Jan Philipp Graesch , Susanne Hensel-Börner , Jörg Henseler
{"title":"Customer success management through alignment of marketing, sales and IT","authors":"Jan Philipp Graesch , Susanne Hensel-Börner , Jörg Henseler","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.05.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Digitalization unites marketing, sales and IT (M-S-I) actors in the context of customer interactions. However, currently, little is known about the dynamics underlying the interplay and the alignment of these three actors. Additionally, salespeople are increasingly challenged by customer success management (CSM) for remaining accountable to customers in the postpurchase phase of customers' journeys. This study examines the organizational alignment of M-S-I actors using a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted in the context of a case study of four matched triads of M-S-I actors—including the executive directors of each company—throughout the customer journey to explore the dynamics underlying this trilateral alignment. The findings demonstrate six dimensions and twenty attributes of alignment, which are integrated into the <em>COMPLY</em> framework to provide guidance regarding how to adjust the alignment among M-S-I actors. This approach results in the discovery of novel key propositions for intradimensional alignment and ultimately interdimensional interventions, thereby revealing ways in which researchers and managers can analyze and adjust alignment among M-S-I actors, with the ultimate goal of facilitating CSM more effectively. This study contributes to existing models of alignment as well as to CSM research and provides guidance on how to analyze and adjust alignment for organizational M-S-I actors.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"120 ","pages":"Pages 1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000749/pdfft?md5=3b9c2042735a1f0cf50cab78a2e138ba&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000749-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140914417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Product development the IKEA way – The role of target costing as a framing device to configure and combine resources in networks","authors":"Enrico Baraldi , Torkel Strömsten","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Relying on two embedded case studies of product development within IKEA's industrial network, this paper examines the role of Target Costing as an accounting tool that has the capacity to frame development efforts into either exploitative or explorative projects. Such a framing affects, in turn, the configuration of the relevant network of resources and mediates the behavior of the actors involved via specific types of controls. We contribute to the IMP-inspired literature on innovation and product development as we add nuances to how the concepts of exploitative and explorative innovation paths play out on a network level, especially in relation to the resource dimension. In addition, the notion of the mediating role of accounting adds to how we can understand control and its consequences in an interorganizational network context. Our data consists of several sources, about 70 interviews with individuals working at IKEA and its partners. We also had access to internal company material such as costing calculations. Our study has practical implications as it can help managers identify which types of control to use and how these can be matched with different innovations strategies on a network level.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 206-217"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000683/pdfft?md5=efd8521b3f9544ab24016a1d6715f2e4&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000683-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140824181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Crisis-driven innovations in marketing","authors":"Neha Rishi , Vinay Sharma , Devashish Das Gupta , Y.P. Singh , Raj Agnihotri","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Activities performed from the conception of the product to the delivery to support the business have been at the center of marketing. Crises like COVID-19 have brought pivotal changes and innovations in marketing functions and processes. This paper aims to curate and organize what firms did regarding innovation in marketing during the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 and may do in crises-driven situations. Our analysis captured organizational responses collected from 957 respondents grouped into four drivers of innovations in marketing, namely marketing mix, process, technology, and strategy. The results revealed that, though marketing mix as a driver of innovation remained crucial as the backbone of marketing activity, it was followed by process and strategy, which became prominent in a crisis-driven environment. This study also shows that technology could be a facilitator of drivers and cannot be seen as a replacement for marketing processes. This can assist organizations in understanding how businesses on various fronts in marketing innovate, survive, and grow more vital during a crisis, further aiding managers in comprehending and creating marketing strategies in turbulent times.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 135-146"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140815370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adversarial Service Networks: A Study of Service firms","authors":"Oliver Wirths , Zsófia Tóth , Carlos A. Diaz Ruiz","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study examines the adversarial dynamics that emerge when service firms assess that manufacturers' servitization initiatives pose an existential risk to their survival as independent organizations. Adopting an industrial networks perspective, this investigation explores how service firms respond to manufacturers' servitization initiatives that threaten to disintermediate them. The study explores how Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul firms (MROs) in the aviation industry respond to servitization initiated by Original Equipment Manufacturing firms (OEMs). Empirically, interviews with 49 experienced managers were conducted in the service network to understand their strategic pathways. Their responses reveal that MROs can <em>resist</em> servitization by strengthening their relationships with airlines or developing service-led advanced services. Alternatively, MROs can <em>support</em> OEMs' servitization by becoming subcontractors or licensed resource integrators. This study shows that servitization depends on the orchestration of service network actors with differing interests, making it contingent and multilateral.