| 1. |
- Aagerup, Ulf, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Building a warm and competent B2B brand personality
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - Bingley : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 56:13, s. 167-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies build brand personality via the products they provide and via their interactions with customers. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study, which spans 10 years, investigates via interviews, observations, workshops and document analysis how two fast-growing B2B companies selling industrial equipment to manufacturers build brand personality. Findings The studied companies concentrate on different brand personality dimensions depending on the activities in which they engage. By focusing on brand competence in the realm of the actual product and brand warmth in the realm of the augmented product, the companies manage to create a complete and consistent brand personality. Research limitations/implications The research approach provides in-depth knowledge on how the companies build brands for a specific type of B2B product. However, the article's perspective is limited to that of management and therefore does not take customer reactions into account. Practical implications The study describes how firms can build strong B2B brands by emphasizing competence in product design and R&D and warmth in activities related to sales and customer service. Originality/value The study introduces a conceptually consistent view of brand personality in the form of warm and competent brands to the B2B marketing literature. It builds on and contributes to the emerging research on B2B brand personality. By relating the companies' brand-building activities to the type of products they sell, this study illustrates how context affects B2B brand building, and by integrating brand personality theory with product levels and marketing philosophy, it extends previous theory on B2B branding.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Svante
(författare)
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Suppliers' international strategies
- 2002
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - Bradford : MCB Journals. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 36:1-2, s. 86-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A longitudinal study of the international behaviour of Swedish suppliers is presented. Three different types of supplier are identified: simple suppliers, advanced suppliers, and own product suppliers. Factors influencing the internationalisation of these suppliers are discussed. It is concluded that the firms' offer and the customers' buying strategies influence the firms' international behaviour. However, these factors do not determine the international strategies completely. Various entrepreneurs will choose various strategies. Three different types of entrepreneurs are identified: the marketing, technical, and structural entrepreneurs. The type of entrepreneur influences the firms' international strategies in different directions.
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| 3. |
- Anisimova, Tatiana, et al.
(författare)
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The performance implications of company-salesperson corporate brand misalignment
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - : Emerald. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 44:6, s. 771-795
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – Global competition has increased a manufacturer focus on relationships and optimization of internal processes within channels of distribution. One of the central themes of channel relationships and an important theoretical proposition in corporate branding has been achievement of alignment between corporate and stakeholder perspectives. Using three corporate brands, this study seeks to use a configurational theoretic approach to investigate how deviation of salespeople from the corporate perspective is related to their satisfaction and commitment.Design/methodology/approach – The manager-specified ideal corporate brand profile was used as a proxy for a corporate perspective and a benchmark. Applying the Profile Deviation approach to study the effects of misalignment, the authors hypothesise that salespeople's deviation from the corporate perspective is negatively related to their satisfaction and commitment.Findings – Results, which were robust across the three corporate brands, partially support the hypotheses. However, positive performance implications of salesperson deviation suggest that the effects of misalignment are more complex than currently viewed in the literature. Findings and implications are discussed and research directions are developed.Practical implications – The study offers insights into the areas of corporate brand misalignment, internal branding and salesmanship.Originality/value – From the comparison of the three congruence models, it was intended to infer which corporation has succeeded in narrowing the perceptual discrepancy between the corporate and salesperson perspectives. By developing a fine-grained analysis the study pin-points the actual aspects that require co-alignment, thus facilitating managerial decision making.
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| 4. |
- Anselmsson, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Customer-based brand equity and human resource management image : Do retail customers really care about HRM and the employer brand?
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - 0309-0566. ; 50:7-8, s. 1185-1208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between an organization’s human resource management (HRM) image and its customer-based brand equity. Research into HRM in relation to branding has mostly dealt with how to attract and maintain employees through employer branding. The present study attempts to link HRM directly to marketing and branding aimed at customers as an altruistic dimension of the brand image and as something that applies to customers’ sociological needs. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a survey of Swedish customers in two different retail categories: groceries and home decoration. Findings: The results show that HRM image is distinct from a more traditional service image and that there is a significant relationship between favourable customer perceptions of an organization’s HRM and customers’ willingness to buy and pay a premium for products provided by the retail chain. This finding leads to the conclusion that HRM is not only relevant for employer branding, internal branding and operations management but also plays a significant role in building customer-based brand equity. The results show that further integration of HRM and brand management is needed, both in theory and practice. Originality/value: This study takes a holistic approach to marketing and is one of the first attempts to incorporate HRM and employer branding into the customer-based brand equity framework. Implications for future research, retailing and other businesses are discussed in the conclusion.
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| 5. |
- Archer-Brown, Chris, et al.
