Improving firm positioning through enhanced offerings and buyer-seller relationships

We analyze the strategic repositioning of firms through changes in their market offerings and buyer-seller relationships. Based on literature from strategy, marketing, economics, and information systems, we formulate a two-by-two matrix to examine alternatives for positioning. We evaluate the framework with four case studies of companies that have recently moved toward more complete product/service offerings and stronger relational linkages with customers. These moves followed two different paths. The product/service path initially focused on the development of new and related products, product bundles, and the addition of product-related services. The relational path first focused on establishing closer relationships with customers including closer operational linkages, enhanced information sharing, more fully articulated legal and contractual obligations, and enhanced cooperation. In all the cases, the strategic repositioning was influenced by customer needs and enabled by information technology and the acquisition of new competencies through networking.     

New product development in Asia: An introduction to the special issue

Given the increasing importance of Asia, the purpose of this special issue is to broaden the scope of our understanding of New Product Development (NPD) by going beyond the traditional Western research settings and looking at how new products are developed in Asia. This paper introduces the special issue on NPD in Asia and identifies key patterns of similarities and differences between Asian and Western NPD practices. The paper highlights key similarities and differences in the areas of organizational/top management support; technological proficiency; customer/market orientation; information sharing; cross-functional interface; entrepreneurship orientation; NPD strategies; innovation orientation; contingencies of innovation orientation; innovative marketing strategies; NPD process; appointment of project managers; rewarding team members; success rate; and cycle time.     

Building customer relations over the Internet

While previous marketing activities were primarily focused on increasing market shares in terms of a mass marketing based on single transactions, the past few years saw a paradigmatic shift towards relationship marketing. This change in viewpoint is based on the finding that the establishment and maintenance of long-term relationships have a decisive influence on corporate success. In this study, the authors present a critical theoretical and empirical analysis of the contribution the Internet can make to successful relationship marketing. The study focuses on the influence that important characteristics of the World Wide Web (WWW), such as its interactive structure and constant availability of information, can have on key variables of relationship marketing, i.e., commitment, satisfaction and trust. For example, the authors provide empirical proof of potential withdrawal of trust on the part of the customers if their expectations with regard to these characteristics are not met.     

Building trust in US-Japanese business relationships: Mediating role of cultural sensitivity

While evidence suggests trust plays a fundamental role in maintaining successful buyer-seller relationships in Japan, little is known conceptually as to how foreign sellers can best develop trust in the minds of their Japanese customers. In this research, we develop and test a multi-component model of US seller actions that manifest key trust-building processes (intentionality- and capability-processes) which sellers find effective in building trust with their Japanese buyers. In this unique cultural context, theory suggests trust develops when sellers demonstrate benevolent intentions toward the buyer and exhibit a strong capability to fulfill business promises. An analysis of 181 US sellers in Japan demonstrates that a combination of trust-building efforts is recognized as being critical in seller attempts to develop and sustain trust on the part of their Japanese customers. Importantly, cultural sensitivity mediates the impact of intentionality-based practices on buyer trust, while capability-based activities directly influence trust.     

Developing effective reverse logistics programs

A recent survey in the automobile aftermarket industry examines reverse logistics practices. The research focuses on two key issues: 1) the influence of program design characteristics, i.e., formalization, returns policy restrictiveness, and innovation, on program performance and 2) the differential influence of making versus buying reverse logistics program software. The results provide guidelines for managerial decisions relating to reverse logistics.     

Managing industrial brand equity: Developing tangible benefits for intangible assets

Young and Rubicam's (Y&R) BrandAsset Valuator® (BAV), commonly used to assess brand equity in consumer markets, was applied to assess the brand health of an industrial B2B supplier. Customers were asked questions about perceived esteem, relevance, knowledge and differentiation of the company to find its strengths and weaknesses. The results were then plotted to reveal the overall customer perception of the company and also its competitors. Through this plot, the strategic direction how to improve the brand equity of the company became clear. Evidence suggests that the BAV can be used in industrial markets to assess the brand equity of the firm.     

Building capabilities to manage strategic alliances

Recently, academics have attributed a large part of alliance success to a firm's ability to successfully manage its alliances, also called its level of alliance management capability. We contribute to this growing body of literature by (1) verifying the impact of alliance management capability on alliance performance and (2) analyzing the drivers of alliance management capability. We measure this capability through four types of alliance learning processes and study how each of these processes affects alliance outcome. Furthermore, we take into account several possible drivers of alliance management capability such as organizational culture, commitment of the top team, alliance experience and the alliance function. We refine the results by examining how these factors affect each of the four learning processes underpinning alliance management capability. Our research model will be tested on a sample of 189 Belgian companies using PLS. We find that the commitment of the top management team is the most critical factor in explaining success with alliances.