Value propositions as communication practice: Taking a wider view

The aim of this article is to examine the concept and functioning of value propositions, seen through a service-dominant logic (S-D) lens. The variety of perspectives used to understand value propositions are examined, from unidirectional communication of value to reciprocal promises of value. The concept of reciprocal value propositions is examined in the light of S-D logic's fundamental premises. Examples are included to show how reciprocal value propositions can be used to initiate and guide resource integration activities between initiators and participants across a range of stakeholders of the firm. Some ‘taken for granted’ assumptions about market exchange are examined which act as a constraint on innovation in developing reciprocal value propositions, and more generally, stand in the way of innovative marketing practice. We also argue that reciprocal value propositions reveal opportunities for focal firm engagement with suppliers, customers, and other beneficiaries beyond sale/purchase transactions, as part of a platform for communicative interaction. In summary, we position reciprocal value propositions as a communication practice that brings exchange activities, relationship development, and knowledge renewal closer together.     

Winning through innovation and marketing: Lessons from Australia and Vietnam

We examine the role of innovation and marketing, two functional capabilities that have the capacity to play a major role in creating superior marketplace performance in firms. Our study of the two capabilities and firms' marketplace performance also takes into account the contribution of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) to our focal functional capabilities and marketplace performance. The results of a study of firms in Australia and Vietnam show innovation capability, marketing capability mediate the effects of the firm's MO on its marketplace performance. The results also show that the interaction of innovation and marketing capabilities significantly influences firms' marketplace performance more than they do individually. Finally, our results show that MO partially mediates the relationship between EO and innovation and marketing capabilities.     

Achieving superior innovation-based performance outcomes in SMEs through innovation resource-capability complementarity

Firms are increasingly identifying new avenues to enhance their market position. One such effort involves the firms' ability to continuously learn. Learning has the capacity to enable firms to develop and implement more efficient and effective innovation-focused strategies, resulting in the ability to develop and deliver more products in a timelier manner. This study tests the relationship between innovation resource-capability complementarity and innovation-based performance. This study further elaborates that while innovation resource-capability complementarity drives innovation-based performance; their relationship will be enhanced via the firms' possession of superior learning capability. The findings show a significant effect of innovation resource-capability complementarity on innovation-based performance. The results also show that firms that possess superior learning capability are willing to question their operational processes and routines and make adjustments following the feedback obtained from customers and channels; thereby enhancing their abilities to develop more new products and increase their speed in delivering products to the customers.     

Guanxi practice and Chinese buyer-supplier relationships: The buyer's perspective

This study explores the different effects of guanxi practice on Chinese buyer-supplier relationships in the initiation and the maintenance stages during the buyer-supplier relationship lifecycle. Using survey data collected from the retail industry in China, we find that retailers perceive varying buyer-supplier relationship behaviors in these two relationship stages and, accordingly, guanxi practice exerts opposite effects on retailer satisfaction. Specifically, during the relationship initiation stage, guanxi practice is negatively related to retailer social satisfaction and commitment. However, during the relationship maintenance stage, guanxi practice is positively related to retailer economic satisfaction. The results from this study provide suppliers with managerial implications on when to and when not to practice guanxi in China.     

Network actors' participation in B2B SME branding

This study explores how network actors participate in branding in the context of SMEs operating in business markets. Branding is conventionally seen as an internally governed process and its exposure to external influences has been generally overlooked. By using narrative interviews this study analyzes the branding actions of network actors which impact on an SME's brand image. This article shows that social and business network relationships influence the SME's brand image, as does the nature of the company's internal branding decisions and identity. The findings propose and define the concept of a branding pool, expanding the focus of branding beyond the boundaries of an individual organization into the context of nets. An SME cannot manage its branding pool, but it can mobilize stakeholders in branding to improve the brand performance in the market.     

