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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Anja Geigenmüller and Harriette Bettis‐Outland

This paper's aim is to provide a conceptual framework explaining drivers of service brand equity. It refers to the trade show industry as an example for an international, highly…

3272

Abstract

Purpose

This paper's aim is to provide a conceptual framework explaining drivers of service brand equity. It refers to the trade show industry as an example for an international, highly competitive environment, where service providers face the challenge to differentiate themselves from competing brands. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the paper develops a conceptual model of service brand equity. The paper concludes with directions for further research and managerial implications.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual work, which derives research propositions from an extended literature review.

Findings

It is proposed that a service provider's competence relates positively to a service customer's purchasing value which, in turn, leads to customer service satisfaction and service brand equity. The paper further posits that the provider's service concept, service processes, and service system are constituents of service competence, thus representing crucial determinants of service brand equity.

Research limitations/implications

The research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly an empirical test of the model in various B2B service industries.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that the value attendees derive from using trade show services is strongly related to the support they receive in establishing and nurturing customer relationships or in engaging in market and competitor analysis. Considering service brand equity, trade show organizations should therefore develop innovative concepts for trade shows that accommodate their clients' needs, including an appropriate physical environment, customer‐oriented service processes, and high‐quality interactions between service employees and customers.

Originality/value

The paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of B2B service brand equity in a trade show context, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Anja Geigenmuller

169

Abstract

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2010

Anja Geigenmüller

This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding the role and contributions of virtual trade fairs in developing relationships. Using a relationship communication model…

4049

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding the role and contributions of virtual trade fairs in developing relationships. Using a relationship communication model, the paper aims to explore the determinants of value creation through virtual trade fairs, emphasising the impact of advanced information and communication technologies on contemporary marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual work which derives research propositions from an extended literature review.

Findings

The paper provides a rationale for factors that determine value creation through virtual trade fairs. The exhibitor firm's understanding of the importance of information, network orientation, capability of customer integration, and relationship attributes are proposed as influences on the effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.

Research limitations/implications

The research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly approaches to developing measures of effectiveness for virtual trade fairs and for developing integration and interdependencies with other communication instruments.

Practical implications

Referring to existing arguments about the pros and cons of virtual trade fairs, the paper provides a deeper understanding of the content and effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.

Originality/value

The paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of virtual trade fairs, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

U. Zeynep Ata and Aysegul Toker

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of customer relationship management (CRM) practices on customer satisfaction and firm performance in business‐to‐business…

10275

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of customer relationship management (CRM) practices on customer satisfaction and firm performance in business‐to‐business (B2B) markets.

Design/methodology/approach

A model is developed and empirically tested through survey data obtained from 113 Turkish B2B companies.

Findings

The results indicate that CRM adoption has a significant positive effect on both customer satisfaction and organizational performance in B2B settings. CRM adoption is also found to affect organizational marketing performance significantly, but not financial performance. Additionally, the results reveal that enhanced customer satisfaction leads to better organizational performance in the B2B organization. Environmental dynamism and competition was found to have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between customer satisfaction and organizational performance.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to existing literature by incorporating customer‐facing CRM processes as a construct in the proposed model. The conclusions drawn have implications for both CRM and B2B research literature.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Michael Ehret and Michaela Haase

The aim of this paper is to argue for an explicit foundation of market exchange on person‐to‐person relationships as an alternative to the foundation on person‐to‐goods…

1335

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to argue for an explicit foundation of market exchange on person‐to‐person relationships as an alternative to the foundation on person‐to‐goods relationship underlying the exchange model inherited from neoclassical economics and classical contract law and used in a large significant share of marketing studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a unifying theoretical framework to the analysis of transactions and relationships that links institutional approaches from economics, sociology, and law.

Findings

Relational contract theory provides a common ground for phenomena studied by both traditional exchange‐based and relationship marketing approaches. Relational contract theory conceives all types of market exchange as based on person‐to‐person relationships and provides an anchor for institutional, social and economic approaches in marketing.

Research limitations/implications

The concept of transaction provides a common foundation for the analysis of marketing phenomena that holds in diverse environments, including arms‐length transactions and close‐linked relationships. It provides an interface between marketing theory on the one hand and institutional, social and economic disciplines on the other.

Practical implications

Contracts specify how the parties to a transaction can realize action options opened up by property rights arrangements. Contracting strategy is the vital backbone of an industrial service strategy. Sound design of business models starts with the identification of the optimal owner of a resource, i.e. the actor who is in the best position to manage uncertainties or take on responsibilities associated with resource use.

Originality/value

This is the first investigation of a contractual foundation of marketing theory. It embeds the concept of exchange in an institutional framework and adapts it to the evolving business reality shaped by co‐operating firms and the rising share of services in value creation.

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Maciej Mitręga

Marketing is the area of coexistence of various research traditions with regard to relational phenomena. This study aims to contribute to limiting the gap between these traditions…

3088

Abstract

Purpose

Marketing is the area of coexistence of various research traditions with regard to relational phenomena. This study aims to contribute to limiting the gap between these traditions by testing the influence of network partner knowledge and internal relationship quality on company performance and customer relationship quality.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a research paper where hypotheses are derived from prior studies referring to relationship marketing, B2B networks and internal marketing. The hypotheses are tested by using a sample of 264 companies operating in B2B markets and by structural equation modeling.

