred advertising medium. Most of those surveyed were pleased the AICPA relaxed its restrictions on marketing and advertising, even though many CPAs still do not market their services to any great extent. This may change as younger accountants fill leadership positions in U.S. accounting firms.     

Challenges for B-to-B Doctoral Programs: A Commentary on “Doctoral Programs in Business-to-Business Marketing: Status and Prospects,” by Erwin Danneels and Gary L. Lilien

ABSTRACT

The fast-paced development of the Internet as a mechanism for efficient communication and transactions has led to the growth of diverse forms of electronic business-to-business marketing linkages. Such linkages have profound implications for the development and exploitation of newer constellations of supply chains as well as for the re-design and re-orientation of existing ones. Newer sources of value and competitive advantage enable firms to better manage their existing relationships with suppliers and customers. Moreover, firms are now equipped with better tools for engaging in advantageous alliances with other firms possessing complementary resources.

While various Internet-based business-to-business (B2B) business models have failed in recent times, most existing B2B exchanges can be classified into a general typology based on the type of linkages, access and governance. Three major types of B2B buyer-seller linkages are identified as “net marketplaces,” “industry consortia,” and “virtual private networks.” This paper evaluates the comparative properties of these major types of exchanges and identifies various antecedent factors that would impinge on a firm's decision to participate in any of these types of exchanges.     

A Commentary on “Undergraduate Education: The Implications of Cross-Functional Relationships in Business Marketing–The Skills of High-Performing Managers”

ABSTRACT

This commentary reinforces the importance and need for developing the student's knowledge, abilities, and understanding of what is required to collaborate with the firm's internal and external constituencies, in the context of B2B marketing environment. It is an important goal to be achieved in the B2B marketing course. The new era of business marketing is built around achieving “collaborative advantage” with the new breed of customers who demand relatively more complex product and services arrangements as well as nature of relationships from their vendors. Today's customers also expect intellectual input and consultative selling approaches from group of diverse and independent marketing entities, whom they expect to work together to meet their requirements. The firm's success or failure in the market place may indeed be predicated on their ability to achieve this “collaborative advantage”. The commentary also expands the authors' suggestions in the areas of course pedagogy and design for building the student's know-how and capability for practicing the art-of-collaboration.     

A Commentary on Business Marketing: A Twenty Year Review and an Invitation for Continued Dialogue

ABSTRACT

This article is a commentary on the literature review conducted by Reid and Plank. The objective of the paper is to both critique and complement the review and to provide a forum for debate as to the future direction of research in business-to-business (B2B) marketing research. The paper begins with a challenge to the reader to think beyond the traditional role of B2B marketing and think about how future B2B research could be more relevant and more strategic in focus. The concept of the new competition is offered as a framework for presenting future research issues. The new competition converges on the role of the extended enterprise as the reference point for thinking about competitive forces in a global marketplace. The implications for B2B marketers are discussed.     

A Reply to the Commentaries on “Business-to-Business Marketing Textbooks: A Comparative Review”

ABSTRACT

In this commentary, the authors respond to the commentary by Professors Butaney, Hutt and Speh, Narus, and Plank on their commentary article “Business-to-Business Marketing Textbooks: A Comparative Review.” The discussion involves responses to particular aspects of each commentary as well as some general thoughts on future developments of business-to-business marketing textbooks, particularly with respect to the influence of new information and communication media. In responding to the commentaries, the authors argue that while they are aware of a strong subjective element which still remains, their comparative examination of a selection of English-speaking textbooks on business marketing aims at providing theoretically-grounded insights that are helpful for both instructors and practitioners. They argue that the application of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives (1956) provides an appropriate framework for this objective and its operationalization, respectively. Although the comparison constitutes only a first step directed towards a thoroughly systematic analysis of textbooks on the subject, hopefully, it may nevertheless prove its fruit-fulness in fostering the discussion on future developments of business marketing textbooks.     

Marketing in five “simple” questions!

Peters (1987) describes how after some of his seminars he is asked “But what do I DO?”. This question is also often directed at people who have been introducing marketing ideas to businessmen—particularly businessmen whose work does not bring them into contact with customers. This article explains how anybody can start to think in marketing terms by asking five simple questions about the organisation they work for. “Simple” to ask, but requiring disciplined thought if answers are to be found which lead to appropriate managerial actions. “Difficult” to answer not least because the answers to each question affect the answers given to the others. In doing so it also introduces a number of basic but important marketing concepts.     