(författare)
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Conspicuous political brand interactions on social network sites
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - : Emerald Publishing. - 1758-7123 .- 0309-0566. ; 52:3/4, s. 702-724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Acquiring Likes for a political party or candidate's Facebook pages is important for political marketers. For consumers, these Likes are conspicuous, making their political affiliation visible to their network. This paper aims to examine the roles of the undesired social-self and visibility (conspicuous vs inconspicuous) in predicting consumers' intention to Like political brands. The authors extend knowledge on the undesired social-self and transference of theory from general marketing to a political domain and provide practical advice for political marketers engaging social network sites. Design/methodology/approach The authors gather data from two surveys run with Facebook using electorates in the run up to the UK 2015 and US 2016 elections (n = 1,205) on their intention to Like political brands under different visibility conditions. Findings Data support the theorized relationship of the undesired social-self with social anxiety intention to Like when Liking is conspicuous. However, data also indicate that all users - irrespective of proximity to the undesired social-self - prefer to Like inconspicuously. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the generalizability of the specific context and the use of self-report measures. Practical implications Political marketers should reconsider promoting conspicuous consumption for that which is more inconspicuous. Originality/value The authors provide the first examination of the undesired social-self in driving behavior under different visibility conditions. Furthermore, the authors challenge the extension of existing knowledge of the self-concept within political marketing, based on the norm for consumers' to avoid disclosing political views publically.
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| 6. |
- Awuah, Gabriel Baffour, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive (networked) internationalization : the case of Swedish firms
- 2011
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - UK : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 45:7-8, s. 1112-1129
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this study is to provide deeper insights into the extent to which an independent actor(s) actively collaborates with the internationalizing firm so as to jointly determine the choice of market, the mode of entry and the level of investment committed in the market to be entered and even after the entry (i.e. the ongoing activities). Design/methodology/approach - Against the previous purpose section, a qualitative research approach is selected to guide the exploratory nature of this study. Thus qualitative data are used to build the two case studies because case studies are generally a more appropriate approach when "how" and "why" questions are being posed and when the investigator has little control over events. Findings - Based on two multiple case studies, one major finding of the study shows that independent actors, with their interconnected networks, have played and are still playing a major role in influencing the internationalization processes of each of the two firms in this study. Originality/value - This is an original paper developed based on two case studies which have not been published in any journal before. The paper highlights the role of external independent actors in internationalization, which is not mentioned at all or stressed in the extant literature.
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| 7. |
- Borg, Erik A
(författare)
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The Marketing of Innovations in High-Technology Companies : a Network Approach
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - : Emerald. - 0309-0566. ; 43:3/4, s. 364-370
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – This article aims to consider the usefulness of network theory in examining the marketing of high-technology products and services.Design/methodology/approach – High-tech companies are analysed in light of a network approach to marketing.Findings – The research finds that building marketing relationships can improve the viability of high-tech companies.Originality/value – The article contributes to the development of theory that can enhance the marketing of high-technology products and services.
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| 8. |
- Brehmer, Per-Olof, et al.
(författare)
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Proactive and reactive : drivers for key account management programmes
- 2009
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Ingår i: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING. - : Emerald. - 0309-0566. ; 43:7-8, s. 961-984
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - Key account management (KAM) programmes are a way for companies to develop existing relationships and increase sales, thus being proactive and searching for opportunities (which is often expected of KAM). It is also a way to meet changing customer demands arising from changes in purchasing strategy, buyers mergers and acquisitions and the search for synergies in order to reduce costs. The purpose of this article is to analyse different key account management programmes on how they manage the sales process complexity and customer expectations. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on qualitative data collected during a field study of ABB and six of their major customers, based on annual or biannual interviews with 50 individuals within ABB from 1996 to 2006 and three to ten individuals from each of the customers. Interviewees included corporate managers, key account managers and sales personnel/project managers. The customers involved in the study belonged to mining, automotive, process equipment manufacture, building technology, energy production and telecommunication sectors. Findings - In this study three different programmes are identified and analysed: the proactive programme - which is driven by sales opportunity; the reactive programme - which is driven by customer demands; and the organisation-based programme - which is driven by the belief in customer-centric organisational units. Practical implications - The paper identifies sales aspects (complexities) of K-W programmes that are handled in different ways by different types of programmes. Originality/value - With an empirical base the paper provides a basis for understanding the reasons behind the establishment of several KAM programmes in the same corporation.
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| 9. |
- Chetty, Sylvie, et al.
(författare)
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Effectuation and foreign market entry of entrepreneurial firms
- 2015
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Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 49:9-10, s. 1436-1459
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the decision-making process for entrepreneurial firms when entering foreign markets and how and why they entered those markets. Design/methodology/approach - A nascent theory in entrepreneurship called effectuation is combined with internationalization process theory as the conceptual framework to study decision-making under uncertainty. The central concept in both these theories is relationships and how they can be used to gain knowledge and thus reduce uncertainty and in the case of effectuation to co-create opportunities to enter foreign markets. The research design involves a multiple case study of software firms from Finland and New Zealand. Findings - It was found that entrepreneurs differentiate between foreign market selection and foreign market entry during their internationalization process, potentially using different decision-making processes in them. They tend to interweave effectuation and causation logics as substitutes in their decision-making. Uncertainty during foreign market entry is not always a barrier because it can provide opportunities depending on the logic used. In addition, there is evidence that entrepreneurs who have existing relationships in foreign markets tend to use effectuation to select and enter foreign markets. Originality/value - This paper transposes effectuation from its original field of entrepreneurship research to the context of internationalizing entrepreneurial firms. Consequently, it contributes toward understanding the decision-making process for selecting and entering foreign markets.
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