The impact of aligned rewards and senior manager attitudes on conflict and collaboration between sales and marketing

This research was carried out using five case studies and a survey to discover how sales and marketing managers are rewarded and if alignment of rewards can improve collaboration between sales and marketing and/or reduce inter-functional conflict. In addition, it examined the role of senior managers' support for coordination on sales/marketing collaboration. The results reveal that organizations which use aligned rewards can increase sales/marketing collaboration through such reward structures, but not reduce inter-functional conflict. In addition, senior managers' support for coordination is vital, as it increases sales/marketing collaboration, and strongly reduces inter-functional conflict. This is important because inter-functional conflict has a strong negative impact on collaboration between sales and marketing in business to business firms.     

IMP and service-dominant logic: Divergence, convergence and development

This article arose directly from discussions at the 2nd Otago Forum on Service-Dominant (S-D) logic held at the University of Otago in December 2008. It builds on the papers presented and discussions at the forum, on previous papers within the S-D logic field and relates these to the research of the IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing) Group. The article focuses on two important conceptual issues that appear to need further development by both S-D logic and IMP researchers: Firstly, the identity and characteristics of the business actor in an interacted business landscape and second, the nature of value and its creation and delivery. The article also seeks to use some IMP ideas on business interaction in an attempt to refine and clarify the central S-D logic concept of ‘service’ between companies. Finally, the article attempts throughout to draw tentative conclusions about the implications of this conceptual analysis for practitioners.     

A service perspective on business relationships: The value creation, interaction and marketing interface

Adopting a service perspective or logic on business directs suppliers' focus in business relationships towards engaging with their customers' business processes. The purpose of this article is to analyze implications for value creation and marketing of adopting a service logic in business relationships. In the article it is demonstrated that a service perspective is multi-dimensional, enabling the mutual creation of value, with service as a mediating factor in that process. It is argued that value creation, purchasing, usage and marketing are intertwined processes. Here supplier-customer interactions are in a focal position. This perspective enables marketers to better understand how to develop and extend service offerings through assistance to customers' processes relevant to their businesses. Therefore, the underpinning logic of industrial interactions is analyzed in detail, extending marketing's conventional boundaries.     

Innovation forecasting: A case study of the management of engineering and technology literature

The following paper contributes to the methodology of innovation forecasting. The paper analyzes the literature of engineering and technology management. A brief history and justification for interest in engineering and technology management is presented. The field has a sixty year history of interdisciplinary, and is therefore a ripe source for closer investigation into time trends of knowledge. The paper reviews the literature of innovation forecasting, examining a range of theoretical and methodological literatures interested in the evolution of knowledge. A new application of a model, suitable for sparse and count-like publication data, is presented. A mathematical presentation of the model is offered. A discussion is offered on how the model may be implemented in an approachable way within spreadsheet software. A time history of engineering management literature is extracted from a database and analyzed using the model. A projection of keyword growth is offered, and key features of the emerging knowledge base within engineering management are discussed. Recommendations for future research, as well as for those monitoring the status of the discipline of engineering management, are made.     

Exploratory analysis of the impact of information dynamics on innovation diffusion

Understanding the dynamic nature of innovation diffusion processes, and mechanisms underlying these dynamics is crucial, since such an understanding is potentially very important in designing effective innovation support policies and developing better diffusion forecasts. The role of information diffusion in conditioning the diffusion dynamics of an innovation is the locus of this study. In order to investigate this, a simulation model that distinguishes between the real attributes of the innovation and their perceived levels by the user groups has been developed. The model makes it possible to separately trace the diffusion dynamics of innovation and the information about an innovation. Additionally, the formulation of the model enables the message broadcasted via word-of-mouth to change in nature from positive to negative, or vice versa. This generic model is used in an exploratory way, which is discussed as a novel approach for conducting a simulation-based analysis. Such an exploration covers a wide range of plausible diffusion behaviors, and aims to demonstrate the extent to which information imperfections and dynamics may influence the diffusion process. During experiments it is observed that information imperfections as well as the pace of learning processes may yield significant changes in the diffusion patterns. These changes may be in the form of altering the basic characteristics of the well-known S-shaped diffusion curve, as well as stopping the diffusion at much lower levels than full adoption. The analysis presented in the article shows that exploratory analysis is a promising way to utilize simulation models for developing general insights about dynamics processes.