Elina Närvänen

Reinventing marketing strategy by recasting supplier/customer roles

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose that the recasting of supplier and customer roles reconfigures the role of marketing. Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual paper that suggests the need to rethink the role of marketing in the strategic decision making of companies. The study accesses recent theories of marketing, service and value and provides illustrative case examples. Findings - Consumers are progressively more active and the traditional supplier role of controlling consumers is less viable. The case examples show the variety of ways in which companies may adopt a new role in relation to customers and the market. The paper argues that adapting to this role change needs to take place at the highest level in the company and is the way to reinvent marketing strategy. This also necessitates marketing employing unconventional methodologies and relevant theory to address the complexity and ambiguity of current markets. Research limitations/implications - The paper is a conceptual paper restricted to supplier and customer roles, albeit set in a broader context of stakeholders. Practical implications - The marketing-oriented supplier of the future can design service systems and exert a certain control at the same time adapting to and supporting consumer initiatives through interaction in networks of stakeholder relationships. Originality/value - Stressing the new roles of consumers and suppliers; reinventing the role of marketing, breaking with conventional marketing research methodology.

Disentangling customer orientation – executive perspective

Purpose – Despite the fact that customer orientation is increasingly used as a strategic guideline to ensure companies’ long-term success, it is too often left at conceptual level without any managerial or executive translation. To address this practical gap, the purpose of the paper is to build an executive perspective on customer orientation through the mechanism of customer value dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – An intensive case study from a successful retail service business is used to illustrate how customer orientation is applied in actual strategic decision making at the executive level. The case business is a multi-sector service business that took a strategic turn toward customer orientation in the 2000s. As a result, the company has been able to increase their market share to become the market leader as well as stay ahead of the competition and increase customer loyalty. Findings – The study provides a practical tool of disentangling customer orientation into four customer value dimens...

The collective consumption network

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a network perspective to the study of collective consumption. The authors examine the characteristics of heterogeneous consumption collectives formed around a Finnish footwear brand. The case is both theoretically and practically relevant. It differs from previous research by featuring consumer grassroot activities, face-to-face interaction and strong pre-existing social relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative case study research was conducted with different methods of data generation including interviews, participant observation and cultural materials such as newspaper articles and photos. Findings – A new concept of collective consumption network is introduced. Five kinds of consumption collectives are identified, including place focussed, brand focussed, activity focussed, idea focussed and social relations focussed consumption collectives. The strength of ties as well as the role of the brand varies within the collectives. Practical ...

Challenges for B2B research relevance: a top executive perspective

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze the challenges of business-to-business (B2B) research relevance from the point of view of top executives. Design/methodology/approach – Ten in-depth interviews with top executives from different B2B industries were conducted and analyzed by using Arndt’s (1985) elements of a healthy discipline, i.e. knowledge, problems and instruments. Findings – The findings reveal 12 challenges that characterize contemporary B2B research relevance from a top executive perspective. Research limitations/implications – The research offers genuine top executive insight. More research from different perspectives is needed to broaden the understanding of B2B research relevance. Originality/value – Reflecting B2B research with the identified challenges can contribute to better research designs, narrowing the gap between B2B scholars and practitioners. Altogether, it contributes to the health of the B2B discipline. The study also introduces a new approach to analyz...

Managing consumption communities

Abstract Companies are increasingly searching for ways to manage consumption communities. However, previous studies on consumption communities suggest that managing them is difficult, if not impossible, because communities are self-directed and consist of equal, autonomous actors. This article addresses this paradox and builds on recent conceptualisations of consumption communities as networks. By building on theory about network management functions, we discuss how companies can actually manage consumption communities without authoritarian and hierarchical control. Using three case studies of heterogeneous consumption communities, a footwear brand, a sports lifestyle community and a tableware and glassware design brand, the article identifies eight consumption community management activities. The article makes a theoretical contribution to the literature on consumption communities by introducing a network management perspective. In addition, it offers valuable practical guidance for managers who wish to manage consumption communities proactively at the strategic level and as an essential part of their customer-related management processes.

S Group’s vision for strategic transformation: “Your Own Store”

Purpose – The vision should ignite and facilitate strategic change as well as help a company to transform and reinvent itself in the face of competition. Too often executives use vision as a mere slogan without real relevance. The purpose of this study is to show how the vision guides strategic change. Design/methodology/approach – A case study from a successful multi-format, multi-industry service business is used to illustrate the role of vision in strategic change management. Findings – The article illustrates how the vision was used in practice in guiding the strategic transformation process of the case organization. The study presents four focal tasks of the vision and concludes with five practical guidelines for executives. Originality/value – The article highlights the role of vision as an important tool for managing strategic change.