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Article
Publication date: 23 March 2020

Neeraj Pandey, Preeti Nayal and Abhijeet Singh Rathore

This study aims to analyze the available literature on the use of digital marketing in a business-to-business (B2B) context. It identifies gaps in the current research knowledge…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the available literature on the use of digital marketing in a business-to-business (B2B) context. It identifies gaps in the current research knowledge and proposes a research agenda for scholars and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review has been conducted on B2B digital marketing. The various themes have been identified on the basis of the comprehensive analysis of extant literature. Also, semi-structured interviews with B2B marketing experts were also conducted to further refine the emerged digital marketing themes.

Findings

Although some B2B firms use digital marketing, most are unable to leverage its full benefits because of the dearth of comprehensive research on the subject. This review provides an insight into the emerging themes by developing a collaborative conceptual framework. The review highlights that few areas such as digital marketing communication and sales management have witnessed steady development while decision support systems, critical success factors, electronic marketing orientation (EMO), etc., were lesser explored. Furthermore, it identifies research gaps and highlights the emerging research themes for future researchers.

Practical implications

The collaborative framework will help organizations to align their digital marketing activities as per the changing market dynamics such as the focus on building social media capability, EMO and value co-creation.

Originality/value

Research on the use of digital marketing by B2B firms is still at the embryonic stage. This study is a pioneering effort to review the use of digital marketing in B2B organizations and identify research priorities for scholars and practitioners.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2021

Jiwat Ram and Zeyang Zhang

Big data analytics (BDA) is becoming a strategic tool to harness data to achieve business efficiencies. While business-to-customer organizations have adopted BDA, its adoption in…

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Abstract

Purpose

Big data analytics (BDA) is becoming a strategic tool to harness data to achieve business efficiencies. While business-to-customer organizations have adopted BDA, its adoption in business-to-business (B2B) has been slow, raising concerns about the lack of understanding of the need to adopt BDA. Little knowledge exists on the subject and the purpose of this study is to examine BDA adoption needs among B2B organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) following the six-step SLR guidelines of Templier and Paré (2015) involved 1,051 articles, which were content analyzed.

Findings

The authors offer two-pronged findings. First, on the basis of the SLR, the authors develop a new four-category classification scheme of needs to adopt BDA and present a consolidated review of the current knowledge base along with these categories (i.e. innovation, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and digital transformation). Second, underpinned by the theory of organizational motivation and literature evidence, the authors develop propositions and a corresponding model of BDA adoption needs. The authors show that BDA adoption among B2B organizations is driven by the need to augment customer lifetime value, champion the change, improve managerial decision cycle-time, tap into social media benefits and align with market transformation.

Research limitations/implications

The results facilitate theory development as the study creates a new classification scheme of needs and a model of needs to adopt BDA in large B2B organizations.

Practical implications

The findings will serve as a guideline framework for managers to examine their BDA adoption needs and strategize its adoption.

Originality/value

The study develops a new four-category classification scheme for understanding B2B organizations’ needs to adopt big data analytics. The study also develops a new model of needs which will serve as a stepping stone for the development of a theory of needs of technology adoption.

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2018

Weng Marc Lim

This paper aims to help challenger marketers identify and target the right customer organization.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to help challenger marketers identify and target the right customer organization.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a customer organization profiling route to targeting for challenger marketing that is predicated on a thematic analysis of key findings of customer organization profiles from an international case study.

Findings

This paper introduces and explains the concepts of aggressiveness to succeed, compatibility of offerings, openness to new ideas and willingness to take action (or A-C-O-W) as components of a newly developed customer organization profiling matrix for challenger marketing.

Research limitations/implications

The A-C-O-W customer organization profiling matrix offers a fresh conceptual outlook for targeting customer organizations using a challenger marketing approach in the contemporary business-to-business (B2B) marketplace.

Practical implications

The A-C-O-W customer organization profiling matrix illuminates how challenger marketers can target the right customer organizations in the contemporary B2B marketplace.

Originality/value

The A-C-O-W customer organization profiling matrix is a pioneering concept for challenger marketing in B2B theory and practice.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 September 2023

Vibhas Amawate

Cause-related B2B marketing programs involve sponsoring organisations working with B2B suppliers with the help of non-profit organisations (NPOs) on practises relating to…

Abstract

Purpose

Cause-related B2B marketing programs involve sponsoring organisations working with B2B suppliers with the help of non-profit organisations (NPOs) on practises relating to environmental friendliness, workforce diversity, human rights, safety, philanthropy and business ethics. The study aims to identify the combinatory factors driving the adoption of Digital B2B platforms for managing cause-related B2B marketing programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts an innovative approach of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on data collated from top corporations in India supporting cause-related B2B marketing programs. Sponsoring organisations and NPO dyads (i.e. survey both) filled out an email survey on 264 cause-related B2B marketing programs.

