Conceptualization and Integration of Marketing Intelligence: The Case of an Industrial Manufacturer

Purpose: The primary goal of this article was to conceptualize a systematic marketing intelligence process for industrial manufacturers because, up until now, such concepts have only been focused on consumer goods settings. Hence, this article investigates how marketing intelligence activities are developed and managed effectively in industrial markets.

Methodology/approach: The authors conducted a case study of Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, a German based manufacturer of regulation technology for power transformers.

Findings: We found that a systematic marketing intelligence process should be based on the resource- and market-based view of strategy as well as on the market orientation construct. When implementing marketing intelligence, the integration of the sales force within the whole process is the crucial lever for an industrial company. The formalization of the process is necessary to ensure its continuity and acceptance; however, the varying intensity allows the necessary flexibility of the process.

Research implications: The constraints of the decisive process steps of marketing intelligence have to be further enhanced for industrial markets. It is important to find out how the integration of the sales force can best be designed to incorporate reward systems and motivation structures, and how to establish a corporate marketing-minded culture throughout the organization.

Practical implications: The important steps for a well implemented marketing intelligence process are a preparation phase, followed by the gathering, analysis, and dissemination of information. This article highlights the success factors for each process step. Above all, managerial and organizational commitment is necessary for the implementation of the whole process.

Originality/value/contribution: By focusing on the industrial manufacturing business, this study provides deep insights into a neglected area of research. Light needs to be shed on marketing intelligence in industrial markets, where the lack of traditional market research has to be compensated.     

The Role of Logo Recoloring on Perceptual Fluency in Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns

Abstract

This article investigates the influence of brand esthetics on consumer response to cause-related marketing campaigns. Drawing on brand visual identity and advertising research, a processing fluency perspective is explored in the relationship between stimulus characteristics and consumer judgment. Processing fluency suggests color enhances the ease with which consumers recognize and process brand elements, and more broadly, cause-related marketing campaigns. Brand logos were recolored to enhance the perceptual fluency of the two entities. Its joint effect with conceptual congruence (e.g., fit) indicate that both low and high fit brands benefit from enhanced processing fluency, with a more robust outcome for high fit brands. These effects were mediated by logo evaluation, leading to a new path of fit perceptions in CRM initiatives.     

Considering Technological Impacts When Selecting Food Suppliers: Comparing Retailers' Buying Behavior in the United States and Europe

Purpose: The research investigates the impact of emergent technologies, specifically supply-chain technology and food-production technology (i.e., genetically modified organisms [GMO]), on global food retailers' supplier decisions.

Methodology/approach: Qualitative research is conducted to examine technology-related vendor selection criteria of food retailers in 5 European countries comparing to those in the US.

Findings: Our findings show that global food retailers view supply-chain technology as a competitive advantage and is integrated as an important selection criteria; however, selection criteria differ for food-production technology between the United States and the European countries. European food retailers explicitly oppose food-production technology (GMO), while U.S. food retailers implicitly accept food-production technology. Emerging from this opposing view, global food retailers establish similar criteria for organic food (non-GMO) supplier selection: reliability, distance, consistent quality, and relationships with suppliers.

Research implications: Applying the supplier choice criteria framework (Lehmann and O'Shaughnessy 1982 Lehmann, D. R. and 'Shaughnessy, J. O. 1982. Decision criteria used in buying different categories of products. Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 18: 9–14.  [Google Scholar]) to further analyze organic food suppliers, we find that reliability (adaptive criterion), distance (integrative criterion), consistent quality (performance criterion), and relationships with suppliers (economic criterion) are essential, but price is not.

Practical implications: This study suggests that to sustain competitiveness in the global food market, food suppliers not only need to ensure technological compatibility in supply-chain, but also adapt to the local food-production restriction (GMO) and organic food selection criteria preferences.

Originality/value/contribution: Supply-chain technology is strategically important and is adopted by global food retailers for competitive advantage; yet, there are dramatic differences regarding the acceptance of food production technology. This research contributes to the better understanding of how technologies exert significant and strategic weight in the food supplier selection process.     

Local Retail Segmentation Using the CETSCALE

Abstract

The CETSCALE was used to segment a local retail luxury sedan market into pro-import and anti-import groups. Four versions of a newspaper advertisement for both Cadillac and Lexus luxury sedans were tested across these two segments. Non-comparative, weaker indirect comparative, stronger indirect comparative, and direct comparative advertising headlines were used in a between-subjects design. An existing automobile dealership selling both Cadillac and Lexus brands was used as the test sponsor. Results unexpectedly indicate that the pro-import segment favors the hard-hitting direct comparison format significantly less than the anti-import segment, finding it less believable, likable, convincing, and professional, plus more boring.     

Electronic Marketplace: A Distinct Platform for Business-to-Business (B-to-B) Procurement

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether buyers perceive different electronic marketplaces (EMs) as distinct types of procurement platforms. More specifically, it empirically investigates to what extent professional buyers expect different benefits from different EM types and perceive different barriers associated with their usage.

