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This study aims to explore how business-to-business service failures manifest in a manufacturing context.

The empirical research involved two case studies: case study one included 20 interviews in the metal finishing industry; case study two included 20 interviews in the paint and coatings industry. In both case studies, suppliers and customers’ perceptions were obtained to facilitate a dyadic understanding of the phenomena.

Business-to-business service failure is a complex, dynamic and interactive process. It varies according to type of service, services supporting the products and services supporting the customers, service quality dimensions and the source of the failure. It can have a more profound impact than service failure in a consumer context because it may cause disruption to customers’ production and have a negative influence of failure on their clients in the network.

Business customers may play a role in value co-destruction rather than value co-creation by causing service failures due to errors on their part. The consequences of the domino effects revealed in this study need to be given careful consideration by managers. The research is exploratory, and the findings may be influenced by the manufacturing sector in which the case study firms are based.

Business-to-business service failure has its own distinct characteristics, as it may impact widely in the business-to-business network. Domino effects implicitly dominate business-to-business service failure episodes where negative outcomes cascade downstream and affect service recipients’ customers.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of customer service/service quality in business‐to‐business contexts.

An in‐depth case study was used to discover the perceptions of both key individuals in the supplying company and key customers.

The paper shows that that customer service/service quality in a business‐to‐business context is a complex and multifaceted issue, the different parties in a relationship have differing perceptions of what constitutes service quality and that actors from the wider network can have an impact on perceptions of service quality.

This work is tentative in nature so it is not possible to generalise the findings to a wider context. However, it suggests that this area needs much more detailed and in‐depth investigation.

Managers need to be aware of the complexity of customers' service quality perceptions in a business‐to‐business context. They must consider dynamics, actions of other actors and how best to demonstrate their expertise and experience.

The findings of this research, although only exploratory, are significant because they are one of the few pieces of research into business‐to‐business service quality in which perceptions of quality from both sides of the dyad are collected and analysed.

The paper seeks to analyse and discuss the impact of information technology competence and relationship management on relationship value and relationship profitability.

The paper draws on an empirical study of 123 relationships. The data are analysed using regression analysis. Interaction effects and curvilinear effects are tested.

The empirical results reveal that information technology competence and relationship management have positive effects on relationship function fulfilment and profitability. Furthermore, an interaction effect between information technology competence and relationship management is identified, i.e. the compensatory relation between high‐tech (ITC) and high‐touch (relationship management) is demonstrated.

The limitations of the paper are the lack of dyadic data and the use of key informants. Further research could address these issues. Implications include the interplay between information technology competence and relationship management. The two concepts can replace each other to a certain degree but not fully as the main effects remain positive and significant.

The results of this study may lead to conscious decisions of how to apply the different means to create value and profits from relationships. The important message is that information technology competence can replace parts of relationship management but cannot do so totally. Also, “overcontacting” in relationships may produce dysfunctional effects. Thus, firms need to develop customer‐handling concepts which combine the two possible means in a synergetic way.

The paper combines two areas previously discussed separately, i.e. the influence of information technology competence on relationship functions and profitability and the influence of relationship management on relationships functions and profitability. This combination offers insights for researchers and practitioners.

This commentary aims to stimulate debate about the role of relationships in marketing. It raises the question of when it is appropriate to use the term relationship, requests a distinction between ongoing interaction and relationship, cautions against a “one size fits all” marketing theory and calls for much more focussed and innovative research in this area.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework for studying value creation derived from an ethical perspective, in a business marketing context. Design/methodology/approach – First, a conceptual and comparative analysis is made of the ethics and value concepts in two research traditions: the stakeholder approach and the business network approach. Second, a conceptual framework is developed that contains tools for conducting research on value co‐creation in business networks from an ethical perspective. An exemplifying case study from the paper industry is included. Findings – Four key concepts are proposed for further research into ethics and value creation in business networks that enable the study of ethical embeddedness: ethical network identity, ethical role, ethical position, and ethical atmosphere. The analysis also presents fundamental differences between the stakeholder and the business network approaches when dealing with ethics and value. Research limitations/implications – The developed conceptual framework should be applied in more extended empirical settings to evaluate its usefulness. Practical implications – The paper provides an ethical perspective for understanding value in industrial markets using a network approach. Originality/value – The study presents a novel approach to incorporating ethics and value creation to an industrial marketing context. Ethical issues are traditionally studied using stakeholder, agency or institutional perspectives and such research in business‐to‐business contexts is almost non‐existent. The business network approach contains very few studies from an ethical point of view. The paper covers this gap and offers a starting‐point for further inquiry into this field.

