An evaluation of stakeholder relationship marketing in China

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the applicability of the stakeholder relationship marketing model, a new marketing model, to Chinese businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

Within the stakeholder relationship marketing model holistic marketing performance is reflected in the delivery of long‐term economic, social, and environmental value to customer, employee, supplier, community, and shareholder stakeholders of a business in order to enhance sustainable financial performance. Stakeholder relationship marketing performance is measured in a stakeholder performance appraisal. The applicability of the Western stakeholder relationship marketing model in the Chinese context is tested by undertaking stakeholder performance appraisals on two Chinese businesses.

Findings

Results show that the performance of the two Chinese businesses is in line with the 57 Western businesses in the Future Research Group stakeholder performance appraisal benchmark database, and that the stakeholder relationship marketing model is applicable to the Chinese context both philosophically and practically.

Research limitations/implications

The results can be considered as an indicative evaluation of stakeholder relationship marketing in China as a foundation for definitive validation from planned research on more Chinese businesses.

Practical implications

The stakeholder performance appraisal provides Chinese businesses with a perceptual overview of holistic marketing performance and concomitant business financial performance from stakeholders. These data enable Chinese businesses, like their Western counterparts, to plan stakeholder relationship marketing strategies to enhance marketing performance and to predict future financial performance.

Originality/value

This study extends the newly developed stakeholder relationship marketing model from a Western context to the Chinese context and demonstrates the congruence between Western and Chinese holistic business philosophy.

Citation

Murphy, B. and Wang, R. (2006), "An evaluation of stakeholder relationship marketing in China", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/13555850610641055