Joona Keränen

Systematic review on B2B branding: research issues and avenues for future research

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to review the current body of the B2B branding literature, and identify research issues that hamper current B2B branding research.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a systematic review, and identifies 73 relevant journal publications from the years 1973‐2010 that were subsequently evaluated for further analysis.Findings – This study identifies five possible issues hampering current B2B branding research: the lack of systematic theory development, the transference of consumer concepts, the dominance of quantitative research, the lack of longitudinal research, and the focus on single industries.Research limitations/implications – This study considers only published journal articles, excluding books and conference proceedings. By highlighting the research issues, this paper aims to direct research efforts to areas where they will have the most impact, and thus aid more rapid advancement of B2B branding as a discipline.Originality/value – This study provides...

Three strategies for customer value assessment in business markets

Purpose – The strategies to assess potential and realized customer value have received surprisingly little attention in management literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine potential customer value assessment strategies for business-to-business (B2B) firms and their special characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical part of the study draws from an exploratory, two-part field study involving three pilot firms, and seven best practice firms in customer value assessment. The research design followed an inductive, discovery-oriented grounded theory approach. Primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 35 business managers from ten B2B firms. Findings – The study identifies three customer value assessment strategies adopted by firms in business markets: Emergent value sales strategy; Life-cycle value management strategy; and Dedicated value specialist strategy. These strategies highlight different ways of managing and coordinating organizational units in diffe...

Brand positioning strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions

Purpose – Despite increasing interest in customer solutions, and the importance of brand management in the B2B context, prior research provides little understanding on brand positioning strategies adopted by solution providers. The present study aims to examine the possible brand positioning strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical part of the present study consists of a multiple case study, involving four industrial firms providing customer solutions. Primary data was gathered by semi-structured interviews from a total of 22 business managers from the case companies. Findings – The present study identifies four possible brand position strategies for industrial firms providing customer solutions: customer value diagnostic, global solution integrator, high quality sub-systems provider, and long-term service partner. The identified strategies highlight the tendency of solution suppliers to position their brands around different capabilities th...

A Value Proposition Development Framework for Industrial Service

Value proposition is a key concept in the research on service and in the practice of service management. Value propositions are described as tools to communicate and motivate a joint value creation opportunity among involved organizations and stakeholders. The future orientation and intangibility of service places value proposition as the key element of competitive service business. However, the concept of value proposition if often vaguely defined, the underlying theoretical concepts missing, and the managerial practices to create value propositions unexplored. This study investigates how valuefocused industrial companies build value propositions by conducting customer value research. Building on our findings, we suggest theoretical and managerial frameworks for value proposition development.