Buyer-Seller Exchange Situations

Abstract

From having focused almost entirely on exchange transactions in consumer goods markets, in the 1970s, academics expanded their analysis to include relational exchanges-in particular business-to-business markets and service markets. The contextual changes of the 1990s (i.e., the explosion of IT and the Internet) resulted in the introduction of relationship marketing as an alternative marketing approach in consumer goods markets introducing the notion of a shift in exchange paradigms. However, in the late 1990s, a number of authors on service marketing (e.g., Liljander & Strandvik, 1995), on business-to-business marketing (e.g., Anderson & Narus, 1999) and on contemporary marketing practices (e.g., Brodie, Coviello, Brookes & Little, 1997) supported the thesis that in many markets the process that actually takes place is one of co-existence of transactional exchanges and relational exchanges. Based on the “pluralistic approach” (Pels, Coviello & Brodie, 1999, 2000), this paper develops four cases that seek to exemplify the different exchange situations that may occur in a given marketplace.     

The role of the U.S. medical complex and the media in value transformation: The case of viable organ transplant

This paper examines the unintended consequences of marketing a specific technology— viable organ transplantation. A content analysis of print media is conducted to compare accounts of the world's first heart transplant (1967) with accounts of subsequent local transplants in a southwestern city. Results of this analysis suggest that “objective” coverage of transplant incidents convey changes in the construction of the self the authors associate with the interdependence of culture, technology, and marketing practice.     

Customers,marketing and the network organization

Customers are becoming more demanding. Network organizations are emerging which embrace customers, and are more flexible and responsive to their needs. CEO's increasingly regard customers as part of the organization. Customers are too important to be “left” to one or two directors and their divisions. CEO's are requiring everyone to focus upon the requirements of customers. To help achieve this, organizations are seeking ways of linking remuneration and performance assessment to customer satisfaction. Increasingly customers assume reliability and performance. Quality of itself may no longer differentiate alternative suppliers. In markets in which all suppliers have their quality programmes, managers need to consider what lies beyond quality. Reason is no longer enough. Less tangible factors such as feelings, emotions and values need to be understood. CEO's question whether marketing departments can respond to these and other challenges and help facilitate the changes they are seeking.     

Shopping on the Internet–Online Purchase Behavior of New Zealand Consumers

ABSTRACT

The Internet provides an evolving channel for both business people and consumers to achieve their mutual aims. The rapid growth of Internet users in New Zealand provides a developing prospect for E-marketers. New Zealand has literate, educated, technology savvy “netizens” who are willing to spend time and money over the Internet. If E-marketers know the demographics of online New Zealand purchasers and the relationships between these demographics and online buyers' behavior, then they can further develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active ones, while retaining the existent online customers. This paper provides an insight into the demographic profile of New Zealand's online purchasers. Some implications are also provided in this research.     

Measures of marketing success

A mismatch of the meaning of “success”, as perceived by researcher and the firms researched, renders research less relevant and possibly, where the firm's resources are not directed at the goals selected by the researcher, misleading. This paper is concerned with the dependent variables used for business or marketing “success”, not its drivers, in seven leading marketing and strategy journals. The findings are that researcher, not respondent, views of performance dominate the literature which raises issues of relevance. Researchers are not necessarily being normative, and should be thoughtful in their selection of marketing performance objectives, i.e. the outcomes they seek to explain. A checklist of dependent variable considerations is provided together with a tentative definition of “success” against which performance may be compared.     

Tradition Versus Change: Evaluating the Currency of Some Traditional Chinese Values in Today's Business Environment

Abstract

In the last decade, the discussion about how marketing is changing has focused largely on practices in more affluent industrialized economies. Far less attention has been given to understanding the marketing strategies and practices of firms in emerging and transition economies. In this paper, we compare marketing of multinational firms versus local firms in Argentina. We identify the environmental characteristics of Argentina's emerging economy and, using survey data of 96 firms, we group firms into five clusters. We refer to two clusters as “traditional/local” as they use very basic marketing methods, with one serving business markets and the other consumer markets. The other three clusters we refer to as “progressive” as they represent state-of-the-art practices. The first two of these are foreign-owned and serve consumer and business markets, the third represents locally-owned service firms. The managerial implications are examined.     

