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Book part
Publication date: 1 November 2008

Thomas Ritter and Achim Walter

Managers and academics alike focus on value creation in business relationships. This paper adds to existing literature by analyzing functions of business relationships and their…

Abstract

Managers and academics alike focus on value creation in business relationships. This paper adds to existing literature by analyzing functions of business relationships and their impact on value perception. Applying a customer perspective, direct relationship functions are concerned about payment, quality, and volume. Indirect functions include innovation, access, and scouting. Furthermore, trust and number of alternative suppliers are included in the study. The empirical results illustrate the important role of direct and indirect functions for value creation. Understanding these functions is instrumental for driving customer value, both for the supplier and the seller. Direct functions do have a much stronger impact on value than indirect functions that still do have a significant impact. Thus, increasing direct function fulfillment is much more effective in order to gain key supplier status than relying only on indirect functions. But indirect functions may offer ample differentiation opportunities. Being a strong driver of relationship value, trust is also driven by function fulfillment. Thus, relationship value depends on rational elements (functions) and social elements (trust). Availability of alternative suppliers increases the importance of relationship function fulfillment on customer value and customer trust. In highly competitive markets, suppliers need clear understanding and communication of relationship value in order to succeed.

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Creating and managing superior customer value
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-173-2

Book part
Publication date: 13 August 2014

Elina Pernu, Tuija Mainela and Vesa Puhakka

The present study approaches multinational corporations as internal networks that are constantly newly organized on the basis of relationships, operations, activities, and tasks…

Abstract

The present study approaches multinational corporations as internal networks that are constantly newly organized on the basis of relationships, operations, activities, and tasks at hand. It combines MNCs-as-networks view with the research on supplier–customer relationship development to conceptualize the relational dynamics in the MNCs. The dynamics are seen created as the interplay of organizing within internal networks and managing of the global customer relationships. Through an empirical study on a project business MNC and analysis of the events in its global customer relationship the study defines strategies of political compromising in MNC internal networks.

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Orchestration of the Global Network Organization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-953-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 June 2005

Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, Kevin P. Gwinner, Dwayne D. Gremler and Michael Paul

Customer relational benefits have been identified as a driving motivation for consumers to engage in long term relationships with service providers. Such benefits can be expected…

Abstract

Customer relational benefits have been identified as a driving motivation for consumers to engage in long term relationships with service providers. Such benefits can be expected to play a crucial role in the success of service firms when extending their business into other countries and cultures. Most of the previous discussion of relational benefits has been conducted almost exclusively in North-American contexts and has not addressed the impact a nation’s culture may have on the relevance of relational benefits for gaining relationship outcomes such as customer loyalty. The aim of this article is to deepen our understanding of the role of relational benefits in developing long-term relationships with consumers in a cross-cultural context. Specifically, propositions focusing on the moderating role of power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance for the benefits-outcomes relationship are developed. The article concludes with a discussion of potential implications for service firms and researchers.

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Research on International Service Marketing: A state of the Art
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-185-9

Book part
Publication date: 26 August 2010

Sergio Biggemann

Relationships are socially constructed by companies in interaction. This study explains the dynamic character of business-to-business relationships with the aid of rules theory, a…

Abstract

Relationships are socially constructed by companies in interaction. This study explains the dynamic character of business-to-business relationships with the aid of rules theory, a theory borrowed from the communications field. Two forms of rules are identified: constitutive rules guide the interpretation of the other's acts, and regulative rules guide the appropriate response to the interpreted act. Rules theory asserts that companies act as if applying these rules. Relationships provide not only the context in which the parties’ acts are performed but are also the result of such acts. Thus, relationships are potentially reshaped each time one party performs an act and the other party gives meaning to that act and reacts.

