Prabakar Kothandaraman

The Future of Competition: Value-Creating Networks

Abstract In buyer–seller relationships, the focus has moved beyond individual firms to value-creating networks formed by key firms in the value chain that deliver value to the end consumer. The article develops a rationale for value-creating networks using three core building blocks: superior customer value, core competencies, and relationships. The rationale is developed based upon an understanding of the value-creation process and its links to core capabilities of firms in the network. The importance of inter-firm relationships in realizing the true potential of the value-creation networks is also highlighted. The authors argue based on their sample analysis of some examples that competition in the future will shift to the network level from the firm level. The influence of some emerging business tools such as electronic commerce on redefining value creation is also discussed.

Bringing “Social” Into Sales: The Impact of Salespeople’S Social Media Use on Service Behaviors and Value Creation

The explosive growth in the use of social media has evoked a “gold rush”–like response from organizations. However, firms in general, and salespeople in particular, are uncertain about the fit between social media tools and their overall sales strategy. To address this issue, we advance a theoretical framework to explain the mechanisms through which salespeople’s use of social media operates to create value, and propose a strategic approach to social media use to achieve competitive goals. We draw on the existing literature on relationship marketing, task–technology fit theory, and sales service behavior to sketch a social media strategy for business-to-business sales organizations with relational selling objectives. The proposed framework describes how social media tools can help salespeople perform service behaviors leading to value creation.

Implementing Relationship Strategy

Abstract The domain of interest, while investigating inter-organizational relationships, has been the boundary function of marketing and purchasing. Understanding the effect of proper cultural orientation of the critical value creating functions within the organization on the successful implementation of relationship marketing strategy requires attention. Managers who are charged with the responsibility of implementing a relationship strategy often encounter skepticism within the organization from the functional managers. In pursuing a relationship paradigm, the old ways of adversarial exchanges need to give way to the new ways of doing business that is built on trust and commitment. The functional departments need to believe in relationships as a way of doing business. This research explores the impact of the internal attitude toward relationship paradigm on relationship outcome. In this paper, we develop a framework of relationship strategy implementation and argue that functional managers need to buy into the relationship paradigm in order for relationship strategy to work.

Marketing and Public Policy: Transformative Research in Developing Markets

Developing markets are a challenge for researchers who study them and for governments, business leaders, and citizens who strive to improve the quality of life in them. The limitations of the dominant development paradigm coupled with the need to focus on consumers provide tremendous opportunities to engage in truly transformative research. Toward this outcome, several interactive forces must be understood and addressed during research design, management, and implementation. The purpose of this essay is to provide a synthesis—that is, a framework in the form of a conceptual model—with practical applications to transformative research in developing markets and, ultimately, with the broader objective to stimulate new conceptualizations, research, and best practices to transform consumer well-being.

Sales Role-Plays and Mock Interviews: An Investigation of Student Performance in Sales Competitions

Sales competitions provide students with opportunities to apply their understanding of sales. Despite a long tradition of scholarship on sales role-plays, the answer to what drives student performance in sales competitions remains elusive. In this research, we examine how motivation (work engagement) and ability (cognitive aptitude and selling-related knowledge) affect student performance in sales role-play competitions. We also examine how success in sales role-plays engenders job attainment for the students. Using data from a sales competition held at a large public university in the United States, we provide empirical evidence that both motivation and ability affect sales performance. But, contrary to expectation, they have a substitution effect and not a complementary one. We also find evidence that success in sales role-plays translates into improved success in job interviews and that this effect is stronger for students with greater cognitive aptitude, that is, sales role-play performance complements the cognitive aptitude of the student to improve their mock interview performance.

Sales Professionals’ Use of Social Media to Create and Deploy Social Capital in US and Indian Companies

The purpose of this research is to explore differences in social media use for the creation and deployment of social capital by salespeople in US and Indian sales organizations. A conceptual framework was developed that posits salespersons’ use of social media as an antecedent to the creation of social capital. Drawing upon theories of cross-cultural differences, we postulate different paths to social capital creation and deployment by sales professionals in the USA and India. The goal of the research is to provide a foundation for subsequent empirical investigation. The research is aimed at helping managers appreciate the use of social media in multinational organizations. The research project has enormous significance for both academics and practitioners. First, what is an appropriate use of social media by sales professionals is an urgent and immediate dilemma for managers. Second, illuminating the pathways from social media to social capital will help increase the accountability of the marketing function. Third, an appreciation of the differences between social media use by salespeople in US and Indian organizations can provide managers with a finer-grained understanding of the transformative potential of social technologies in global organizations. This conceptual framework can provide a strong foundation for a cross-cultural study.

Consumers’ Perception of Price Premiums for Greenwashed Products: An Abstract

These days’ markets are flooded with products that manufacturers promote as green by adding one or two green attributes to a conventional product. They do so take advantage of consumers’ willingness to pay higher for green products. We examine consumers’ perceptions of such products through a theoretical lens. From a theoretical grounding we predict that: H 1a: When consumers’ motivation to process information is high, both high-priced green and greenwashed products will be perceived high in monetary sacrifice. H 1b: When consumers’ motivation to process information is low, in comparison to a green product, the high price of a greenwashed product will be perceived high in monetary sacrifice. H 2 : Perceptions of ethicality will mediate the evaluation of green and greenwashed products.

Stock Market and Network Influence on Alliance Formation: Evidence from the Biopharmaceutical Industry

In this article we posit that firms signal resource availability (stock returns and risk) and favorable reputation (network of ties) to attract alliance partners. We use stock market and network characteristics to predict a firms’ propensity to engage in product alliances. Using 1,877 observations of 302 biopharmaceutical firms over a twenty-year period, we find that increase in stock returns and a decrease in stock risk is associated with an increase in firms’ product alliances. The position of the firm in its network improves product alliance formation, whereas the structure of the overall network (density) has no such effect.

CSR as an Adaptive Selling Tool: a Novel Framework and a Robust Analysis Proposal

In this working chapter the authors document an additional way that CSR can be used by employees to improve customer relationships. That is, employees can use CSR as an adaptive selling tool. Employees use CSR as an adaptive selling tool to the extent that CSR fits with what their understanding of the company identity is, and to the degree that customers support the CSR program.