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The study examines SMEs' investment in B2B web sites and the relationship between organizational drivers such as adoption readiness and constraints and evaluation of investments. We investigate how these drivers influence the perception of B2B web site benefits and the effect a great understanding of issues has on stakeholder satisfaction in the investment.

A quantitative approach is used to test the hypotheses, which are developed from the literature. Following a pilot study, a survey of 1,000 Australian SMEs with B2B web sites is used to collect the data, which is analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques.

Findings reveal the mediating relationships between organizational drivers and their influence on SMEs' perceptions of benefits and stakeholder satisfaction and support the B2B web site evaluation effectiveness model. Further insights show that SMEs do not understand the complementary nature of the organizational drivers that support strategic alignment and therefore fail to realize benefits from their web sites.

Limitations of the research are noted and discussed with regard to constructs and the views of survey respondents.

Results suggest that SMEs consider reallocation and/or prioritization of resources and business objectives in order to improve their IT investment evaluation practices. This would have a direct impact on the level of IT benefits realized, and ultimately affect the degree of stakeholder satisfaction with B2B web site adoption.

A key contribution is the development of a B2B web site evaluation effectiveness model that supports greater understanding of how SMEs can gain more value from their B2B web sites.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of emerging economies play a key role in driving a country’s economic development. Business-to-business (B2B) SMEs of emerging economies play a key role in driving a country’s economic development. Past researchers have recognized that such impacts are simply magnified by B2B entrepreneurs. However, the performance of B2B SMEs and the contributory factors behind such performance has got limited attention. This study aims to explore factors impacting the performance of B2B SMEs of emerging economies as viewed by SME owner-manager.

In this study, we have taken Indian B2B SMEs as our focal point of study. Primary data has been collected from the owner-manager of auto component SMEs of India. This study has examined direct and indirect (mediating) effects of predictors on outcome variables. In this study, structural equation modelling was used through AMOS 22 and the default method-maximum likelihood for estimating the model.

The result shows that entrepreneurial orientation (EO), growth orientation (GO) and market orientation (MO) directly impact the performance of B2B SMEs. It also reveals that brand orientation (BO) mediates the relationship between EO, GO and MO and performance for B2B SMEs. The result advocates that for B2B SMEs operating in emerging economies, being brand-oriented is a prominent strategic move for sustainable performance.

The current empirical research to bridge the research gap in the context of B2B SMEs from emerging economies by exploring important factors, propose their impact on the performance of B2B SMEs and empirically test those hypothesized relationships. This study deciphers that being brand-oriented impacts the entrepreneurial spirit, growth objectives and market readiness of the B2B SMEs and, in turn, influences the performance of B2B SMEs. The study advocates that B2B SMEs from emerging economies should adopt a BO approach and they should invest in the brand-building process.

This paper aims to distil the management challenge pertaining to B2B SME branding strategy, communication and constraint in the emerging market context of Chinese manufacturing.

Complemented by 19 interviews, this paper adopted a novel methodological approach – netnographic analysis – to investigate a selection of Chinese manufacturing SMEs.

Findings revealed three managerial approaches to B2B brand management: conservative, flexible and integrated-exploratory.

Understanding the three approaches offers managerial implications for Chinese manufacturer SMEs to redesign their branding practice. Informed with a better understanding of the available option, they will be able to achieve high value-added production through branding to gain competitiveness. This study sheds light on B2B SME branding from an emerging market perspective, an area that has been largely neglected in the existing literature.

Findings make a novel contribution to B2B SME brand management literature by clarifying practical management issues pertinent to Chinese emerging market manufacturers in particular, and offering widely generalizable lessons for B2B brand management research.

Despite its potential as a new source of competitive advantage, the performance implications of social media (SM) marketing (SMM) are not well understood. This study aims to investigate how and when SMM matters to firm performance, analysing the mediating role of product innovation (PI) and moderating the role of marketing innovation (MI) in business to business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This paper used structural equation modelling analysis in STATA, using the Australian bureau of statistics data set of 4,956 SMEs which operate in the B2B environment.

