Jaqueline Pels

Exchange relationships in consumer markets

Discusses the validity of classifying transaction and relationship exchanges (and marketing theories) according to whether the selling firm is operating in consumer or industrial markets. It is only recently that relationship marketing, and thus the exchange relationship paradigm, has started to become an alternative approach to consumer markets. Aims at understanding if the work of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) can be applied to end‐user consumer markets. There is a series of reasons behind this decision; however, the most relevant one is trying to bring a very extensive body of theoretical work within the realm of consumer marketing. First, lists the interaction and network approach assumptions (to be associated with the concept of exchange relationships), next, analyzes and reformulates these assumptions and finally, suggests that the interaction and network approach can be applied to consumer markets, showing that both transaction and relationship exchanges may co‐exist in all markets, regardless of the product/service sold or client/ market served.

Theorizing about the service dominant logic: The bridging role of middle range theory

To date, the discourse about service dominant (S-D) logic has been largely theoretical, with the main focus on exploring the foundations for an integrating general theory of markets and marketing. Little attention has been given to the role of theorizing, and how empirical evidence can be used to inform the theoretical development. This paper explores the bridging role of middle range theory in this process. First S-D logic is examined as a foundation for general theory. This leads to a discussion about the use of middle range theory to link general theory and empirical findings. The following sections examine the role that contemporary marketing practices (CMP) research plays in providing a bridge between S-D logic and empirical evidence. The paper concludes by considering implications for further research.

Integrating Transactional and Relational Marketing Exchange: A Pluralistic Perspective

As interest in relational marketing has increased, there has been a tendency to emphasize theoretical and empirical developments focused on aspects of relational rather than transactional exchange. In contrast to this trend, we develop a conceptual model that integrates both perspectives in order to capture a more pluralistic view of the nature of marketing exchange. We integrate the concepts of environmental context, offer proposition and need structure together with the seller and buyer’s perceptions of each. We also incorporate a variety of transactional and relational marketing approaches in order to conceptualize how and why different exchange situations occur, and how mismatches may occur between a seller’s offer and the buyer’s needs.

Identification and Management of Key Clients

Based on the research work conducted by the IMP group and its publications, explains how to identify and handle key clients. Uses a systematic approach to link relationship variables with the decision‐making unit and the firm′s (un)certainties. Aims to help the selling firm to define the marketing team who should deal with each key client and its members′ tasks. Discusses a case study to illustrate how firms may use this model to manage defence and attack strategies.

Do we really understand business marketing?Getting beyond the RM and BM matrimony

Purpose – A large number of researchers and marketing textbooks see business marketing dominantly from the relationship marketing perspective. One can even talk about a “matrimony” of these domains; “RM=BM”. The Contemporary Marketing Practices studies, however, provide clear evidence of the coexistence of various marketing practices but offer no supporting theoretical rationale for these findings. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question whether business marketing and relationship marketing, when broadly defined to include all relational‐interactional perspectives, are necessarily wedded to each other.Design/methodology/approach – A metatheoretical analysis was conducted to identify the contributions and limitations of the current research approaches to business marketing and a configurational approach for marketing (CAM) was developed, providing theoretical explanation for the empirical findings versus relationship dominance dilemma.Findings – The metatheoretical analysis showed that research...

Benchmarking business‐to‐business marketing practices in emerging and developed economies: Argentina compared to the USA and New Zealand

This paper examines the marketing practices of Argentine business‐to‐business firms and compares them with the marketing practices of US and New Zealand firms. While the results show marked similarities in the practices for a certain proportion of Argentine firms, there are also some differences. Overall, Argentine firms tend to have lower use of information technology in marketing and a greater emphasis on face‐to‐face interaction. There is also a group of Argentine firms that operates in the traditional business environment where less emphasis is placed on marketing activity. Implications of these results for managers and academics are discussed.

