B2B service brand identity: Scale development and validation

Several brand identity frameworks have been published in the B2C and the B2B brand marketing literature. A reliable, valid and parsimonious service brand identity scale that empirically establishes the construct's dimensionality in a B2B market has yet to be developed. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted amongst 421 senior executives working in the UK IT Service sector to develop and validate a B2B Service Brand Identity Scale. Following established scale development procedures support is provided for a B2B Service Brand Identity Scale comprising five dimensions; employee and client focus, visual identity, brand personality, consistent communications and human resource initiatives. Concluding remarks discuss theoretical and managerial implications with limitations and directions for future research.     

Non-technical innovation: Organizational memory and learning capabilities as antecedent factors with effects on sustained competitive advantage

The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of organizational memory and learning capabilities as antecedents to non-technical innovation, comprising organizational and marketing innovation, and to examine their effect on sustained competitive advantage within a capabilities-based view (CBV) theoretical framework. For analysis of the proposed theoretical model, 159 industrial companies in Spain were sampled and a system of structural equations was modeled using partial least squares methodology. The results confirm that both organizational memory and learning capabilities favor the development of organizational innovation and marketing innovation. Furthermore, the paper shows that both types of non-technical innovation promote the achievement of sustained competitive advantage.     

The impact of market orientation on the development of relational capabilities and performance outcomes: The case of Russian industrial firms

The article investigates the role of market orientation as an antecedent for the development of relational capabilities and performance in Russian industrial firms. We test the direct role of different aspects of market orientation on business performance in comparison to an indirect and mediated influence via improving a firm's ability to become embedded in relational structures. The results of an empirical study demonstrate the differential impact of components of market orientation - customer orientation, competitor orientation, and interfunctional coordination - as direct and indirect antecedents of relational capabilities and thus subsequently of overall firm performance. It can be shown that in Russian industrial markets competitor orientation directly and positively impacts on performance, while the other two components of market orientation have only a mediated effect on performance via the development of relational capabilities.     

Supply chain management: A multidisciplinary content analysis of vertical relations between companies, 1997-2006

The aim of this work is to contribute to a better understanding of the research conducted on supply chain management (SCM) at a multidisciplinary level. To this end, a content analysis was performed of the most significant scientific literature about marketing, logistics, management and marketing channels published over the period 1997-2006. As a result, a database of 414 papers from 14 journals was created. Analysis of these works reveals the level of development of the main lines of research into SCM and makes it possible to detect the topics that require greater attention and which may be the object of future studies conducted by researchers and academics. It also allows managerial staff to identify the methodologies and tools that can be used to improve the management of relationships within the supply chain. One of the main conclusions reached in the study is the shortage of studies conducted on the supply chain as a network of enterprises, since most research focuses on a single enterprise or, at the most, on its relationships with its suppliers or direct customers.     

A solution business model: Capabilities and management practices for integrated solutions

The developed solution business model framework assists firms wishing to design solution business models by categorizing capabilities and management practices necessary for the effective management of such a business model. The developed framework integrates findings from a wide variety of research streams with the empirical data collected in an abductive research process, involving ten firms with multi-national operations. The framework consist of a solution process with four phases (develop solutions, create demand, sell solution, and deliver solution) and three groups of cross-functionality issues (commercialization, industrialization, and solution platform). The framework identifies twelve capability categories, and sixty-four capabilities and management practices pertinent to the effective management of solution business. The research points to the importance of cross-functional alignment within firms. An effective solution business model requires the intricate coordination of resources and business processes across all functions.     

