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The importance of international markets has increased in the past years and will further increase in the future. This offers potential for being competitive, but especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is going along with a variety of risks, e.g. the competition in the domestic market intensifies. Nevertheless, in most cases, SMEs with foreign operations are more successful than SME operating solely in the domestic markets. Nevertheless, the internationalization activities of SME are often unsystematic and emotional, especially when looking for distribution partners. The research project “Empirical based development of an instrument for identifying and making decisions about the choice of market entry and the selection of distribution partners of SME of the tool and cutlery industry when developing foreign markets” deals with this topic. In this paper the results of a literature review and an expert discussion regarding market development and especially the process of finding distribution partners for foreign markets are presented. Also, further steps in the project dealing with aspects of realizing the detected success factors by using quality management methods are explained.

The first step comprises a literature review and an expert discussion with leading managers of SME, with the aim to receive information about market entry decisions and selection of distribution partners. Therefore, a literature review and an expert discussion with leading managers of SME are carried out. The discussions are evaluated with MAXQDA©, a software for qualitative data analysis. Next, a questionnaire is designed for a quantitative analysis of the topic and will be evaluated by using SMART-PLS. Then, the results will be used as input variable for a quality function deployment for identifying appropriate measures for implementing the prior identified success factors. Thereby, also quality management methods and techniques will be used for finding the “right” measures. In this context, also a method for selecting distribution partners will be developed which is based on the logic of supplier evaluation. Finally, an Excel-based tool will be developed which includes the results of the project and allows companies easily applying them.

A literature review and an expert discussion within the tool and cutlery industry have been carried out and analysed. Thereby, the need for action regarding the selection of distribution partners has been revealed as essential step for success in foreign markets. Literature mostly deals with aspects like choosing appropriate countries for market entry and market entry strategy but not with distribution partners. Expert discussion also has shown that choosing distribution partners is often managed with gut feel. It lacks a criteria-based approach for optimizing this step during the internalization process.

Finding adequate distribution partners for a successful entry into foreign markets has not been investigated thoroughly yet. The project offers insights into determining factors for the selection process and improves the distribution partner selection by using quality management methods, for instance, by adapting the fundamental procedure of supplier assessment for distribution partner assessment.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for performance evaluation of channel partners in distribution relationships and develop a scale to measure the proposed dimensions of performance.

The proposed framework is built on the theoretical foundations of salesforce control systems and organizational performance. The authors developed the measurement scale by the three-stage protocol and established the scale’s reliability, factor structure and validity through the data collected from 252 firm-channel partner dyads across automobile firms in India.

The proposed framework highlights three distinct dimensions of channel partners’ performance, i.e. output performance, the financial/other objective results; activity performance, the activities, behavior and process-compliance levels; and capability performance, the resources and capabilities of channel partners. An 18-item measurement scale is developed to measure the three proposed dimensions of channel partners’ performance.

The proposed framework conceptualizes the three key dimensions of channel partners’ performance that can assist firms in exercising a focussed approach to performance management in distribution channel relationships and other inter-firm contexts. This study contributes to the legitimacy and further development of research in the area.

The measurement scale provides valid and reliable items for a rigorous performance analyses of channel partners, both at the individual level as well as at the level of the distribution channel as a whole. These performance analyses have multiple applications, right from managing the day-to-day channel activities to steering the channel strategy.

The paper presents a multidimensional conceptual framework for performance evaluation of channel partners and provides a suitable instrument for operationalizing future empirical research in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the distribution strategies implemented by foreign firms in emerging markets, and to investigate whether they represent an opportunity for firms to innovate their practice. China is selected as the setting of the investigation as distribution is a critical determinant of business success for international firms operating there.

A multiple-case study approach is adopted by investigating the distribution strategies of four Italian firms in China. The collected data consist of interviews with firm managers and their distributors. To ensure triangulation and cross-verify the findings from the primary data, secondary data consisting of sector reports and newspaper articles were analyzed.