Findings

The study establishes that the combination of technological, organisational and environmental factors would lead to the adoption of Digital B2B platforms in managing cause-related B2B marketing programs. The study identifies six combinations of these factors for adopting Digital B2B platforms within and across sponsoring organisations and NPOs.

Practical implications

The study findings would aid cause-related B2B marketers in developing Digital B2B platforms’ capabilities by understanding the different combinations of factors driving adoption. Digital B2B platforms’ capabilities can improve market performance if developed as core competencies.

Social implications

The study findings would enable improvements in the implementation and performance of cause-related B2B marketing programs. Better management of cause-related B2B marketing programs would help increase beneficiary coverage and the realisation of societal goals.

Originality/value

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to apply the TOE framework in conjunction with complexity theory to explain the diffusion of adoption of Digital B2B platforms for managing cause-related B2B marketing programs.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2020

Rocío Rodríguez, Göran Svensson and Greg Wood

This study aims to assess the determinants of corporate direction in sustainable development through time in a B2B setting.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the determinants of corporate direction in sustainable development through time in a B2B setting.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has been conducted in one industry, and overcoming contextual bias as a judgmental sampling was used to select the organizations studied in a Business to Business (B2B) setting.

Findings

The determinants of sustainable development in this study indicate the existence of different corporate directions in a B2B setting taken through time in the healthcare organizations studied. The determinants found are change in organizational leadership, financial assets of the organization, religious orientation of the organization, organizational connection to the healthcare system, internal values of the organization and top-staff orientation in the organization.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical findings reported in a B2B setting have disclosed key determinants of corporate direction in sustainable development.

Practical implications

The determinants provide managerial guidance to assess the corporate direction in a B2B setting taken in the continuing development of sustainable practices in these organizations.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a multidimensional framework of determinants in a B2B setting to assess the corporate direction taken in sustainable development through time in a B2B setting. The organizational gap between past and present sustainable development provides guidance to assess the corporate direction in B2B taken by an organization into the future.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2022

Jared M. Hansen, Joseph W. Hansen and Susan R. Madsen

The purpose of this research is to outline and investigate a set of five experience elements from neuroscience research labeled SCARF that could impact the quality of perception…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to outline and investigate a set of five experience elements from neuroscience research labeled SCARF that could impact the quality of perception, evaluation and engagement of executives, managers and employees in business-to-business (B2B) companies during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed experience elements are perceived status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness. The authors demonstrate that all five elements are influential factors in B2B employees’ workplace environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors outline several specific managerial implications and describe how companies can make better decisions related to several important market crisis decisions via a growth mindset built on the five experience elements. The authors also pay attention to implications to several B2B areas of research focus, including salesforce management and buying/supplier relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first examine existing B2B research to gauge if the five elements have been examined in B2B business contexts. They then analyze a combination of quantitative and qualitative survey data from 335 employees of different B2B companies to see if the five experience elements surface in discussion on how the pandemic has impacted their work experience and careers.

Findings

The authors find that several B2B research studies have looked at each of the individual components of the SCARF model, but none of them have yet included all five elements together in research or looked at them in the context of COVID-19. The results of analysis of surveys from employees in 335 B2B companies provide strong evidence that all five elements are influential factors in B2B employees workplace environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

This study contributes to prior research focusing on how B2B companies can thrive during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The research offers valuable practical insights and detailed examples of how to apply a set of five elements/experiences that industrial and business-to-business organization leaders should adopt in their conscious decision-making evaluation and in their communications with employees, suppliers and customers during and after the pandemic.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 37 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2009

Kevin Lane Keller

In part because of the complexity and large risks involved, branding plays an important role in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Although marketers of B2B brands must do many…

Abstract

In part because of the complexity and large risks involved, branding plays an important role in business-to-business (B2B) markets. Although marketers of B2B brands must do many of the things that marketers of any kind of product or service must do, six guidelines that are more unique to B2B settings can be defined.

First, the entire organization should understand and support branding and brand management. Employees at all levels and in all departments must have a complete, up-to-date understanding of the vision for the brand and their role. A brand mantra – a short three- to five-word summary of the essence of a brand – can help with this vertical and horizontal alignment.

Second, a corporate branding strategy should be adopted if possible with a well-defined brand hierarchy. Ideally, sub-brands would be created that combined a well-known and highly credible corporate brand name with descriptive product modifiers.

Third, to avoid falling into a commoditization trap, sufficient differentiation must be established to justify price premiums. To sustain that premium, it may be necessary to “frame” value perceptions to ensure that customers appreciate a brand's differences. Fourth, one often overlooked means of differentiation is to link brands to relevant non-product-related brand associations related to customer service, well-respected customers, or clients, etc.

Fifth, emotional associations related to a sense of security, social or peer approval, and self respect can also be linked to the brand and serve as sources of brand equity. Finally, customers must be carefully segmented both within and across companies and tailored marketing programs developed for these different segments.

Adopting these six guidelines will increase the likelihood of creating a strong B2B brand, reaping all the benefits that such an achievement entails.

