An exploratory study of the Internet as an industrial communication tool: Examining buyers' perceptions

A thorough understanding of the impact of the Internet on industrial purchase decisions is of critical importance for industrial marketers seeking to incorporate the Internet in their overall communication strategy. Accordingly, this study examines (1) the degree to which purchasing professionals perceive the Internet as useful, (2) how purchasing professionals are using the Internet for communication activities, (3) how the Internet compares to other promotional tools in influencing buyers' purchase decisions, and (4) whether differences among buyers can be identified relative to the perceived influence of suppliers' websites. The results provide some practical implications for industrial marketers regarding the use of the Internet relative to other promotional tools.     

Buyer attentiveness in buyer-supplier relationships

How do a manufacturing firm's (supplier) relationship marketing activities lead to more profitable business-to-business (B2B) customers? This research proposes that a supplier's relationship activities develop a buyer's attentiveness toward the supplier, which, in turn, leads to profitable buyer purchasing behaviors. Findings from 119 buyer organizations support this contention, and, additionally, buyer attentiveness was found to have a stronger positive influence on favorable buyer behavior than does either buyer dependence or relationship length. This study contributes to our understanding of long-term buyer-supplier relationships in B2B markets.     

A dominant product-dominant country framework of industrial export segmentation

This article proposes a framework that industrial marketing managers can utilize to improve their understanding of and ability to select industrial products for export to attractive global markets. The framework is arrayed along two axes: export products and existing global markets. As a result of the suggested process, a 2×2 model emerges that provides guidance to marketing managers about actions that can be undertaken to maximize success with industrial products and services in the global marketplace.     

Joint and interactive effects of trust and (inter) dependence on relational behaviors in long-term channel dyads

The authors investigate the effects of trust on the relational behaviors of firms in long-term channel dyads across different interdependence structures. Based on the long-term nature of the empirical setting, trust is posited to exert a positive effect on the emergence of relational behaviors in all interdependence conditions. This positive effect of trust is hypothesized to be stronger in highly and symmetrically interdependent channel dyads than in low-interdependence-type symmetric dyads. In addition, for both relatively more dependent and relatively less dependent members of asymmetric dyads, the effect size of trust is hypothesized to increase as the perceived level of interdependence asymmetry increases. Data collected from automobile dealers in Turkey reveal that trust in the supplier has the strongest positive effect on the relational behaviors of dealers in asymmetric dealer-supplier dyads that perceive themselves relatively less dependent than their suppliers. For relatively more dependent dealers, trust is found to exert a modest positive effect. In symmetrically interdependent dealer-supplier dyads, trust exerts a modest positive effect on dealer relational behaviors in the low mutual dependence condition, and this effect size reduces to the point of nonsignificance in the high mutual dependence condition. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Relationship marketing and brand involvement of professionals through web-enhanced brand communities: the case of Coloplast

More and more firms are recognizing the advantages of web-enhanced brand communities as a lever for relationship-marketing communication. Brand communities, not only provide companies with an additional communication channel, but also allow the possibility of establishing linkages to devoted users. So far, brand community has only been discussed in relation to B2C marketing. However, the effect of using web-enhanced brand communities in a B2B context may be even greater inasmuch as professional users have a strong and long-standing interest in exchanging product-related information. Based on the Coloplast case study, this contribution outlines a conceptual model for linking web-enhanced brand community activities and relationship building in B2B markets.     

Reverse auctions for relationship marketers

Reverse auctions in logistics and procurement have grown dramatically since the advent of widespread Internet usage in the late 1990s. A literature review indicates that scholars and practitioners are reaching a consensus around a trade-off between the value and benefits of gaining lower prices versus losing long-term relationships with suppliers. Yet at the same time, a quiet evolution has come about in the economics and management literature, opening the way for new, more relationship-friendly auction designs. Based on this new work, a series of guidelines and principles are developed which describe how managers may collect the economic pricing advantage of reverse auctions—yet retain the long-term benefits of relationship marketing.     

Adapting within relationships to adapt to market-led change: Does relationship success lead to marketplace inertia?

The use of relationships is a key means of adapting to marketplace needs. Paradoxically deepening relational commitments lead to inertia through the institutionalisation of relationship norms, resulting in less marketplace adaptability over time. This article examines this paradox and identifies how firms manage the dual process of adapting within relationships, and to a changing external environment. Findings are based on 24 case studies of New Zealand wineries, supplemented by 20 network interviews. Relationships were used by the firms to adapt to the marketplace, and firms that formed deeper relationships placed themselves in a better competitive position vis-à-vis those that didn't, if they fit their relationship strategy to the demands of the environment. To avoid inertia firms needed to complement strong relational ties with weak market-based ties to gain insight into emerging trends. This informed decisions regarding further relational commitments, and helped strengthen their position within established networks.     

Project selection: A process analysis

Technology-oriented companies involved in rapidly changing markets are interested in the value of collaborative efforts aimed at the realization of shared benefits, while spreading the costs and risks across multiple partners. The experiences and insights of participants in such ventures can contribute to the understanding of how to build more productive alliances. This study examines the project evaluation processes employed by the most successful industry-university research centers sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The delivery of highly satisfying research programs, as indicated by the industrial representatives, is defined as being successful. This paper focuses on the process management issues involved in the formulation and evaluation of research proposals, structural advantages and liabilities associated with the process, as well as the conditions/contexts that favor their application. These processes are strategically significant because they define the organization's research agenda, focus resource allocations by linking capabilities and commitments, and frame the performance assessment process.     

Toward a business-to-business channel incentives classification scheme

A recent focus on intermediary compensation underscores the need to organize the many complex incentives used by channel practitioners. Employing a grounded theory methodology, a channel incentives classification scheme is induced from 170 unique channel incentives used in 59 high technology suppliers' channel programs. The incentives are organized into 16 subcategories and 5 major categories: Credible Channel Policies, Market Development Support, Supplemental Contact, High-Powered Incentives, and End-User Encouragements. Each incentive subcategory is discussed as a means of controlling reseller behaviors. Also, the conditions that give rise to the implementation of incentives are investigated through four testable research propositions.     

Web-based B2B portals

A portal development frenzy is sweeping through commerce in an attempt to capture the growing business-to-business (B2B) Internet market. However, the very tactics employed to attract users have blurred the significance and, consequently, the effective utilization of portals in B2B strategies. This research analyzes the development of portals to propose a classification based on the informational/transactional, horizontal/vertical, and public/private dimensions of portals. Clarification of portal dimensions should provide B2B marketing managers with a superior focus in the production of efficient portal strategies for achieving business objectives. Strategic implications for acquiring and maintaining users and a five-step approach for developing an effective B2B portal strategy are presented.