The paper describes exploratory research into the nature of the International/Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) conference papers with particular focus on content. A qualitative analysis of the Proceedings of the 16th Annual IMP Conference is presented. The results provide insights into the diversity of academic thought that fuels the development of the IMP network and allows us to begin charting the development of knowledge structures within past IMP conferences. Of particular interest are, first, the tentative knowledge structure that emerges, second, the depth of analysis that emerges from using multidimensional coding, and third, the utility of the process of successive categorisation.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the commonalities and differences in manufacturers’ motivations to servitise.

UK study based on interviews with 40 managers in 25 companies in 12 sectors. Using the concept of product complexity, sectors were grouped using the Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) typology: non-complex products, complex products and systems.

Motivations to servitise were categorised as competitive, demand based (i.e. derived from the customer) or economic. Motivations to servitise vary according to product complexity, although cost savings and improved service quality appear important demand-based motivations for all manufacturers. Non-complex product manufacturers also focus on services to help product differentiation. For CoPS manufacturers, both risk reduction and developing a new revenue stream were important motivations. For uniquely complex product manufacturers, stabilising revenue and increased profitability were strong motivations. For uniquely systems manufacturers, customers sought business transformation, whilst new service business models were also identified.

Using the CoPS typology, this study delineates motivations to servitise by sector. The findings show varying motivations to servitise as product complexity increases, although some motivational commonality existed across all groups. Manufacturers may have products of differing complexity within their portfolio. To overcome this limitation the unit of analysis was the strategic business unit.

Managers can reflect on and benchmark their motivation for, and opportunities from, servitisation, by considering product complexity.

The first study to categorise servitisation motivations by product complexity. Identifying that some customers of systems manufacturers seek business transformation through outsourcing.

This paper aims to explore the theoretical foundations of relationship marketing from the perspective of several management‐related disciplines, and to attempt a fresh perspective that seeks to integrate these contributions.

Despite the recent popularity of research into relationship marketing, there is still some confusion surrounding the concept of and how it differs both from “non” relationship marketing and from other ways of managing marketing relationships. This confusion reflects, to some extent, the diverse origins of the concept and the scarcity of research into such fundamental questions as what is a relationship, and what forms of relationship are more or less suited under different circumstances to management through relationship marketing. Taking a broad approach to the subject, the paper explores and integrates these theoretical foundations.

This article finds that an integrated account can be offered for the emergence of relationship marketing as a coherent area for research. Areas of marketing research with particular relevance to the development of research into relationship issues are: supply chain management, interaction theory, database marketing, and services marketing. Future research into relationship marketing should focus on: the rationale, processes and structures involved in relationship marketing.

The paper encompasses and integrates the diverse theoretical origins of relationship marketing and integrates the research traditions emerging from these origins as they relate to relationship marketing. The paper then considers the implications and priorities for the future development of research and theory in relationship marketing.

This paper aims to outline the purpose, planning, development and delivery of the “1st Academic-Practitioner Research with Impact workshop: Customer Experience Management (CEM) and Big Data” held at Alliance Manchester Business School on 18th and 19th January 2016, at which four subsequent papers were initially developed.

The paper sets out a summary of the importance and significance of the four papers developed at the workshop and how the co-creative dialogue between managerial practitioners, presenting key problems and issues that they face, and carefully selected teams of academics was facilitated.

To develop richer and more impactful understanding of current problems challenging customer-focused managers, there is a need for more dialogue and engagement between academics and practitioners.

The paper serves as a guideline for developing future workshops that aim at strengthening the links between academia and the business world.

This paper highlights the value of academic–practitioner workshops for focusing academic research on areas of importance for practitioners to generate impact. The innovative format of the workshop and the resulting impactful papers should serve as a call and motivation for future academic–practitioner workshop development.

The intangible nature of banking services enables financial institutions to deliver them through electronic channels. In addition, the interactive and continuous nature of banking services is conducive to relationship development. It would, therefore, be beneficial for the dyad to build exchange relationships online. This exploratory research investigates the effect of e‐banking on the development of retail relationships in Cyprus.

The perspective of both sides of the dyad is incorporated through face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews. The empirical base used is the Cypriot retail banking sector.

The findings suggest that in the specific context, e‐banking has a significant impact on relationship development, especially at the first stages of the developmental process, but it cannot substitute the other delivery channels.

In view of the contextuality of exchange relationships, it is recognised that the results may be context‐specific and as such, future research should investigate the impact of online delivery systems in alternative cultures and service settings.

The findings create a number of managerial implications, including the need for banks to invest both in e‐platforms and in the development of their employees, as well as the need to systematically appraise customer relationships.

The paper is of value to both academics and practitioners as it addresses the pressing need to investigate exchange relationships using a processual perspective and offers insights into the developmental process of Cypriot retail bank‐client relationships.