Guest editorial

Citation

Bettis-Outland, H. and Leila Borders, A. (2010), "Guest editorial", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jbim.2010.08025daa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Volume 25, Issue 4

Trade shows represent a unique opportunity for organisations to connect with other members of the marketplace: customers and prospects, manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, financial and logistics resources, as well as competitors. Whether the term “event”, “trade show”, “exhibition”, “convention”, “live show”, “trade fair” or other semantic is used, these events provide the perfect venue for introducing a new company, division, product, or idea to a previously qualified audience. Trade shows are no longer mere excuses to get out of the office, but a marketer’s premier opportunity to promote products and services offered by the organisation, serving as a catalyst to help improve the bottom line.

A decline in traditional media such as TV, radio and print, combined with continued interest in face-to-face marketing, enables the trade show industry to maintain its standing as one of the top benefactors of marketing communications funding. Web-based virtual trade shows are increasing in part due to cost savings on travel and exhibition rental space; however, this new form of trade show eliminates the human interaction that occurs when vast, empty halls are turned into lively, busy, crowded spaces with tremendous activity and buzz. More often, virtual trade shows are used in conjunction with traditional trade shows, giving exhibitors the opportunity to better pre-qualify their audience, while offering a preview for trade show attendees, enabling them the opportunity to better clarify their objectives prior to the event.

Regarding the academic literature, trade show marketing research touches many areas. Though much of the early academic research focused on generation of new customers and sales by exhibitors, current trade show research considers the experiences of both exhibitors and visitors; increasingly, contributions of trade show event organizers are also included.

In the first article, Gopalakrishna, Roster and Srithar incorporate the rich literature on shopping typologies in retailing to develop a set of attendee metrics that can be used to better understand the behaviour of business trade show attendees. Five different segments of attendee activity that vary along the dimensions of attendee involvement and focus, exhibitor booth size, booth accessibility, and product display are revealed. Eight metrics are developed for show organisers to track and classify attendees from a horizontal analysis of trade shows, which involves a broader array of products targeted towards a general audience.

Rinallo, Borghini and Golfetto also look at trade show attendee behaviour by adopting an experiential perspective, focusing on the interplay between exhibitors and trade show organisers in designing valuable experiences for trade show visitors. Rinallo, Borghini and Golfetto delve into the clues that visitors infer about the position of industrial marketing exhibitors in relation to their competitors from the use of exhibitor space in their booths and stands. Their exploratory study of visitor behaviour suggests that trade show participants actively seek emotional, sensorial and relational aspects, inferring that trade show organisers should monitor participation while designing more attractive events that focus on creating memorable and complex customer experiences for the attendees.

Strategy and performance are prominent themes studied in trade show academic research. Skallerud extends this research stream by examining differences in structure, strategy, and performance between exhibitors at individual booths compared to trade show exhibitors staffed jointly in booths with other exhibitors. Skallerud posits that individual booth exhibitors place more personnel and products at their booths and enlist a great deal more resources into image building activities at the trade show than do joint booth exhibitors. In other words, individual exhibitors spend more money attracting visitors with eye-catching, customised exhibit booths and other at-show amenities. Additionally, Skallerud finds that the top management of individual exhibitors is more committed than the top management of joint booth exhibitors.

Bettis-Outland, Cromartie, Johnston and Borders look at trade show performance from a different strategic perspective. They evaluate performance based on the market orientation model, incorporating the acquisition, dissemination, and responsiveness to information acquired at trade shows, ultimately suggesting the development of a “return on trade show information” measurement, or RTSI. Bettis-Outland et al. posit that use of newly acquired trade show information results in both tangible and intangible benefits to the organization; however, these benefits are perceived differently, depending on whether the trade show participant is an exhibitor or visitor.

The antecedents and effect of new technology in the implementation of trade shows is investigated by Li, who studies how capability-driven and institution-driven factors influence usage of the internet in trade show marketing. Li surmises that as online trade shows are becoming a cost-effective alternative to physical trade shows, a new wave of interactive product demos, customised presentations, and on-site tours will threaten many of the traditional physical face-to-face communities of buyers and sellers. Li helps us understand how through the use of capability-driven factors (such as market orientation and web design) and institution-driven factors (such as motivations related to efficiency enhancement), firms should obtain cost reductions, productivity enhancements, and operational efficiency.

Geigenmuller also examines the effect of new technology in trade show implementation, by looking at the impact of online, or virtual trade shows in the context of relationship value creation. Through the use of a relationship communication model, the exhibitor firm reveals how to utilise the impact of advanced information and communication technologies for continuous customer interaction as a firm’s ability to generate response to its pre-show, at-show, and post-show communication efforts.

Yuksel and Voola’s research focuses on a unique and growing niche in the trade show industry – travel and tourism. Motivations for participating in trade shows and perceptions of effectiveness and challenges faced by exhibiting firms are investigated. The intangible nature of the offering emphasises a high level of expectations on exhibitors’ empathy, responsiveness, and reliability. Organisers of the trade shows should ensure that the profile of potential visitors represents the demographics that the exhibitors are targeting. This research incorporates elements of relationship marketing and perceived service quality, utilising perceptions of the attendees and the exhibitors.

The future of trade shows is investigated by Kirchgeorg, Jung and Klante, utilising a multi-stage scenario analysis involving industry experts representing exhibitors and trade show organisers. The scenario analyses reveal key factors that illustrate the future shape of trade shows; these key factors are investigated through the strategic choice view, which purports that firms have the ability to reshape their environment instead of being mere powerless recipients of their micro- or macro-environment.

The range of papers presented in this special issue provide insight on the progression of trade shows from traditional face-to-face encounters through the digital age represented by online and virtual trade shows. We are sincerely indebted to the contributors to this special issue for sharing their insights and intellectual curiosity. Nonetheless, we do not claim complete coverage of trade show marketing with this special issue. Though the paperless office has been touted for several decades, this has yet to fully materialise; similarly, the desire for eye-to-eye, hand-to-hand networking opportunities continues, and can be found in abundance in the trade show environment.

This special issue could not have been completed without the assistance of many individuals. First, thanks to all the reviewers for their untiring efforts towards ensuring that this special issue provides new knowledge worthy of publication in one of the leading academic industrial marketing journals. These reviewers include Jim Blythe, Christian Chelariu, Angelica Cortes, Fernando Robles, Sylvia Long-Tolbert, Arturo Vasquez, Michael Ehret, Miriam Stamps, Stephanie Dellande, David Gilliland, Jeff Tanner, Harish Sujan, Greg Marshall, Jeff Lewin, Jerome Williams, Frank Xie, Uta Herbst, Jim Boles, Mark Leach, Brian Brown, Ruby Lee, Felicia Morgan, Tom Brashear, and David Crockett. In addition, the administrative support provided by Nutnicha Lerdsahapun and Sharon Weaver is greatly appreciated. Last but certainly not least, a big thanks to Wes Johnston for his advice and counsel throughout the development of this special issue on trade show marketing.

Harriette Bettis-Outland, Aberdeen Leila Borders