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1 – 10 of 120
Article
Publication date: 1 September 1999

Stella G. Kavali, Nikolaos X. Tzokas and Michael J. Saren

As the thoughts and actions of marketers focus on the philosophy of relationship marketing (RM), the purpose of this paper is to broaden our understanding of the concept for its…

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Abstract

As the thoughts and actions of marketers focus on the philosophy of relationship marketing (RM), the purpose of this paper is to broaden our understanding of the concept for its effect on ethical behaviour in organisations. Whilst there is evidence of strong ethical inputs in the theory formation of RM, there is also a need to separate rhetoric from reality. In this paper we argue that despite the evidence that RM is inherently a concept with strong ethical roots, there is a gap between the theory of RM and its actual practice. Indeed, major changes in values and ethics may be required if RM is to be truly adopted. Otherwise there is a danger of allowing RM’s ethical inputs (commitment, trust, etc.) to become axiomatic without being subjected to sufficient critical scrutiny at the practical level. We believe that the RM philosophy is capable not only of contributing genuinely to the strategic discourse of contemporary organisations, but also of playing the role of the social advocate by fostering mechanisms which will generate ethical introspection and promote ethical decision making.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 37 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 April 2012

Christopher J. Medlin and Michael Saren

Business and customer relationships build on interactions between the parties. However, the marketing literature does not pay much attention to the concept of interaction…

Abstract

Business and customer relationships build on interactions between the parties. However, the marketing literature does not pay much attention to the concept of interaction. Interaction is a central construct of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group as a result of a strong empirical focus on interfirm relations. However, even this research does not strongly address the interaction construct. Interaction between parties in the economic world refers to the exchanges and communications between parties that lead to development of relationships.

While interaction occurs in the on-going present, the purpose is always about creating a future for each of the participants in the relationship. Based on the authors’ presentation at the International Colloquium in Relationship Marketing at Leipzig, Germany, in September 2006, this chapter presents a model of interaction within business and customer relationships that relies upon time and cognition to explain the formation of relationships (or atmosphere) through interactive cognitive processes. This model allows an analysis of the ways the future is shaped in different types of business and customer relationships, depending on the relative ability of the parties to have an effect on the future. The analysis shows how firms and customers work to slow down or speed up change. The final section of the chapter addresses the research implications.

Details

Business-to-Business Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-576-1

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2011

Stephen L. Vargo

This paper aims to provide an overview of the European Journal of Marketing's special section on the Forum of Markets and Marketing, “Extending Service‐Dominant Logic”.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an overview of the European Journal of Marketing's special section on the Forum of Markets and Marketing, “Extending Service‐Dominant Logic”.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a conceptual integration of core concepts in S‐D logic, markets, and marketing.

Findings

This special section provides insight into the complexity of markets by investigating markets as configurations and systems and how value propositions drive value co‐creation.

Research limitations/implications

This introduction to the special section integrates individual contributions toward advancing S‐D logic and suggests that additional research in this area will help to develop a general theory of markets and marketing.

Practical implications

The overview of this special section provides insight into how the development of a positive theory of the market(s) will help to further advance normative marketing theories and practice.

Originality/value

This overview of the special section integrates multiple perspectives on complex, dynamic systems and discusses their contributions to the development of an S‐D logic‐based theory of the market.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

Susan Hart, Nikolaos Tzokas and Michael Saren

An overview of the success/failure literature in new product development points to a long list of critical success factors (CSF), which define what should be done to enhance new…

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Abstract

An overview of the success/failure literature in new product development points to a long list of critical success factors (CSF), which define what should be done to enhance new product success rates but not how to do it. The net result is failure rates which are marginal improvements on previous decades. The basic tenet of this paper is that the effective use of market information throughout the new product development process (NPD) can enhance the success rates of new products. We examine the contingencies affecting the perceived utility and use of market information in the NPD process and develop propositions describing these contingencies. The outcome of our discussion is a conceptual framework, which can aid research in this critical area of organisational activity.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1985

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover…

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Abstract

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2011

Michael Saren

This paper aims to look back at Michael Thomas' 1999 thesis regarding the impact on marketing of the information age. In his view, the information revolution of “e‐commerce” and…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to look back at Michael Thomas' 1999 thesis regarding the impact on marketing of the information age. In his view, the information revolution of “e‐commerce” and computer‐mediated markets removes distance as a barrier between buyer and sellers, which could empower or exclude consumers. This paper re‐considers Thomas' assessment and explores how the IT revolution has transformed, or not, relations between consumers and other “actors” in the marketplace.

Design/methodology/approach

This is conceptual paper that draws on literature and secondary sources to explore and evaluate the topic.

Findings

The dynamic and intertwined effects of any technology are notoriously difficult to determine and therefore the goal of this paper is to identify the empowering or exclusionary effects of IT on marketing is shown to be an ambitious one. On the basis of this review, we can conclude however that Thomas was correct in anticipating in 1999 that more and more of marketing interactions would become computer‐based. Its precise effects however are less clear. On the one hand, there are both elements of empowerment as well as exclusionary effects that have followed, but on the other hand, neither the direction of the trend, nor the precise nature of the effects, is clear as yet.

Research limitations/implications

One implication relates to research on internet communications which has highlighted the potential freedom of access and social anonymity that the internet provides. For example, some researchers have emphasised potential of cyberspace and identity‐play as escape routes from the physical, social and cultural constrictions of gender. However, other research indicates that, as with other technologies, the internet is embedded in social structures and cultural processes that can never be neutral.