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 162-177"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000609/pdfft?md5=fa10fd17cacfa47f2283c5be4b78ca24&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000609-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140818202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Green brand identity and B2B channel partners' tactical green marketing orientation: Moderating effect of brand governance","authors":"Shilpi Jain , Sriparna Basu , Yogesh K. Dwivedi","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Even though environmental values and sustainable branding have garnered much attention in the B2C context, B2B contexts remain relatively less explored. This study introduces a novel synthesis of Signaling theory and Stewardship theory and examines the moderating impact of brand governance on the relationship between green brand identity, consistent communication and channel partner commitment, leading to tactical green marketing orientation. Distinguishing itself from previous research, our approach embraces a multi-perspective lens, delving into the viewpoints of both channel partners and organizations (i.e., managers). Employing an explanatory sequential mixed method design, the first phase involved an empirical survey with 248 respondents (Study 1). Subsequently, the second phase (Study 2) comprised qualitative interviews with 41 respondents. The findings from both studies converged, revealing a positive association between “consistent communication” and “attitude,” a robust connection between “attitude” and “commitment,” and a favorable correlation between “green brand identity” and “attitude,” ultimately leading to a positive relationship between “attitude” and “green tactical marketing orientation\". This research significantly contributes to the comprehension of B2B green brand positioning by demonstrating, that in the B2B context, brand governance influences channel partners' commitment and tactical green marketing orientation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 218-237"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140842954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Video-based sales interaction in cross-cultural B2B relationships: Potential (un)desired consequences","authors":"Jonna Koponen , Jaakko Metsola , Lotta Salin , Joona Keränen","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.05.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.05.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In contemporary and global business-to-business (B2B) markets, sales interactions are increasingly conducted via video-based technologies. However, research on the consequences of video-based sales interactions (VSIs) on customer relationships is surprisingly limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the consequences of VSIs on cross-cultural customer relationships. We employ a grounded theory approach and derive empirical insights from interviews with 31 salespeople in 17 sales organizations, and 8 of their customers from 8 customer organizations. The findings reveal how VSIs can enhance or restrict different dimensions (interactive, affective, relational, visual) of social presence in the relationship initiation and maintenance phases, and how this can lead to positive and negative relationship consequences. Overall, this study contributes to B2B marketing theory and practice by providing novel insights and a new understanding of the effects of VSIs on customer relationships and explains why and how they manifest in practice.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 238-251"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000737/pdfft?md5=ae493d4493771c047e533b829facc53a&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000737-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140880478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Désirée A.C. Wieland , Björn S. Ivens , Elizaveta Kutschma , Philipp A. Rauschnabel
{"title":"Augmented and virtual reality in managing B2B customer experiences","authors":"Désirée A.C. Wieland , Björn S. Ivens , Elizaveta Kutschma , Philipp A. Rauschnabel","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are promising approaches that B2B companies consider to be part of their customer experience management. However, this area is largely unexplored academically, resulting in a lack of theory and practical guidance. Based on existing customer experience and AR/ VR literature, we anticipate that these technologies can expand touchpoints in the customer journey, enhancing the experiences of professionals involved in purchasing activities by providing them with empowerment and support. Consequently, we applied exploratory, theory-building research to identify and organize current industry practices into a coherent framework and theorize their role in shaping customer experiences. For example, current marketing use cases include project and product visualization, event-based engagement, remote support, and employee training, and are particularly employed in the early stages of the customer journey. We also identified several benefits related to branding, relationships, transactions, costs, and sustainability. The theoretical contribution of our study extends the current understanding of the role of AR and VR in B2B customer experience management. It provides practical insights for B2B marketing professionals on the strategic deployment of AR and VR technologies to enhance customer experiences based on real-world examples.