Babu John Mariadoss

Buffering and Amplifying Effects of Relationship Commitment in Business-to-Business Relationships

Using an assimilation and contrast framework, the authors assess the buffering and amplifying effects of relationship commitment on organizational buyers’ intentions to switch suppliers when a relationship is strained by the incumbents own misbehavior. The results of three studies show that both calculative and affective commitment buffer incumbent suppliers against minor incidences of their own misbehavior but that affective commitment also reliably amplifies the adverse effects of an incumbent suppliers flagrant opportunism. Process tests indicate that buyer perceptions of supplier conformance to normative standards account for (completely mediate) the observed buffering and amplification effects in a manner consistent with the underlying assimilation and contrast framework.

Challenges of CRM Implementation in Business-to-Business Markets: A Contingency Perspective

In this paper, the authors discuss the importance of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in complex and simple selling settings and examine how CRM is implemented in both contexts. Specifically, they suggest that CRM strategies can be implemented from the top-down, originating from top management decisions, or from the bottom-up, stemming from the knowledge and experience of the frontline salespeople. After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, the authors develop a CRM continuum using bottom-up and top-down CRM strategies as end points. Finally, the authors offer concrete propositions and research initiatives for future investigation.

Customer Clusters as Sources of Innovation-Based Competitive Advantage

The authors examine the effect of customer clusters on a firms innovation. They argue that knowledge leveraged from customer clusters can help the firm develop innovations. The authors specifically concentrate on the effect of a firms geographical proximity and diversity of customer clusters on innovation outcomes. In addition to showing the importance of customer cluster proximity on firm innovation, they explore the effect of customer cluster heterogeneity on innovation in an international marketing environment. They test the theoretical model using multicountry data (N = 288) drawn from the U.K. innovation survey implemented by the Economic and Social Research Council, which collected the data across five European countries. Theoretical constructs operate largely as hypothesized and explain a substantial proportion of the variation in the different innovation outcomes tested.

Service Transition Strategies in Manufacturing Implications for Firm Risk

This article investigates the impact of service transition (the infusion of services in addition to goods to a manufacturing firm’s offering) on firm-idiosyncratic risk. The authors analyze a unique data set of 168 publicly traded manufacturing firms over a 6-year financial window (2006–2011), with the results showing that service transition produces a substantial increase in idiosyncratic risk. This effect, however, varies depending on critical firm contexts. First, strategic coherence (research and development intensity and service relatedness) mitigates market misgivings and causes idiosyncratic risk to decrease as service becomes more central to the offering. Second, misappropriation of resources (marketing expenses and resource slack) exacerbates the impact, resulting in increased firm risk. In light of the findings, the authors were able to expand the primary theoretical underpinnings concerning service transition by (1) providing a more holistic framework to view the phenomenon (behavioral theory of the firm), (2) demonstrating contextual boundaries around service transition, and (3) providing managers with useful insights to inform strategic firm-level decisions.

The influence of organizational and functional support on the development of salesperson job satisfaction

This article investigates whether organizational and functional support (OS and FS) provided to the sales force are distinct determinants of salesperson job satisfaction. We examine whether salesperson trust in their supervisor and in the organization serve as mediating mechanisms through which OS is translated to salesperson job satisfaction. Using data from 157 salespeople in a health care field setting, we explore the relationship between OS and job satisfaction as mediated by trust and moderated by the extent of FS provided to salespeople. Study results were consistent with the hypothesized conceptual scheme of moderated mediation, in that FS moderated the indirect effect of OS on job satisfaction through trust in organization but not through trust in supervisor. These findings broaden current understanding of relationships among trust, OS and job satisfaction and illustrate that the OS–salesperson job satisfaction linkage is more nuanced than previously depicted. This study has important implications for the practice, as it reinforces the notion that trust is essential in a social based employment relationship, yet challenging to manage. Organizations should avoid overinvesting in specific support offered to the sales force and train their supervisors to enact the most effective support practices.

Supplier and Customer Involvement in New Product Development Stages: Implications for New Product Innovation Outcomes

This paper investigates the relationships among supply chain participants’ involvement at various stages of new product development (NPD) and a firm’s innovation outcomes in terms of number of new product introduction and new product radicalness. A total of 107 questionnaires were collected from a cross-sectional survey of NPD managers. Results show significant impacts of suppliers’ and customers’ involvement on the firm innovation outcomes in the various NPD stages. Suppliers’ involvement in the firm NPD process influences negatively or is not related to firm innovation success in the various NPD stages. However, customers’ involvement affects positively or is not related to firm innovation success in the various NPD stages. This indicates that the distinct features of the various NPD stages make customer or supplier involvement more or less appropriate at each stage. Therefore, this paper provides significant managerial implications for supply chain practitioners regarding with whom, when, and how they ...