Methodology: A Web-based survey of purchasing professionals in the United States was conducted with 359 responses received. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to determine if there are significant differences between EM types with respect to expected benefits (market aggregation and inter-firm collaboration) and perceived barriers (financial risks and trust barriers).

Findings: The results show buyers' expectations of benefits differ significantly between public EMs (i.e., third-party exchanges and industry-sponsored marketplaces) and private EMs (i.e., private trading networks), and between neutral EMs (i.e., third-party exchanges) and biased EMs (i.e., private trading networks and industry-sponsored marketplaces). Likewise, their perception of barriers differs significantly between public and private EMs.

Research limitations/implications: The research confirmed empirically that EMs are a distinct platform for business-to-business procurement. Nevertheless, by examining EMs from business buyers' perspective, this study necessarily limits itself to purchasing-related issues.

Practical implications: By providing insights into buyers' perceptions, our findings can help managers focus their promotional efforts aimed at potential firms that would like to use EM for procurement by emphasizing specific benefits or addressing specific perceived barriers based on the type of EM they manage.

Originality/value: This study fills a void in academic literature on EMs that currently contains few empirical studies with respect to EM types. Its main contribution is in establishing empirically that EMs do not constitute a single, homogeneous marketspace but are instead comprised of distinct types that offer users specific benefits and expose them to certain risks.     

Relationship and Market Conditions: Outcomes in Marketing Channels

Purpose: In today's highly competitive business environment, many organizations are tending to reduce the number of suppliers to focus on establishing stable and close relationships with a small number of them. The study here analyzes the influence of both market and relationship conditions on trust, commitment, and customer loyalty.

Methodology/Approach: Empirical research was conducted by collecting information from a sample of 304 retailers. A structural equations model is estimated.

Findings: Results support a positive influence of relationship value on trust and, in turn, on long-term orientation and commitment, with the latter as a strong antecedent of customer loyalty. In contrast, dependence on the main supplier does not seem to exert a significant effect on long-term orientation and commitment.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The evidence suggests that relationship conditions are important for creating value in B2B settings. Results shed additional light on the process of calculating, creating and claiming value.     

Commentary: Relative Presence of Business-to-Business Research in the Marketing Literature: The Demand-Oriented Path Forward

In this article we discuss the relative presence of business-to-business (B2B) research in the marketing literature. We concur that B2B research is underrepresented in marketing literature and business school curricula. Avenues for remedy, improvement, and future research are presented.     

An Integrative Framework of Buyer–Supplier Negative Relationship Quality and Dysfunctional Interfirm Conflict

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Problems of relationship quality and interfirm conflict in business-to-business settings are serious concerns that need to be addressed. Thus, the authors have engaged in an extensive review to promote an understanding of these complex issues. This article develops an integrated framework for analyzing wide-ranging relations between individual representatives and patterns of interfirm incompatibility for managerial control.

Methodology/approach: The review involves numerous sources that include articles and monographs. A theoretical framework is constructed to integrate fragmented empirical data. In particular, social identity and commitment-trust theories are mobilized for this framework.

Findings: The review of studies has a substantial consistency with the theoretical framework. The article outlines a causal chain from interpersonal agent dissimilarities to dysfunctional buyer–supplier relations, culminating in interfirm pathological conflict. Moderating factors in the causal chain are: agent identity differentiation (for interpersonal dissimilarity), supplier relations mismanagement (for buyer–supplier relationship quality), and interfirm opportunism (for interfirm pathological conflict). Buyer–supplier interfirm incompatibility mediates the causal link between interpersonal dissimilarity and buyer–supplier relationship quality. Identity differentiation, the validation of one’s self-image, is introduced as a process that determines buyer–supplier agent interpersonal dissimilarity judgments. This framework uses a contextual perspective. It describes interactions between observations of micro-level phenomena of interpersonal dissimilarities and macro-level models of interfirm fit. From a managerial perspective, interpersonal relations between individual buyer and supplier agents may be further strengthened by such strategies as expanding the scope of the interpersonal relationship, relaxation of role responsibilities, and volunteering business-related contact referrals.

Originality/value: A new theoretical framework has been devised to predict and explain relationship quality and interfirm pathological conflict in the business-to-business context. The framework contributes to the value of the knowledge base by serving as a means for building new diagnostic tools for assessment of interfirm behavioral issues affecting exchanges. New concepts are introduced to enhance current literature on business-to-business marketing. The framework provides concrete

indicators that operationally define ideas and enable or improve measurement for empirical modeling.     

Consumers' Attitudes toward Products and Associated Marketing Unethicality as Predictors of Buying and Using Preferences: The Case of Russia

This study examines (1) the differences in Russian consumers' attitudes toward European and domestic household goods and associated unethicality of firms' marketing practices, as well as the differences in consumers' buying and using preferences and (2) the effect of consumers' attitudes toward the products and associated marketing efforts on their buying and using preferences. The findings indicate that country of origin has a substantial effect on the attitudes of Russian consumers toward all product/marketing cues examined, whereas consumers' attitudes toward products and associated marketing unethicality are important determinants of their buying/using preferences. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The Dissemination of Marketing Knowledge in a Newly Emerging Democracy

No abstract available for this article.