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The decision concerning the degree of product and service customization is crucial, yet has scarcely been studied for small businesses in business-to-business (B2B) contexts. Although such a decision allows relationships with potential customers to be strengthened, it might involve high opportunity costs given the investment required. This paper aims to analyse the profitability of customization undertaken by small businesses in terms of cost–benefit and examine the drivers of profitable customized projects vis-à-vis the ability to strengthen relationships with clients (relationship investment and customer involvement) and the firm’s resources related to processes and technology (expertise and modularity).

To test the proposed hypotheses, data were collected from 140 small Spanish firms involved in two sectors characterized by the offer of customized solutions: information and professional, scientific and technical services.

Analysis reveals that customer involvement in the customized solution, even when it requires investing in equipment, time or human resources has a positive effect on customization and ultimately on profitability, as the cost of this customer interaction is lower than the revenue it provides. Likewise, supplier investment in the relationship allows for a solution that is adapted to the client, although it requires a cost associated with investing in specific assets. Such costs cancel out the positive indirect effect through the customized solution. Finally, expertise enables appropriate use of the flexibility derived from modularity to satisfy customer requirements, with both being key company resources for driving profitability through customized solutions.

This study makes a contribution to the domain of customization. The authors extend current knowledge on B2B customization by proving that small firms can use their available capabilities and knowledge to achieve a successful customization strategy.

The current work seeks to analyze the different effects of three alternative strategic marketing orientations – market orientation, sales orientation, and product orientation – on non‐profit organizations' effectiveness, specifically their economic and social effectiveness.

In order to test the hypotheses proposed, an empirical analysis of 182 Spanish museums was conducted.

The study reveals that social effectiveness relates highly to product and customer orientation, whereas economic effectiveness mainly depends on sales orientation and inter‐functional coordination.

The results suggest that applying a marketing orientation centered on the product and knowing the visitor is critical for successfully fulfilling the objectives of conservation and diffusion of culture. Moreover, the organization needs to focus on sales, on the internal customer, and on the coordination between the managing institutions, to be able to achieve satisfactory economic results.

This work makes an empirical contribution to the analysis of market orientation on cultural organizations. Although previous research has underlined the relevance of a market orientation for museums and cultural organizations, few empirical analyses have been developed until now.

While a vast number of studies have pointed out the keys of relationship marketing practices in consumer markets, little attention has been paid to the value the organization can get from such strategies. The literature provides relatively little support for the effectiveness of relationship marketing programs. The purpose of this research is to produce some evidence of the association between customer relationship marketing strategies and the market and economic performance of the firm.

The proposed hypotheses are tested in the case of car repair and maintenance services, as a case where long‐term relationships are frequent. The hypotheses were evaluated using a path analysis, which associates relationship marketing activities with market performance (customers' perceptions, market position and loyalty) and market performance with economic performance.

The findings suggest that the effect of attraction and loyalty programs is greater on market performance than on economic performance. Furthermore, the results show that attracting customers through a good service quality and reaching a good position in the market have greater impact on economic results than loyalty.

As a managerial implication, the authors suggest that service providers should put their efforts on improving quality rather than on promotion, advertising or economic bonus to customers.

This article realizes the importance of product and service quality rather than promotions, advertising or economic bonuses in retaining customer loyalty.

It has been noted in the literature on inter‐organisational relationships that long‐term cooperation is more effective in a business environment characterised by interdependence, commitment and trust. However, there is not enough knowledge about the effect of interdependence in different trust contexts. This paper draws on several theoretical contributions to examine the interaction of economic and social factors as determinants of industrial buyer‐seller relationships. In order to test the proposed hypotheses information was collected relating to supplier‐manufacturer relationships in the automotive industry. As expected, the empirical results indicate that trust moderates the effect of interdependence on the relational orientation of the exchange in that it enhances the relational orientation perceived by both manufacturer and supplier. A discrepancy was also found between suppliers’ and manufacturers’ relationship perceptions. The theoretical and managerial implications of the results are also discussed.