The results reveal differential moderating effects of MI on the direct SMM–performance relationship. MI positively moderates internal SMM and SM use for promotion and branding on firm performance. MI also negatively moderates SM use for customer communication on firm performance, underscoring SMM constituting a double-edged sword. The indirect effects of internal SM use and SM use for promotion and branding, and customer involvement in new product development on performance via PI are significant when MI is absent.

Hence, B2B SMEs benefit from PI and existing SMM but do not benefit from dual PI and new MI.

By disaggregating SMM and explicating the mediating mechanism and moderating effects of MI, this study reveals how and under what conditions SMM matters to firm performance in B2B SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore business‐to‐business critical success factors (B2B CSFs) for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the Chinese B2B marketplace, evaluate the findings, and use the generated CSFs to propose a framework to assist in the marketing management of B2B in China. The proposed framework provides a guideline for academics and practitioners and highlights the significant role of each factor in developing and sustaining effective B2B electronic commerce (B2B e‐commerce) practice for SMEs.

The proposed framework is constructed by combining the empirical findings and B2B literature. The quantitative (online survey) was targeted at, proprietors, chief executive officers, managing directors, general managers, sales/marketing managers and export managers in selected SMEs that participated in B2B electronic marketplace (B2B e‐marketplace) in China. The data received from the recipients were processed on SPSS to conduct factor analysis to identify whether a factor structure underlies the correlations between a number of variables.

The findings are indicative of two sets of internal and external critical factors, including: successful customer relationships, supply chain facilities, global competition, information system/information technology (IS/IT) infrastructure and performances, information visibility, top management support and commitment, government encouragement and commitment, security and trust, and cultural consideration.

SME managers can derive a better understanding and measurement of marketing activities that appropriately balance between traditional and B2B e‐commerce practice. At the same time, the CSF can be integrated into the companies to determine the level of marketing performance in B2B e‐marketplace.

The paper's findings provide new theoretical grounds for research into B2B relationships in the digital business environment. The paper also provides an empirical assessment of the essential components in B2B e‐commerce adaptation, and implications for the means to prioritize CSF.

The purpose of this paper is to learn how strategic hybrid orientation – constructed from brand and market orientations – is related to the brand awareness, brand credibility, and financial performance of business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The questionnaire was used in a survey to collect data from 250 Finnish B2B SMEs. The sampled firms were categorized into four clusters according to a two-by-two matrix, and their relationships with the brand performance outcomes were examined using one-way ANOVA and multiple regression.

The results indicate that strategic hybrid orientation is positively related to all three dimensions of brand performance, showing that two dissimilar orientations can complement each other in improving brand performance outcomes. However, the strength of complementary interaction seems to vary depending on the degree to which brand- and market-oriented attributes dominate in a firm’s strategy.

This is one of the first studies to provide empirical evidence to support the concept of strategic hybrid orientation for branding in B2B SMEs. This study aims to contribute to existing research on SME branding by capitalizing on B2B branding and strategic management literatures.

The unprecedented changes in the marketplace induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant accelerated corporate migration to virtual ecosystems have added several unique research opportunities and theoretical gaps, especially in business-to-business (B2B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) markets in the service sector. Particularly, customer interactions in B2B services that were once sustained by the “people mix” now demand a huge overhaul in light of the “new normal” restrictions. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore how B2B service firms can engender firm value through virtual customer interactions during and in the post-COVID-19 era from an SME’s perspective.

This study adopts an exploratory qualitative inquiry to contribute to this discourse by proposing a conceptual framework based on prior literature and relevant theoretical frameworks, as well as qualitative interviews with SME managers, CEOs and/or owner-managers.

The qualitative findings reveal organizational preparedness, empathy, digital content and trust as key enablers of effective B2B virtual interaction that enhances cocreated value, thereby augmenting firm value. This study offers a much-needed examination of virtual interaction in B2B contexts and proposes a business customer virtual interaction model.

The exploratory nature of this study is one limitation, and future studies with a bigger representative sample size that uses survey or experimental data drawn from large enterprises might add value to the current findings. Also, while this study is conducted in dynamic markets due to the COVID-19 crisis, future research must examine the customer/firm’s experiences in other forms of crises-led market ecosystems.