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 193-205"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000634/pdfft?md5=03a554eff96c73d973ae887bd5691ff3&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000634-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140824217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Incorporating direct customers' customer needs in a multi-dimensional B2B market segmentation approach","authors":"Yihui Elina Tang , Murali K. Mantrala","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Business-to-business (B2B) marketers typically segment their direct customers on two segmentation bases: <em>direct customers' expressed needs</em> and <em>evident behaviors</em>. However, direct customers' demand for business marketers' offerings is often ‘derived demand’, i.e., heavily influenced by the needs of their own downstream customers. Consequently, scholars suggest that marketers may benefit from incorporating these <em>customers' customer needs</em> as a third segmentation base, distinct from but possibly interrelated to the two bases of direct customers' needs and behaviors. However, extant joint segmentation models are limited to two-bases. Focusing on the addition of a third customers' customer needs basis, a new B2B joint segmentation model is proposed, allowing for three interrelated segmentation bases. The model is first validated in Monte Carlo simulation studies and then applied to segmenting the business customers (advertisers) of a US newspaper publisher seeking to enable more precisely targeted selling effort allocation and communications strategies. The model uncovered joint segments of business customers based on their behaviors, needs, and downstream customers' needs. Results demonstrate the advantage of the model that yields actionable segments of customers with similar downstream customer needs. Finally, model relevance and feasibility in contemporary B2B markets is confirmed in a qualitative study with experts in various industries.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 252-263"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141027212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding B2B customer journeys for complex digital services: The case of cloud computing","authors":"Claas Terpoorten , Jan F. Klein , Katrin Merfeld","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cloud computing services represent a rapidly growing business-to-business (B2B) market, but managers lack guidance on managing the customer journey for these complex digital services. To address this challenge, we conduct an exploratory qualitative study based on 20 interviews with providers and customers of cloud computing services, supplemented by data from observations. Our research highlights critical touchpoints along the customer journey in cloud computing markets and provides implications for B2B customer journey management. A key finding is that B2B customers' IT competency is a crucial differentiator in this market. That is, while IT-savvy companies evaluate these services independently and use them in a self-service fashion, IT-novice companies rely on multipliers (e.g., IT system houses) to act as support and gatekeepers to buying cloud computing services. This difference has implications for the composition of buying and usage centers, the development of the customer journey, and the control of touchpoints by the service provider. Thus, cloud service providers need to manage two types of customer journey: one directly focused on customers and another involving the management of multipliers. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for B2B practitioners to guide their customers through the journey for this complex digital service.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 178-192"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000671/pdfft?md5=97f4dab298608538de6cdc5331b9ac6c&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000671-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140824216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ahmed Shahriar Ferdous , Husain Salilul Akareem , Madhu Viswanathan , Linda D. Hollebeek , Allison Ringer
{"title":"Boosting app-based mobile financial services engagement in B2B subsistence marketplaces: The roles of marketing strategy and app design","authors":"Ahmed Shahriar Ferdous , Husain Salilul Akareem , Madhu Viswanathan , Linda D. Hollebeek , Allison Ringer","doi":"10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.04.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Subsistence marketplaces generate over US$4 trillion annual spend and host fifty million B2B subsistence micro-enterprises, globally. These enterprises are increasingly adopting technology-driven service innovations, including app-based mobile financial services, to boost retail supply value chain efficiency. However, fostering users' continued engagement <em>post</em>-adoption in these markets remains challenging. Addressing this issue, in Study 1, we gather insights into theories-in-use held by app-based service providers, subsistence micro-suppliers, and -retailers. This led to a conceptual model grounded on the stimuli-organism-response (S-O-R) framework and SD logic. In Study 2 we empirically test this model through a field study with a dyadic sample of 253 micro-suppliers and micro-retailers. The findings reveal that relationship-building marketing strategies increase engagement, while transaction-focused strategies hinder it. App functionality (vs. aesthetics), likewise, represents a key customer engagement driver. Increased app-based services engagement positively impacts on non-coercive power and relationship satisfaction. These findings offer actionable implications for policymakers and marketers, emphasizing technology's role in fostering financial and digital inclusivity and efficiency in traditionally underserved B2B subsistence marketplaces.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51345,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Marketing Management","volume":"119 ","pages":"Pages 147-161"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850124000701/pdfft?md5=cdac07ba43b935e04cbf849f09a7dde1&pid=1-s2.0-S0019850124000701-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140815369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}