Originality/value

This paper provides a review of relevant literature and empirical research. It identifies and evaluates four types of effects that IT has on marketing and consumers and considers the extent to which these have been empowering or exclusionary.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Ceren Altuntas and Duygu Turker

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the globalization/adaptation debate and corporate foundation activity within a small subset of such foundations. In the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the globalization/adaptation debate and corporate foundation activity within a small subset of such foundations. In the light of this debate, the study analyzes the corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches of this sample of corporate-owned foundations using the tri-dimensional CSR research model of Arthaud-Day (2005) to articulate the perspective, content and strategic orientations of the companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study selects three different corporate foundations based on internationalization scale and field of activities. A content analysis methodology is applied to the data collected from the official web sites of 24 corporate foundations.

Findings

The analysis results show a general compatibility between the subsidiaries and the main branches of the corporate foundations, at least on the conceptual level. However, the practices of CSR activities, targeted stakeholders or content domains differ at the operational level. Nevertheless, local governance is still not totally independent, especially in terms of received funds. Therefore, this study concludes that the internationalization strategies of these corporate foundations are still at a formative stage of transnationalization.

Research limitations/implications

The study explores the three selected international companies and their corporate foundations. Future studies may extend the number of selected industries and companies. Together with increased coverage, future survey studies may help explain the global or local orientations of corporate foundations’ CSR in different domains.

Practical implications

Corporate foundations may extend their transnational strategies to further stages by differentiating between those units that should be managed on a global scale and those that should be managed by local authorities. They may balance the amount of investment in different regions while adopting collaborative governance models to respond to regions where grant applications are not an easy tool for stakeholders to use.

Originality/value

Given the relatively paucity of CSR studies with an international focus, this study contributes to the standardization or localization debate in the international business literature. The study’s originality lies in its attempt to operationalize the theoretical research model and through its use of corporate foundations as the unit of analysis.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Montserrat Díaz-Méndez, Michael Saren and Evert Gummesson

From a service ecosystem perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine students’ evaluation surveys as a tool used by most higher education (HE) institutions worldwide to…

Abstract

Purpose

From a service ecosystem perspective, the purpose of this paper is to examine students’ evaluation surveys as a tool used by most higher education (HE) institutions worldwide to measure teaching quality with consequences for tenure and promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on the service-dominant (S-D) logic and specifically on the service ecosystem approach. Through an in-depth literature review and analysis the authors explore the effect of student evaluation surveys on the value co-creation process, describe the role they play in the HE ecosystem and critically evaluate their efficacy. The research is based on empirical data from the literature and previous studies findings.

Findings

The literature review highlights the detrimental consequences of the use of students’ evaluation surveys for teachers and students and for the rest of actors of this service. The authors argue that institutions should embrace a service ecosystem perspective based on S-D logic. The authors highlight the role of institutions as moderators of the interactions between actors and, finally, the authors have introduced the concept of “service ecosystem pollution” which the authors define as the presence or introduction of disruptive elements in the service ecosystem adversely affecting the nature of value co-creation.

Practical implications

This study emphasizes the importance for HE institutions to embrace a service ecosystem approach so as to foster and preserve the value co-creation processes taking place within the interactions among the HE actors. Conclusions drawn from this paper suggest that HE institutions should focus on strategies such as investing in improving students’ and teachers’ operant resources rather than polluting the HE service ecosystem with the use of students’ evaluation surveys.

Originality/value

Hitherto there are no studies analyzing the tools HE institutions use to measure teaching quality from a service ecosystem perspective. The study is especially valuable due to the consequences and the use of these measures entails for teachers, students and society.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1999

Mairead Brady, Michael Saren and Nikolaos Tzokas

There is widespread acceptance that information technology (IT) is a central component of business operations and extensively used in marketing. Aligned to this is the belief that…

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Abstract

There is widespread acceptance that information technology (IT) is a central component of business operations and extensively used in marketing. Aligned to this is the belief that marketing is experiencing radical and dynamic changes, many of which are IT driven. Reports a study of 204 Irish firms, which seeks to discover the level of transformation in the marketing function as a result of IT. Reviews whether marketers’ use of IT has progressed from simply automating existing marketing systems to actually using IT to transform their marketing capabilities. Aims to ascertain if marketing is achieving significant benefits from IT.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 37 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

Susan J. Hart and Michael J. Baker

A recent focus of attention in the new product development literaturehas been the need to quicken the process of development in order todecrease “time‐to‐market”. Various…

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Abstract

A recent focus of attention in the new product development literature has been the need to quicken the process of development in order to decrease “time‐to‐market”. Various amendments to the traditional activity‐stage models have been proposed, but few deal directly with the key aspect of speedier time to market, namely cross‐functional information management and horizontal management of the new product development process. Expands this argument and proposes “multiple convergent processing” as an appropriate conceptual framework in which to view new product development tasks. The anatomy of multiple convergent processing is examined in greater detail, showing how its focus on interaction among several parties and information exchange is an appropriate manner in which to encourage both the necessary technical and marketing inputs to the NPD process and the speed necessary for successful competitive new products. Finally, key elements of network analysis are proposed as an effective conceptual framework in which to study new product development.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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