A new perspective on market dynamics: Market plasticity and the stability-fluidity dialectics

Several researchers have pointed out that if marketing is to develop as a discipline and contribute to solving complex business and societal challenges, it should question the neoclassical view of markets and develop its own theory of markets. Efforts in this direction indicate an emerging view of markets as dynamic, subjective, and subject to multiple change efforts. However, the neoclassical view of objective, detached, and deterministic market still influences the dominant models used to describe market change. We argue that in order to better understand market dynamics, both academics and practitioners need new concepts and constructs that go beyond existing linear process and development stage models. We seek to contribute to improved understanding of markets by studying a special characteristic of markets that enables market dynamics. Borrowing a term used by Alderson (1957: 277), we propose that markets are characterized by plasticity, that is, a “potentiality for being remolded and responding in a different way thereafter.” Even though the plasticity concept was introduced into the marketing literature nearly 60 years ago, the plastic character of markets remains underresearched. This article investigates the meaning and manifestations of market plasticity, drawing analogies from the physical, natural, and social sciences. We define market plasticity as the market’s capacity to take and retain form and propose that the dialectic between market stability and market fluidity lies at the heart of market change.

Profiling Marketing Practice in an Emerging Economy

Abstract In the last decade, the discussion about how marketing is changing has focused largely on practices in more affluent industrialized economies. Far less attention has been given to understanding the marketing strategies and practices of firms in emerging and transition economies. In this paper, we compare marketing of multinational firms versus local firms in Argentina. We identify the environmental characteristics of Argentinas emerging economy and, using survey data of 96 firms, we group firms into five clusters. We refer to two clusters as “traditional/local” as they use very basic marketing methods, with one serving business markets and the other consumer markets. The other three clusters we refer to as “progressive” as they represent state-of-the-art practices. The first two of these are foreign-owned and serve consumer and business markets, the third represents locally-owned service firms. The managerial implications are examined.

Business‐to‐business marketing practices in West Africa, Argentina and the United States

Purpose – This study aims to examine the nature of business‐to‐business marketing practices in two West African nations, Ghana and Ivory Coast, and compare them with marketing practices in another emerging market economy (Argentina) and a developed economy (the USA).Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected in both West African nations, Argentina and the USA, using a standard survey instrument used in previous contemporary marketing practice (CMP) studies. Descriptive statistics were used to determine cross‐national differences in intensity of use of various CMP activities in Ghana and the Ivory Coast in comparison with Argentina and the USA. Then, cross‐national differences in various combinations of marketing practices were identified using cluster analysis.Findings – Business‐to‐business marketing practices in West African nations conform with the CMP framework in that firms practise both transactional marketing and relationship marketing simultaneously. However, there are differences in...

The Contribution of VSA and SDL Perspectives to Strategic Thinking in Emerging Economies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon strategic marketing in emerging economies (EEs). It tries to answer the research question: what new business models are enabled by the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) and Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) perspectives? Design/methodology/approach – The paper is developed by integrating two well-established perspectives – VSA and SDL – and applying them to inclusive businesses.Findings – The integration of these perspectives allows the authors to recognize a convergence toward business models that seem to be consistent with the principles of inclusive capitalism. The authors claim that by shifting between a reductionist/static and a holistic/dynamic view, these perspectives can be integrated, thus revealing an interesting contribution to the understanding of inclusive business. Specifically, they contribute by highlighting how the economic and social dimensions are intertwined and by highlighting that the management-thinking perspective, which has dominated in recent decades, should shift toward a more inclusive vision.Research limitations/implications – The paper represents an attempt to address an inclusive capitalism perspective in the context of marketing. Nevertheless, the conceptual reasoning developed in the paper should be further supported by empirical research carried out in the context of EEs.Practical implications – The paper has relevant managerial implications that suggest a rethinking of the business model to market with EEs.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the research on inclusive capitalism by linking it to well-grounded conceptual approaches to business that recapture a harmonious relationship between the economy and society.