| 1. |
- Alajoutsijärvi, Kimmo, et al.
(författare)
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Customer relationship strategies and the smoothing of Industry-Specific Business Cycles : The Case of the Global Fine Paper Industry
- 2001
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501. ; 30:6, s. 487-497
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to argue for the importance of customer relationship strategies in smoothing industry-specific business cycles. We use the global fine paper industry as an example of an industry renowned for its drastic, seemingly uncontrollable business cycles. As in so many other global industries producing upstream, commodity products such as steel, copper, or sawn goods, dramatic price fluctuations are a reality for managers in both supplying and buying organizations in the fine pager industry. In this article, a representative case of one business cycle is described and analyzed to illustrate the empirical phenomenon in a real-life setting. We use some specific concepts and frameworks developed in industrial marketing research to further understanding of the underlying logic behind business relationships that enhances cyclicality in the industry. Furthermore. these concepts also give insights into the smoothing of industry-specific business cycles through the application of more explicit, cooperative customer relationship strategies. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Anderson, Helén, et al.
(författare)
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Can You Buy a Business Relationship? : On The Importance of Customer and Supplier Relationships in Acquisitions
- 2001
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 30:7, s. 575-586
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mergers and acquisitions have become a popular strategy for gaining growth. Studies show, however, high failure rates for acquisitions. Earlier literature concentrates on the strategic or organizational fit between companies and integration processes and fails to recognize the companies' external business relationships. An implicit assumption seems to be that through acquisition the market position of the target firm can be taken over. We argue that it is not always easy or even possible to take over a company's customer and supplier relationships. We elaborate on the various problems related to relationships that acquisitions may give rise to. Our conceptual discussion is illustrated with a case study from the graphics industry. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.
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| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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"Coopetition" in Business Networks -- to Cooperate and Compete Simultaneously
- 2000
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501. ; 29:5, s. 411-426
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Existing theory and research on relationships among competitors focuses either on competitive or on cooperative relationships between them, and the one relationship is argued to harm or threaten the other. Little research has considered that two firms can be involved in and benefit from both cooperation and competition simultaneously, and hence that both types of relationships need to be emphasized at the same time. In this article, it is argued that the most complex, but also the most advantageous relationship between competitors, is “coopetition” where two competitors both compete and cooperate with each other. Complexity is due to the fundamentally different and contradictory logics of interaction that competition and cooperation are built on. It is of crucial importance to separate the two different parts of the relationship to manage the complexity and thereby make it possible to benefit from such a relationship. This article uses an explorative case study of two Swedish and one Finnish industries where coopetition is to be found, to develop propositions about how the competitive and cooperative part of the relationship can be divided and managed. It is shown that the two parts can be separated depending on the activities degree of proximity to the customer and on the competitors' access to specific resources. It is also shown that individuals within the firm only can act in accordance with one of the two logics of interaction at a time and hence that either the two parts have to be divided between individuals within the company, or that one part needs to be controlled and regulated by an intermediate actor such as a collective association.
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| 4. |
- Berthon, Pierre, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding B2B and the Web: the acceleration of coordination and motivation
- 2003
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 32:7, s. 553-561
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper explores business-to-business (13213) marketing on the Internet, and how the confluence of the two may transform the 13213 landscape. Specifically, it discusses the notion of linkage value to demonstrate why the 13213 phenomenon on the Internet is so significant. It then considers the mechanisms and enablers that have made the Web such an important 13213 marketing channel. It also explores how the Web can reduce transaction costs, thereby facilitating more efficient exchanges and markets. The concepts of links and nodes are then introduced and the processes of disintermediation, reintermediation, disaggregation and reaggregation are explored. Finally, Web B2B configurations are considered by way of a model that describes four archetypal configurations, and the factors that are antecedent to these modes and how the Web may influence them.
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| 5. |
- Boström, Gert-Olof, 1959-
(författare)
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Successful Cooperation in Professional Services : What Characteristics Should the Customer Have?