Results discuss how foreign firms develop their distribution system in China and suggest that emerging markets can enable reverse innovation in their distribution strategies.

The research suffers from the limitations of the generalizability of the findings as the study was carried out on a restricted number of firms, and it considered their strategies in one single market.

Managerial implications are discussed on the extent to which the Chinese distribution system still represents a key issue for foreign firms, but it also provides with opportunity for innovation.

While previous research on innovation in emerging markets has mainly focused on product innovation, this study suggests some areas for distribution innovation.

The present competitive marketing environment demands effective role of distribution channels to create and develop a value-based infrastructure where companies can easily distribute their products into the consumers’ market. Relationship bonding between the channel partners and the company strengthens marketing efficiencies of the distribution function, which is supported by policies of the companies relating to joint business actions and value sharing. Both the tangible functional value and emotional functionalities play a vital role in the continuous success and the growth of distribution channel. The purpose of this paper is to understand the value-based distribution channel relationship for greater channel equity in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.

The present study used a survey design to collect data from 156 FMCG channel members selected through stratified random sampling procedure. A five-point Likert-type scale was personally administered to obtain participants’ responses. Data were analysed using the Relative to an Identified Distribution (RIDIT) approach.

The findings of the current research paper have demonstrated that in the current competitive marketing environment, only the functional values are not enough. This research paper identifies that there is a strong need of emotional touch and linkages which leads to a symbiotic channel–company relationship and commitments in FMCG industry.

The present research is an original and innovative thought process of evaluating factors influencing the value-based distribution channel relationship for greater channel equity pertaining to FMCG industry by using the RIDIT approach.

The paper uses a relational view of strategy framework to measure and assess the sustainable success of base of the pyramid (BoP) projects. The authors posit that the relational view is a powerful way to determine if a firm's project might lead to sustainable competitive advantage, because if partner resources combine to create relation‐specific capabilities and competences, they may provide sustainable value, and the paper applies this method of strategic analysis to selected BoP projects.

The paper separates the secondary data analysis from the primary data analysis and offers four propositions, based on the combined relational view and BoP criteria. The authors apply the relational view framework to two BoP projects from Michigan‐based organizations. Each case is analysed using the framework, and the authors discuss how the resources of each of the BoP project partners create value, how tailored and scalable the projects are, how BoP end user needs are addressed, what resources partners contribute, and if the relation‐specific combination of resources create project level capabilities that are sustainable.

The sustainable success of BoP projects may be best achieved when the BoP project partners contribute valuable resources and when those resources combine to create relation‐specific capabilities that create sustainable success. It reinforces the importance of scale, BoP user needs, and engaging BoP customers as partners.

This paper tries to help explain why some BoP projects successfully create a sustainable competitive advantage, by building on strategic themes and using a variation of the relational view framework to examine resources and capabilities of the organizations that partner to serve people at the BoP.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how probabilistic simulation can be used to assist prospective general partners (GP) and limited partners (LP) of a venture capital limited partnership fund to evaluate alternative investment strategies for the proposed fund. The model presented in the paper is based upon observed characteristics of the venture capital market reported in the finance, economics, and management science literature. The body of the paper is organized as follows. In Section II we review the structural characteristics of the model. In Section III we present the results, in terms of ending wealth, obtained from simulating the fund's operations over its life under selected alternative investment strategies. In Section IV we show evaluations of the fund's simulated results under expected return, mean/variance and four moment approaches. In Section V, we present conclusions and implications of the results for financial management.

Although past studies have suggested that business-to-business (B2B) interfirm relationship management contributes to a firm’s omnichannel integration, little research has been undertaken to reveal how that happens. This study aims to draw upon the relational view to propose a research model that associates interfirm information technology (IT) capability and interfirm trust with omnichannel integration through interfirm integration (i.e. authority integration and cooperative integration). Furthermore, this work considers a firm’s channel usage variety as the boundary condition of the interfirm integration’s influence.

The research model was examined using a seemingly unrelated regression of archival data and matched a survey of 324 Chinese omnichannel firms.

