Sanjay Kumar Kar and Subrat Sahu
Marketing - value proposition and value delivery, switching cost, customer acquisition and retention, positioning, pricing, distribution and retailing, role of trust and…
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing - value proposition and value delivery, switching cost, customer acquisition and retention, positioning, pricing, distribution and retailing, role of trust and transparency to build sustainable relationship in B2B context, and efficient service delivery.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate and graduate students in marketing, business administration, strategy, retailing, B2B marketing, services marketing and general management courses. Also, it can be used for executive management/training programmes.
Case overview
The case focuses on an existing scenario of a natural gas business in Gujarat, India, in order to provide understanding of marketing challenges, especially in the B2B context, faced by organisations in this evolving business environment. The case examines the strategies and policies implemented by the company and their impact on the customer. The case presents reactions and responses from the concerned customers. The case illustrates the criticalness of understanding customer expectations and designing and delivering customer centric strategies to sustain market leadership in an evolving and competitive market.
Expected learning outcomes
The case study enables the students to understand and analyse: the current business environment; the important factors impacting natural gas business; economic analysis of energy; opportunity and challenges for doing cleaner and greener business; role of cleaner fuel to reduce carbon footprint; and carbon credit impacting top line and bottom line of a customer. The case provides students the opportunity to understand and analyse the importance of switching costs to acquire a new customer; and devising and implementing marketing strategies to expand customer base and enter into new territories.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes.
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Avinandan Mukherjee and G. Shainesh
The purpose of this paper is to look back at the first year of publication of the Journal of Indian Business Research (JIBR) and to provide details of the current issue.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look back at the first year of publication of the Journal of Indian Business Research (JIBR) and to provide details of the current issue.
Design/methodology/approach
It is time to look back at the first year of launch of the JIBR. After all, it is widely believed in the academic publishing world that the first year of a new journal is the most crucial one. This editorial gives details of the current issue, paper by paper.
Findings
Filling a much‐felt gap for a high‐quality publishing outlet on Indian business research, JIBR has attracted the attention of leading scholars in the discipline in the very first year of its existence. Renowned scholars such as Jagdish Sheth, Alok Chakrabarti, Raj Aggarwal, Madhukar Angur, G.K. Kalyanaram and Rajendra Sisodia have published their research and/or viewpoints/commentaries in JIBR in its very first year. This issue begins with “Corporate social responsibility communication in the Indian context” wherein Brigitte Planken, Subrat Sahu, and Catherine Nickerson report on research, which investigates the CSR platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. In the second paper titled “Effectiveness of integrated marketing communications: empirical analysis of two brands in India,” Mehir Baidya and Bipasha Maity utilize quarterly, time‐series data over 2000‐2005 for two competing brands in packaged goods business to assess the impact of marketing communication on sales. Pramila Rao, in the third paper titled “A resource‐based analysis of recruitment and selection practices of Indian software companies: a case study approach” enhances our understanding on senior‐level staffing practices of Indian software companies. The next paper by Federica Collato is a case study titled “Is Bangalore the Silicon Valley of Asia? Analysis of the evolution and the structure of this Indian local economy organization.” The final paper of this issue is a viewpoint article on “Overcoming decision flaws from framing” by V.N. Bhattacharya.
Originality/value
The Editorial provides an overview of the inaugural volume of JIBR.
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Brigitte Planken, Subrat Sahu and Catherine Nickerson
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. It seeks to establish the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. It seeks to establish the CSR platforms that are typically used, together with stakeholder attitudes to both the form and content of those platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper refers to both primary and secondary sources of data, i.e. a survey of internet sources and a questionnaire survey.
Findings
The paper shows that the Indian corporations surveyed pursue a primarily philanthropic platform with a focus on community development projects, as predicted by previous studies. It also indicates, however, that Indian consumers may not value philanthropic CSR as highly as other CSR initiatives and that this may in turn influence their attitudes to different marketing communication strategies.
Practical implications
The paper suggests ways in which Indian corporations may formulate the form and content of their CSR policies in the future within a marketing strategy in order to influence their stakeholders positively and increase their competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The paper provides an innovative approach to investigating the consequences of how Indian corporations communicate their CSR policies to their stakeholders. It suggests a number of fruitful areas of enquiry with direct implications for Indian business in the future.
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Brigitte Planken, Catherine Nickerson and Subrat Sahu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer responses to CSR in a developed and emerging economy (The Netherlands and India).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer responses to CSR in a developed and emerging economy (The Netherlands and India).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a survey of 95 consumers in each country to investigate attitudes to CSR platforms and CSR initiatives and responses to CSR‐based marketing strategies (in terms of attitude to the company and purchasing intent).
Findings
The study found similar attitudes across nationalities to both CSR platforms and CSR initiatives, with greater importance assigned to CSR reflecting legal and ethical (rather than philanthropic) concerns. (Some) CSR‐based marketing strategies, reflecting an ethical (people/planet) concern, led to significantly more positive attitudes to the company and higher purchasing intent. The study found some cross‐cultural variation in the extent to which different CSR‐based marketing strategies influenced consumer outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This is an exploratory study, limited to highly educated consumers. The study provides indications that stakeholder expectations in emerging and developed economies may be more similar than previously suggested. The philanthropic platform conventionally pursued in Indian business may not be the most effective way to engage (all segments of) Indian consumers. Findings suggest it is important that companies monitor stakeholders' CSR attitudes to ensure that CSR policy orientations meet stakeholder expectations.
Originality/value
This paper uses an innovative approach to investigate responses to CSR policy and communications. CSR research on emerging economies is underrepresented in the literature. The findings suggest areas of further enquiry with implications for global business.