A case study exploring drivers and implications of collaborative electronic logistics marketplaces

Since the 1990s there has been a rich literature on business-to-business electronic marketplaces. While many aspects of supply chain management have been considered, there are only a few studies which investigate the development and application of these electronic marketplaces in logistics. These can be termed Electronic Logistics Marketplaces (ELM). The paper aims to understand the rationale behind a particular type of ELM, termed ‘collaborative ELM’, and evaluates the impact of introducing such an ELM. To do this, an in depth case study in the UK fast moving consumer goods industry is used. Data has been collected from shippers, transport companies and the technology provider using a range of tools, including interviews, quantitative data analysis and process mapping. The research reveals that the collaborative ELM is still a relatively new business model. It has potential for growth in optimizing supply chain networks and enabling not only vertical collaboration between shippers and carriers but also horizontal collaboration between shippers and/or between carriers. It identifies the motives behind a collaborative ELM, and demonstrates how such a system is implemented through the configurations of information system, process and collaborative arrangements. The impact on the different participating parties is also examined. Finally the necessary conditions for a successful implementation are derived in the light of the research findings.     

Brand relationships and brand equity in franchising

Previous research suggests that building brand equity enhances the competitive advantage of retailers in B2B markets. However, limited attention has been paid to the concept of brand equity in B2B retailing contexts, particularly in franchise channels. This study seeks to understand how brand relationships can be leveraged to enhance brand citizenship behavior and ultimately brand equity in franchise channels. Accordingly, this study explores franchisees’ perceptions of their franchise brands, leading to a new conceptualisation of ‘franchisee-based brand equity’. An interpretive research design is employed, comprising of semi-structured interviews with key informants. Findings suggest that franchisors play an important role in promoting brand citizenship behaviour of franchisees, which in turn enhances brand equity. The study provides insight on how to effectively manage brand relationships to enhance franchisees’ brand citizenship behaviour and brand equity. The concept of brand relationships has been discussed widely in consumer markets, but has received limited attention in B2B contexts. In response, this study provides new insight in B2B branding and specifically, in how brand relationships may enhance brand citizenship behaviour and brand equity in B2B markets.     

The effects of manufacturer's organizational learning on distributor satisfaction and loyalty in industrial markets

The main objective of this study is to examine the effects of organizational learning (OL) on satisfaction and loyalty in industrial markets. A conceptual model, in which the unit for analysis is the dyadic relationship between manufacturers and their main distributor, is proposed and tested. The empirical results showed that the manufacturer's OL is an antecedent of the relational outcomes achieved in business relationships. Specifically, increased OL in the manufacturer has a direct effect on the main distributor's degree of satisfaction and an indirect effect on his loyalty. It is also confirmed that the manufacturer's OL has a direct effect on the manufacturer's business performance. However, we found that links between OL and satisfaction and OL and loyalty are not changed by market turbulence.     

The competitiveness of nations and implications for human development

Human development should be the ultimate objective of human activity, its aim being healthier, longer, and fuller lives. Thus, if the competitiveness of a nation is properly managed, enhanced human welfare should be the key expected consequence. The research described here explores the relationship between the competitiveness of a nation and its implications for human development. For this purpose, 45 countries were evaluated initially using data envelopment analysis. In this stage, global competitiveness indicators were taken as input variables with human development index indicators as output variables. Subsequently, an artificial neural network analysis was conducted to identify those factors having the greatest impact on efficiency scores.     

Profit, productivity and distribution: Differences across organizational forms - The case of Spanish banks

We examine variations in financial and economic performance as a function of organizational form, and, over time. The forms we consider include Spanish commercial banks, savings banks, and financial cooperatives. We decompose multilateral variation in operating profit, our measure of financial performance, into price and quantity effects. We then decompose the latter into a margin effect and productivity change. Our measure of economic performance, productivity variation, is subsequently disaggregated into technical, cost efficiency, and scale. We find that deregulation and liberalization have acted to narrow performance gaps among organizational forms; this, despite less-than compelling evidence that increased competition has contributed to this convergence. For the Spanish banking system as a whole, the margin effect appears to deliver twice as much financial benefit as do improvements in productivity. Importantly, this finding does not vary across organizational form. Such regularity has an important implication: Incentives for growth are apparently provided by a positive margin rather than by the more elusive benefits of economies of scale and improved cost efficiency.