B2B service firms must be strongly inclined to continuously take steps to develop and maintain virtual interaction with customers. Proactive efforts to familiarize internal and external stakeholders with virtual interaction platforms are a crucial step for effective customer engagement. The effectiveness of B2B virtual interactions can be strengthened through digital content that elicits trust and exhibits empathy, especially in crises led-markets. Also, the value created for the firm must be redeployed strategically to sustain positive customer engagement behaviors that continue to deliver value to the firm and the customer.

This paper contributes to the increasing B2B customer engagement literature by exploring the ongoing dialogue on how B2B firms can strive and succeed in the post-COVID-19 era or related crises-led market ecosystems through enhanced virtual B2B customer interaction efforts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence that different components of relational capital (marketing capability, open innovation with business and scientific partners, technological reputation, brand) have on customer performance (CP). Moreover, the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on such relationships is tested.

First, the direct relationship between the different components of relational capital and CP is analyzed through a linear regression model. Then, to test the moderating effect, two distinct regression analyses are conducted into two sub-samples, defined according to the level of absorptive capacity. The authors carried out these analyses on a sample of 150 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the medium- and high-tech B2B context.

Results of this study prove that CP is enhanced through firm marketing capability, open innovation with business partners and technological reputation, while brand and open innovation with scientific partner do not have an association with CP. In particular, the impact of marketing capability and open innovation with business actors on CP is greater for firms with higher absorptive capacity.

This paper, highlighting the relevance of relational capital and absorptive capacity in improving CP, enhances our knowledge about the factors that help to strengthen the relationships with customers, which is an under-investigated issue especially for SMEs competing in B2B industries, and extends our knowledge on open innovation practices.

Findings of this paper suggest that, to achieve better CP, managers should pay special attention to nurturing their marketing capability and high-quality relationships with external actors and invest in absorptive capacity to enhance the positive effect of such linkages.

This work, combining the external perspective of relational capital and the internal organizational dimension of absorptive capacity, provides valuable insights about the knowledge and resource mix that firms might rely on to achieve better customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In business-to-business (B2B) settings, research on social media sites (SMS) has primarily examined the benefits and challenges relating to their use, as well as factors driving their adoption. Recently, attention has turned to the consequences of using SMS in B2B markets. The purpose of this paper is to extend this line of research by investigating the impact of B2B brands’ social media presence, interactivity and responsiveness on customers’ perceptions of four indicators of brand relationship strength (commitment, intimacy, satisfaction and partner quality).

Data from an online survey (N = 200) with customers of UK-based B2B firms were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The study reveals that a supplier’s presence on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook has a positive impact on all four brand relationship strength indicators; interactivity enhances perceived partner quality, while responsiveness positively influences commitment. Differences across the three SMS are also observed.

The research was conducted on a sample of UK-based firms with varying degrees of SMS use that may influence the impact on B2B brand relationship strength.

This study indicates that B2B brands ought to focus primarily on presence on SMS, given its positive impact on brand relationship strength. At the same time, however, B2B brands should be active in responding to customers’ queries on SMS, as well as interacting with them to enhance commitment and perceived partner quality, respectively.

This study contributes to the digital marketing and B2B relationships interface and is the first to examine the role of B2B brands’ presence, interactivity and responsiveness on SMS in enhancing relationships with customers.

This study aims to explore the impact of marketing agility on the business-to-business (B2B) firms’ capacity to address unexpected events such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, examining how they reshape their strategies during the different stages of a crisis.

This study follows a theory-building approach and performs an in-depth exploratory multiple-case study in the context of 16 Italian firms operating in the B2B sector.

The study develops an event-sequence-based framework and illustrates how agile marketing strategies empower B2B firms to cope with a crisis across three crucial moments: the event phase, the response management phase and the investigation phase.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of marketing agility in the context of crisis management by showing the agile marketing strategies that B2B firms adopt during the different stages of a crisis. This work provides a useful foundation to assist managers in coping with market uncertainty. It suggests practical guidelines to make more informed strategic and operational marketing decisions, increasing a firm’s capacity to act in today’s fast-moving, complex times.