Findings

Customer relationship quality is empirically supported here as a factor mediating influence of network partner knowledge and internal relationship quality on company performance. The proposition of this paper is that company ability to deal effectively with a network in which it is embedded (including internal network) is the antecedent of dealing with customer relationships effectively. The moderator effects of the dominant profile of business are also discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the research are presented with regard to the sampling method, research technique/scope and cultural context. The research results may be treated as a direction for further studies exploring connections between constructs from various approaches to relational phenomena in marketing.

Practical implications

This study brings strategic insights into knowledge of business relationships, by investigating empirically whether the focal company may benefit from their external and internal relationships.

Originality/value

To the best of the author's knowledge, there has been no study examining the proposed set of inter‐related research constructs so far.

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Maja Makovec Brenčič, Gregor Pfajfar and Matevz Rašković

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between selected market orientation dimensions, HRM, and innovation, and their impact on organizational performance before and…

3519

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between selected market orientation dimensions, HRM, and innovation, and their impact on organizational performance before and during the current economic crisis in Slovenia.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for the analysis are drawn from a longitudinal cross‐sectional study of the 101 best Slovenian employers between 2008 and 2009. Altogether, over 15,000 respondents and more than 170 companies took part in the study, making it the largest of its kind in Slovenia and southeast Europe. The research method applied in the paper is exploratory and consists of simple paired comparisons of univariate and bivariate statistics, as well as factor analysis, regression analysis, and correlation analysis.

Findings

The results show that customer expectations regarding trust and long‐term performance have a positive impact on HRM practices within a firm, that HRM positively impacts organizational performance, and that innovation unexpectedly impacts it negatively (at least in the short‐term). No significant relationships between customer expectations of services, quality, and price, and their impact on HRM and innovation, respectively, were found. However, the research partially confirms that the crisis is affecting organizational performance because companies are deploying more HRM practices and, unexpectedly, fewer innovation activities.

Originality/value

This paper explores market orientation, HRM, innovation, and performance‐related dimensions in a B2B relationship marketing context based on the results of an extensive longitudinal cross‐sectional company‐employee study conducted in Slovenia before and during the current economic downturn. The findings offer a unique glimpse into the impact of the current economic crisis on the observed links and relational dimensions, and also have important managerial implications.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Ilka Griese, Doreén Pick and Michael Kleinaltenkamp

This study aims to present the conceptualization and measurement of knowledge generation competence (KGC) as the fundament for firm's internal knowledge generation. Furthermore…

1292

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present the conceptualization and measurement of knowledge generation competence (KGC) as the fundament for firm's internal knowledge generation. Furthermore, it seeks to assess different antecedents of a firm's KGC and its potential for improving a firm's innovativeness.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by nationwide mail survey in the German automation and the consulting industry. The final sample consists of 110 respondents (response rate of 32.9 percent). The measurement model was tested by using structural equation modeling applying partial least squares (PLS) estimation. PLS was also used to investigate the relationships between KGC, its antecedents and innovativeness.

Findings

The findings support the conceptualization and measurement of knowledge generation competence (KGC). The included dimensions explained 47.6 percent of the variance of knowledge generation competence. Furthermore, most of the relationships included in the research model were supported by the empirical data.

Practical implications

The data suggest that firms which want to increase their innovativeness can develop their knowledge generation competence by providing learning orientation culture and investing in human resource practices.

Originality/value

The paper aids in uncovering the relationship between organizational learning, human resource practices, knowledge generation competence, and innovativeness of a firm.

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2012

Hongzhi Gao, John G. Knight and David Ballantyne

This article aims to identify critical aspects of Chinese‐Western intercultural guanxi relationships that have largely been ignored as a domain for study in international business…

4703

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to identify critical aspects of Chinese‐Western intercultural guanxi relationships that have largely been ignored as a domain for study in international business and industrial marketing, and to suggest a way forward.

Design/methodology/approach

A theme analysis across a range of academic and business journal articles is undertaken to capture major themes involving China‐focused research that relates to international business and industrial marketing, and also to locate critical themes that may have been overlooked.

Findings

Intercultural interaction at a personal level is both unavoidable and critical for successfully doing business with China. This study introduces the term guanxi gateway ties to highlight a special class of facilitating relationships that can emerge through interactions between guanxi insiders and guanxi outsiders. Insiders and outsiders can meet and work together in this middle‐cultural territory for the instrumental purpose of obtaining passage through the “gateway”.

Research limitations/implications

Inevitably some journal articles of interest may have been missed in the review due to the chosen scanning boundary. Nevertheless the search method provides a sufficient base to reveal recurrent research themes, and also overlooked themes of potential significance.

Practical implications

Guanxi gateway ties assist companies and individual business actors to find a path through the cumbersome Chinese bureaucracy and hierarchical levels by activating personal relationships.

Originality/value

This study reveals a commonly overlooked perspective of guanxi, that is, as a facilitator of culture‐bridging ties. The conventional business perspective of guanxi can be viewed as evolving from a gated community into an intercultural facilitating mechanism.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 April 2010

451

Abstract

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

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