Details

Organizational Culture, Business-to-Business Relationships, and Interfirm Networks
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-306-5

Book part
Publication date: 14 October 2019

Sadia Cheema, Nirmal Ahsan, Sadaf Amjad and Zaira Yasmeen Bukhari

This study attempts to evaluate the antecedences of customer loyalty and the moderating effect of social media. Three antecedences are evaluated in this study, including service…

Abstract

This study attempts to evaluate the antecedences of customer loyalty and the moderating effect of social media. Three antecedences are evaluated in this study, including service quality expectation, product innovation, and customer relationship management. It investigates their impact on the dependent variable, which is customer loyalty and also study their relationships in the presence of the mediating effect of customer satisfaction and moderating effects of social media. The present study was conducted in the hospitality sector of Pakistan, in which eight hotels and restaurants have been studied. The sample was collected from three major cities of Pakistan, namely, Multan, Faisalabad, and Lahore. This present study provides essential intuition for managers and market analysts on building strong customer relationship management through social media and to increase customer loyalty through different factors.

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Advances in Hospitality and Leisure
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-956-9

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Abstract

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Review of Marketing Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7656-1306-6

Book part
Publication date: 16 August 2014

Anne-Maria Holma

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network…

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

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Deep Knowledge of B2B Relationships within and Across Borders
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-858-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 August 2018

Pihla Ruohonen, Sara Vikström and Emma Saarela

The chapter presents how business-to-business (B2B) actors may use branding as a tool for maintaining strong, long-term business relationships with their customers. Current…

Abstract

The chapter presents how business-to-business (B2B) actors may use branding as a tool for maintaining strong, long-term business relationships with their customers. Current knowledge on how to maintain business relationships is presented, related to branding as a tool contributing to long-term and strong business relationships. The phenomenon is studied in detail through a case company, Verso Globe, which operates in the consultancy area and is specialized in sustainability issues. The authors conclude that shared values and norms lead to beneficial business relationships and help maintain them. Also, the case company is closely collaborating and co-creating with its customers, which leads to technological adaptation and increases mutual commitment. A reputation of sharing values, having interest to develop, and co-creating with customers benefits the company and builds the corporate brand. The company culture must, however, support the efforts that make the brand. It is therefore important for B2B actors to understand the customer’s values and use it as a basis for customer relationship management activities. Concurrently, the company’s own values and how it directs employees are elements of its culture, which is the basis for the corporate brand. The perfect match of business relationships is therefore lies in aligning values and norms between the partners.

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Developing Insights on Branding in the B2B Context
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-276-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 September 2019

Yongmei Liu

Integrating relationship marketing and management research, the author explores internal selling (i.e., a salesperson’s internally focused efforts intended to identify, solicit…

Abstract

Integrating relationship marketing and management research, the author explores internal selling (i.e., a salesperson’s internally focused efforts intended to identify, solicit, and use internal sales resources to support external selling activities) as a unique source of salespeople role stress and examine its contingent outcomes. The conceptual model suggests that internal selling as a job demand and stressor leads to increased salespeople role stress. However, a number of situational (i.e., selling organization market orientation, service climate, and seller–buyer relationship) and individual factors (i.e., networking ability and psychological capital of the salespeople) serve as job and personal resources to moderate the internal selling–outcome relationships, such that when such resources are adequate, internal selling will reduce role stress and increase sales performance. The author also examines situational (i.e., customer solutions offering and formalization of the selling organization) and individual (i.e., salespeople power and social status) antecedents of internal selling. The model provides useful insights and practical guidance for selling organizations to recognize mechanisms associated with internal selling in their organizations, and to intentionally design within organization support systems to enhance salespeople well being and enable them to participate effectively in the relational process of selling. The chapter stresses the need to develop context-specific stress models for different occupations and job roles.

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Examining the Role of Well-being in the Marketing Discipline
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-946-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 January 2015

Nishant Kumar and Ali Yakhlef

The aim of this study is to examine how knowledge-intensive born global firms operating in international markets develop and maintain long-term relationships with their customers…

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine how knowledge-intensive born global firms operating in international markets develop and maintain long-term relationships with their customers that insure their continued growth beyond the initial stage of internationalization. The study adopts a case study approach, focusing on two Indian born global firms operating with the knowledge-based services sector. The study shows that getting to know the customer intimately helps firms to retain customers over long periods of time. Customer-relationship management strategy is in line with the entrepreneurial orientation of the firms under consideration.

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