Interfirm IT capability positively relates to authority integration, and interfirm trust positively relates to cooperative integration. Authority integration and cooperative integration are both positively associated with omnichannel integration. A high level of channel usage variety strengthens the relationship between cooperative integration and omnichannel integration.

Prior literature has called for research on the factors influencing omnichannel integration within a B2B setting. This study answers this research call by examining interfirm IT capability, interfirm trust and interfirm integration as factors associated with omnichannel integration. This work also examines how channel usage variety regulates the relationship between interfirm integration and omnichannel integration.

While some football clubs are recognised as popular brands, little is known about the way they leverage their brand in their merchandise retailing. To address this gap the purpose of this paper is to investigate retail branding strategies used by professional football clubs through brand equity and supply chain management. In particular, it analyses the type of product merchandised, the reasons for selling certain products and the ways through which football clubs merchandise, including their partners in distribution channels.

A qualitative approach was undertaken involving content analysis of 22 Scottish professional football clubs’ websites and annual reports, and semi-structured interviews with seven football clubs retail managers and four supply chain partners. Transcribed data were coded and thematically organised through an inductive process using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo 10.

Three types of merchandise have been identified: basic, fashion and short season. Building brand equity is considered the main motive for retailing merchandise. Some football clubs use intermediaries or outsourcers to respond to sudden consumer demands and to ensure high levels of service, whereas others have an integrated supply chain which allows for greater control.

This paper contributes to the discussion on the role of retailing in football club brand equity. It suggests initiating intermediaries in the distribution channels to build brand equity thus enabling clubs to become more responsive to consumer demand.

This is the first paper to look at retail branding strategies of professional football clubs.

This paper aims to explore how music festival organisers negotiate diversity and inclusion in marketing and promotion practices through symbolic and social boundaries.

Based on semi-structured interviews with 18 festival organisers in Rotterdam and participant observation with six festival photographers I show that symbolic and social boundaries are employed in three areas: (1) boundaries in festival format (i.e. [partially] free or ticketed), (2) boundaries in distribution partners and technologies and (3) boundaries in promotional content.

Symbolic and social boundaries are intentionally used by festival organisers to build and delineate festival audiences. Implications are drawn on current understandings of the accessibility of music festival spaces, arguing that festival research should move beyond within-space dynamics to grasp the negotiation of diversity and inclusion at festivals more fully.

While music festivals are often marketed as celebratory spaces that are “welcoming to everyone”, few studies have investigated diversity and inclusion nor marketing and promotion practices at music festivals. This study shows how festival audiences are shaped through marketing and promotion practices.

This teaching case focuses on the field of marketing, particularly, the situation of building a global brand as small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) internationalizing from an emerging market.

It is recommended for postgraduate and post-experience students, for example, in MBA programmes and executive education courses.

This teaching case focuses on the field of marketing, particularly, the situation of building a global brand as SME internationalizing from an emerging market. It is recommended for postgraduate and post-experience students, for example, in MBA programmes and executive education courses. BOS Brands provides an interesting case on the internationalisation experience of a Born Global firm, particularly from an emerging market context. This medium-sized South African business develops, distributes and markets Rooibos-based beverages in Southern Africa and Europe, with eyes on a broader global presence. The case provides insights into the strategic decisions required to successfully take a medium-sized business into competitive foreign markets without the capital and support enjoyed by many larger multinational corporations. Among other issues, BOS Brands provides fertile ground to explore the selection of target country and entry mode, overcoming cultural and physical distance, opportunity recognition and the roles of networks and innovation.

The expected learning outcomes are to: analyse the decision-making process of the internationalising SME in terms of internationalisation factors, timing and phases and evaluation of potential target countries and entry mode options and launch marketing approach; understand the complexities of marketing in a foreign cultural and business context (including cultural and physical distance); and develop alternative marketing strategies for an entrepreneurial SME to grow internationally given limited resources.

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CSS 8: Marketing.