Writing out praise: Air Canada employees and the 1968 CEO change

In 1968, the Air Canada CEO was an individual from outside the airline industry, when previously all CEOs had been former airline pilots for the organization. In investigating why, the union writings of Air Canada, a large Crown corporation, make no reference to this 1968 CEO change. I examine how the values, beliefs, and ideas of employees affect the development of an organization's written histories. I apply actor network theory, sensemaking, critical sensemaking, and theories of “writing out” to expose and develop the concept of the noncorporeal actant as a critical influence within a network and in the writing of histories. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors Contributing to Internal Customer Satisfaction and Commitment in Quick Service Restaurants

Abstract

The fast-paced, highly competitive nature of quick service restaurants (QSRs) has motivated members of the industry to develop creative ways to optimize customer satisfaction. This search for competitive advantage has fueled an increased interest in employees as “internal customers” who are primarily responsible for external customer satisfaction. The hospitality industry is unique in that employees are part of the product; they directly provide the service component. This project surveyed over 900 hourly and salaried employees at 61 QSRs. The results indicate strategies and tactics to maintain satisfied and “actively” as well as “passively” committed employees. In turn these employees may be an employer's greatest marketing tool.     

A Commentary on “Business Marketing in Master's Programs: A Part of the Fabric”: Cut from the Same Cloth?

ABSTRACT

The authors of this article and their colleagues at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario are to be commended not only for this well-crafted article but also for their efforts to elevate and incorporate essential knowledge of business marketing into the fabric of their school's master's program. The provocative argument that the authors make is that business marketing behaviors, concepts and topics should not be the focus of just one elective course but that they should serve as a foundation of a school's entire master's program. According to the authors, that foundation can be built around four pillars or business marketing essentials-organizational buyer behavior, relationship marketing, customer value, and business markets. In this article, they present not only a process and guidelines for imbedding these pillars into a master's program but also recommend specific topics and cases for various master's level courses. For these reasons, this article is a “must read” for marketing scholars who seek not only to create and/or improve elective courses business marketing but also to enhance the prominence of the study of business marketing at their respective universities.     

Personal legitimising: A perspective of marketing management

This paper explains the basic social process of “personal legitimising” and illustrates its influence on marketing activity. Personal legitimising is the process by which individuals manipulate situations to suit their own agenda. The link between personal legitimising and an organisation's marketing activity was discovered using a grounded theory research strategy within a UK management consulting firm.

Personal legitimising has two groupings of behaviour, namely “obstructing existing marketing activity” and “driving new marketing activity”. Within the former are the categories of “stigmatising”, “pseudo endorsing” and “smokescreening”. The latter incorporates the categories of “latching on”, “self indulging” and “bragging”.

The paper has three parts. The first explains the basic social process of personal legitimising. The second shows how grounded theory methodology was used in this context. The third develops the possible contribution of personal legitimising to the understanding of marketing.     

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

ABSTRACT

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

The logic of being illogical in strategic marketing planning

This article challenges the validity and usefulness of a conventional model of the sequence of stages in strategic marketing planning. Quite simply the conventional model ignores the organisational and human realities facing the planner. This paper proposes an “illogical” but iterative model of strategic marketing planning which is driven by the managerial understanding of the environment and knowledge of what tactical imperatives exist and constrain implementation. The advantages of explicitly recognising this “illogical” aspect of the planning process lie in: coping better with information demands made by executives in planning; allowing for psychological planning constraints and the obstacles created by the real nature of the manager's job; and in gaining the implementation of strategic marketing plans, with all that this implies for organisational and cultural change. The argument leads to an agenda of issues to be considered by the executive responsible for managing the strategic marketing planning process.     

JBBM at 21 with a Tribute to David T. Wilson: Founding Editor of the Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This article documents the contributions of David T. Wilson to the field of business-to-business marketing in general and his contributions as founding editor of the Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing (JBBM).

Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with David T. Wilson’s doctoral students to discuss the impact he had on their education in business-to-business marketing and in their personal lives. The list of dissertations, which Dr. Wilson chaired, co-chaired, or served on committee, was compiled through the cooperation of libraries at Texas A&M University and The Pennsylvania State University. This list was verified through ProQuest, a global information-content and technology company that provides solutions, applications, and products for libraries. Further, information in this article was derived from a literature review of David’s early JBBM editorials and scholarly articles, as well as those of the current sitting editor.

Findings: Results of this research demonstrate David T. Wilson’s long-term commitment to the field of business-to-business marketing over his 33-year career at The Pennsylvania State University. His influence is demonstrated through his research, teaching, and service related to business-to-business marketing.

Research implications: David T. Wilson’s vision for JBBM was to position it as a theoretical journal with an international editorial review board and a global impact, including handing the editorial reigns over to David Lichtenthal, the current sitting Editor since 1995 and Wilson’s 16^th doctoral student out of a career total of 38.

Practical implications: It is the responsibility of the editorial review board to understand the journal’s past to help guide the future. Therefore, understanding the contributions of David T. Wilson, as the founding editor, to JBBM and the field of business-to-business marketing is useful to scholars and managers alike. This understanding provides a valuable historical context.