Business marketing and the ethics of gift giving

This paper focuses on the common though ethically problematic practice of suppliers providing gifts and other benefits to buyers in a business-to-business context. It is argued that contrary to the claim that the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable practices is blurred when there is a focus on developing mutually beneficial, long-term relationships between suppliers and their business customers, there is a straightforward decision making procedure that can be applied. Central to this decision making procedure is the concept of a conflict of interest. While all organisations have very good reasons to address the issue of gifts and benefits, in a relationship marketing context there is even more reason to do so.     

An evolving theory of hybrid distribution: Taming a hostile supply network

Suppliers attempting to expand markets through hybrid distribution have created a complex, potentially hostile environment that reaches beyond dyads to network relationships. We offer a multi-theoretic paradigm that uses the network, social capital, structural holes and distributive fairness literatures to guide suppliers in the transition of governing hybrid channels so that when markets do overlap, cooperation and competition can effectively co-exist within the supply network. Specifically, we propose that social capital, structural holes, trust, and distributive fairness can be used to govern the effectiveness of cooperation and competition among hybrid channels and yield higher performance within the supply network. A corresponding propositional inventory is offered.     

Targeting Monitoring Resources to Enhance the Effectiveness of the CAP

From its inception the operation of the CAP has required the compliance monitoring of farming activities and anticipated increases in the complexity of the monitoring tasks with the introduction of the SFP will stretch monitoring resources even further. We outline the scope for using targeting to enhance effectiveness of monitoring resources in dealing with non-compliant behaviour. Targeting resources can increase information on particular groups making identification of inappropriate behaviour easier. However, in reallocating monitoring resources towards the targeted sub-group, there is likely to be an associated reduction in resources allocated to monitoring non-targeted agents and therefore an increase in their incentive to cheat. To reduce this problem we suggest balancing the targeting-induced reduction in the probability of being caught cheating for non-targeted agents with an appropriate increase in the penalty for those agents if they are caught cheating. This increase in penalty results in an increased divergence between the outcomes from being caught or not caught cheating for non-targeted agents, which increases the overall perceived risk of the cheating option. And for risk-averse agents, this increase is a disincentive to cheating. On this basis we argue for greater use of target-based compliance monitoring as part of the revised and evolving CAP.     

Supply chain cost management and value-based pricing

Continued deflationary trends in many markets around the world are creating greater pressure for cost reduction in order that margins can be maintained. Customers and consumers are increasingly value driven and consequently less brand or supplier loyal. In this challenging world, there is a growing recognition that creative pricing strategies combined with effective supply chain management provide opportunities for significant cost reduction and increased profits. This paper presents evidence to support this viewpoint and suggests an approach to supply chain alignment that can enable cost reduction opportunities to be identified and higher profits to be achieved through collaborative strategies.     

Metatheory of network management: A contingency perspective

This paper introduces a metatheoretical, contingency-based framework of inter-organizational network management. We define four basic network management functions and suggest that they are universal to all inter-organizational networks. We argue that management tasks, derived from more general management functions and contingent upon network characteristics, differ according to network type. We further argue that the roles that different actors in a network can adopt depend on their resources and capabilities. The framework contributes to the emerging theory of network management by clarifying the connections between its different conceptualizations and layers. A clear implication of the framework is that it is fundamentally useless to argue that networks cannot be managed. Networks are being managed, all of the time. However, we agree that the extent to which networks can be managed differs from one network to another along with the managerial tasks employed.     

The antitrust implications of electronic business-to-business marketplaces

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) allow networks of buyers and sellers to conduct business online and to exchange information more efficiently using Internet technology. Despite the benefits that e-marketplaces potentially afford firms, concerns have been raised that these markets may damage competition and potentially violate antitrust laws. This study considers the antitrust legislation related to e-marketplaces and examines the possible antitrust concerns that they raise. Potentially anticompetitive features of e-marketplaces are examined and guidance for firm conduct when creating or participating in an e-marketplace is offered.     

Affinities between multi-agent systems and service-dominant logic: Interactionist implications for business marketing practice

The contrasting marketing principles of service-dominant (S-D) logic and goods-dominant (G-D) logic are examined in this article from the perspective of current research themes in the information science community. The conclusion is reached that much of the distributed multi-agent literature is complementary to the issues being explored concerning S-D logic, and that some multi-agent research may therefore be pertinent to the business marketing community. This article discusses the modelling approach of interactionism as an underlying principle of both S-D logic and multi-agent systems technology. The two domain technologies are compared, and implications for business marketing practice proposed.