- 1995
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - : Elsevier. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 24:3, s. 151-165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The service sector is a growing part of the economy in many countries. To be able to survive in this sector, it is necessary to offer the market services that are perceived as having quality. Interviews with both providers and customer stated the importance of cooperation between the two parties. The perspective on cooperation in this article was from the providers' side. The question was, “What characteristics should a customer have?” An aggregation of the different answers to this question by Swedish architects suggested a customer that has good knowledge and relates well with the professional service provider was the best.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, Kent, et al.
(författare)
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Customer retention, purchasing behavior and relationship substance in professional services
- 2000
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 29:4, s. 363-372
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Customer retention is central to the development of business relationships. However, customer retention is specific to the context of each firm, and this is rarely recognized in models for customer retention. This paper studies how customer retention depends on the relationship substance may be of a more or less embedded kind, which is explored here in the form of relationship satisfaction and organizational change in the buying firm. The conceptual model is tested on a sample of business relationships in professional services. The results support the fundamental effect that relationship satisfaction improves customer retention. The article also finds that the purchase development of customers increases customer retention, in particular if the customer who purchases more is also satisfied. However,when the selling firm has achieved change in the customer firm, customer retention is reduced. Evidently, these customers consider that they are done with the seller and move the other seller, or reduce their purchases altogether. This can be mitigated if the seller uncovers new areas for business, or involves value adding partners.
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| 7. |
- Eriksson, Kent, et al.
(författare)
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Managers' perception of relationship management in heterogeneous markets
- 2002
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 31:6, s. 535-543
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Relationship management holds many promises of becoming a new paradigm in marketing and management. However, the development of relationship marketing is still difficult to accomplish in heterogeneous markets, since different management practices are needed in markets ranging from homogenous segments of customers with the same preferences to customers with individual demands for customized services. This paper investigates managers' perceptions of relationship development in heterogeneous markets. Results from a survey of 135 branch bank managers show that they perceive that the more heterogeneous the market, the more difficult to achieve relationship development. The study also finds that more difficult relationship development leads branch managers to perceive a more centralized locus of realized strategy. This suggests that firm relationship development needs to focus more on customer orientation and that realized strategies need to be at a local level to support this.
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| 8. |
- Fang, Tony
(författare)
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Culture as a driving force for interfirm adaptation: A Chinese case
- 2001
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 30:1, s. 51-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concept of interfirm adaptation is a critical component in the IMP (industrial marketing and purchasing) paradigm. The existing wisdom points to the “five metaphors” (investment, decision making, political process, learning, and evolution) as the cognitive map for understanding the mechanisms of interfirm adaptations. This article, however, reveals that culture can be a significant force driving interfirm adaptations. An empirical case of a Chinese shipyard negotiating large shipbuilding projects with Scandinavian ship owner and classification society is used to illustrate the role that culture plays in interfirm adaptations. The article concludes by suggesting adding a new metaphor—the culture metaphor—to the list of the metaphors to better understand the workings of interfirm adaptation in business relationships.
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| 9. |
- Hertz, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic development of third party logistics providers
- 2003
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Ingår i: Industrial Marketing Management. - 0019-8501 .- 1873-2062. ; 32:2, s. 139-149
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The growth of the Third Party Logistics (TPL) business has caused many firms from different industries to enter the field. We are interested in how their different strategies develop over time with a special focus on how they balance between general problem solving capability and the degree of customer adaptation. In the development of their strategy the newly entered firms shown to be highly influenced by existing business and its network. However, at a later stage the case firms were all focused on moving into more advanced and complex services (4pl type of services) without considerations to their traditional business strategy. We have also identified some issues of importance when managing the continued TPL business strategy. One issue is about the organisation of the TPL business and its need for neutrality from traditional business. The next issue is about the internationalisation of the TPL business and the need of a partly different pattern and network. Finally, the issue of coping with strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions seems vital for understanding and developing the business.
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| 10. |
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