Details

Business-To-Business Brand Management: Theory, Research and Executivecase Study Exercises
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-671-3

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2023

Russell Abratt and Nicola Kleyn

As B2B firms face increasing scrutiny due to increased stakeholder awareness of environmental and social concerns, doing business with a conscience has become an important…

Abstract

Purpose

As B2B firms face increasing scrutiny due to increased stakeholder awareness of environmental and social concerns, doing business with a conscience has become an important imperative. Despite a growing focus on conscientious corporate branding (CCB), the construct has never been clearly defined, and many of the exemplars used to depict CCB have focused on a B2C context. The purpose of this research paper is to define CCB, to develop a framework that leaders can apply to build and manage a conscientious corporate brand and to demonstrate application of the components of the framework in the B2B context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an exploratory approach and focuses on extant literature relating to operating with a conscience, including organizational purpose, ethical leadership, ethicalization of the organization, stakeholder co-creation, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Findings

This study shows how companies in a B2B context can use a framework that includes dimensions of purpose, ethics, stakeholder co-creation, sustainability and CSR to build a CCB through reconciling and integrating leadership and stakeholder perspectives to create and communicate sustainable and responsible behavior.

Research limitations/implications

This study opens the door for further research into the actions required to build CCBs. There is a need to validate the CCB framework in future studies.

Practical implications

This study identifies how to build a conscientious corporate brand and applies it in the B2B context.

Originality/value

This study expands our understanding of CCBs by providing a definition and framework to guide scholars and practitioners. Given the paucity of focus on CCB in the B2B context, the authors exemplify the framework using B2B examples.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2022

Safal Batra, Vishal K. Gupta, Sunil Sharma and Rahul Yadav

The purpose of this study is to investigate potential lenders of legitimacy for business-to-business (B2B) startups as reflected in the willingness of potential customers to do…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate potential lenders of legitimacy for business-to-business (B2B) startups as reflected in the willingness of potential customers to do business with startup firms. This study theorizes the role of familiarity with B2B startups, their founding teams and their product offerings in influencing perceptions about legitimacy among potential customers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from key decision-makers involved in B2B procurements in large Indian companies and analyzed using conjoint analysis.

Findings

Results suggest that familiarity with product/service offerings from B2B startups is the most salient factor in forming favorable assessments for the venture, followed by the awareness of the startups and their founding teams, in that order.

Practical implications

The research makes several contributions to understanding the legitimacy of B2B startups from the customers’ perspective. The study provides a nuanced view of the factors impinging on legitimacy. The conceptualization of legitimacy as a reflection of willingness to buy (in other words, willingness to do business with) provides a useful lens with which to study the interactions between B2B startups and potential customers.

Originality/value

The strong empirical support the study finds for the predicted relationships in an international context, specifically India, enhances theory development, providing a solid foundation for future knowledge generation around the demand side legitimacy concept.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 37 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2020

Chris I. Enyinda, Abdullah Promise Opute, Akinola Fadahunsi and Chris H. Mbah

The purpose of this paper is to understand marketing–sales–service (M-S-S) interface from the point of how social media marketing (SMM) platforms are prioritized and associated…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand marketing–sales–service (M-S-S) interface from the point of how social media marketing (SMM) platforms are prioritized and associated business-to-business (B2B) sales process influence. This study also seeks to understand whether effective triadic alignment is achieved between marketing, sales and service.

Design/methodology/approach

This study combines literature review and the analytical hierarchy process model. In total, 30 M-S-S managers of a multinational electronics firm situated in Africa and the Middle East participated in this study. The authors collected data from M-S-S managers during training sessions on marketing, sales, service alignment and SMM role in sales process.

Findings

In their drive for customer orientation and improved organizational performance, marketing, sales and service managers view understanding the customer as the most important sales process attribute. Considered second most significant sales process attribute is needs discovery, whereas approaching the customer is ranked the least important. From the ratings of sales process attributes evaluation and rankings of SMM platform alternatives, the results show a significant hierarchical influence of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter on sales process. The results also show an enabling influence of SMM activity on M-S-S interface alignment.

Research limitations/implications

This study has a twofold limitation. First, it explored only one major B2B firm in the electronics industry. Second, only the African and Middle East settings are considered in this study. These limitations could be addressed in future research.

Practical implications

This paper provides practical insights into how M-S-S managers may leverage social media to enhance customer orientation and boost organizational performance. The use of SMM can help M-S-S managers of the focal firm to predict purchase behavior of customers more accurately and as a result effectively manage and improve sales performance. In that drive of using SMM-based competitive intelligence to deliver superior customer experience and enhance sales performance, B2B marketing-oriented firms can also leverage the interdependence (information sharing and involvement) in the M-S-S interface during the SMM activity to enhance triadic alignment.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by developing a framework for modeling SMM influence on M-S-S and B2B sales process to deliver superior customer experience and drive business performance.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 36 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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