Ross Brennan

Adaptive Behavior in Buyer–Supplier Relationships

Abstract It is a feature of business-to-business markets that individual buyer–supplier relationships can assume great importance for both the buying and the selling organization. In such relationships both firms, to a greater or lesser extent, make specific adaptations. Such adaptive behavior may be designed to meet some specific need of the partner, or to nurture and develop the relationship itself. The article, which is based on case studies collected at both ends of 13 buyer–supplier relationships, examines motivations and decision-making processes underlying adaptive behavior in buyer–supplier relationships. As an increasing number of firms espouse an explicit “partnering” approach to buying and selling in business markets, the question is addressed of the extent to which the explicit strategy of the firm (relationship marketing or partnership sourcing) is likely to be reflected in concrete adaptive behavior.

Managerial relevance in academic research: an exploratory study

Concern has been expressed by business and marketing scholars that academic research in these fields should be made more relevant to managers. In this paper the focus in on the views of marketing managers concerning the relevance of academic research to them. The empirical context of the work is business‐to‐business marketing. The experienced marketing practitioners interviewed knew very little about the current state of academic research in marketing, and considered that academic researchers did not understand the realities of business life and could not communicate effectively with managers. Marketing practitioners prefer to work with consultants, whom they consider understand business realities better and are more effective communicators. The paper discusses the barriers that marketing academies will have to overcome if they are to make their research more relevant to practitioners.

Should we worry about an “academic‐practitioner divide” in marketing?

In marketing, as in other areas of management studies, there is a feeling abroad that lines of communication need to be improved between those who work largely in the academic sphere and the practitioner community. Introduces the papers presented in this special issue, which explore the nature of the “academic‐practitioner divide”, investigates the reasons for it and the barriers to communication that exist, and put forward ideas for improving the effectiveness of academic‐practitioner collaboration. However, members of the academic community should carefully avoid a headlong and uncritical rush for managerial relevance, since their claim to a unique position in the knowledge production process relies on maintaining objectivity and a certain distance from the day‐to‐day pressures of marketing management.

The Use of Social Media in B2B Marketing and Branding : An Exploratory Study

While the tools of social media are ubiquitous in contemporary consumer marketing, there is little evidence about the extent to which they have been adopted by business-to-business marketers. Although experts argue that B2B firms can and should use platforms such as FaceBook and YouTube, almost all of the popular examples used in mainstream seminars, conferences and the practitioner press are of consumer brands. Our exploratory study used content analysis and text-mining to look at current B2B marketing practitioner literature on the subject, and examined ten large B2B technology companies to profile their use of social media. We found that although large companies were extensive users of almost all the mainstream social media channels, the adoption of these tools was by no means universal. It seems that USbased firms are the furthest ahead in using social media for B2B marketing. The B2B social media pioneers are striving to use these tools to position themselves as ‘thought leaders’, to take a market-driving role in the sector and to build relationships with a range of stakeholder groups.

In search of relevance : Is there an academic-practitioner divide in business-to-business marketing?

This article reports on three related empirical studies of the relevance of academic research to management practice in the field of business‐to‐business marketing. These studies comprise a survey of 58 academic researchers, a qualitative study of ten marketing practitioners, and a qualitative study of eight academic researchers. Academic researchers in the field of business‐to‐business marketing believe that their work is of interest, potential value, and relevance to practitioners, and aspire to make a contribution to management practice. Practitioners claim not to be interested in academic research, and are more favourably disposed towards consultants, who they see as more responsive to, and understanding of, business pressures. It seems clear that although academics would like to get closer to practitioners, they are inhibited by institutional factors, such as academic reward systems and the “publish or perish” culture. Mechanisms for improving the degree of cooperation between researchers and practitioners are explored.

Adaptation in inter‐firm relationships: classification, motivation, calculation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why business firms, both as suppliers and as customers, make specific adaptations to their products and processes to meet the particular requirements of another firm with which they are transacting business.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on qualitative interviews with key decision makers in international services business‐to‐business organisations.Findings – The results show that adaptations cover many areas within a company, and that the explicit costs and benefits of adaptations were calculated only to a limited extent. The paper shows that most of the suppliers investigated make adaptations to meet market and customer requirements, whereas customers make adaptations following an explicit relationship management approach.Research limitations/implications – Specific adaptation by one firm for another in the context of long‐term buyer‐seller relationships is an everyday fact of life and clearly of importance to the understanding o...

Mind the gap: the relevance of marketing education to marketing practice

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to review the debate on the purpose, focus and necessity of UK undergraduate marketing education. Design/methodology/approach – Assumptions in this debate are challenged by the collection and analysis of interview data from practitioners, alongside additional data from UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in respect of their current marketing programmes. Findings – The results indicate that there is a large degree of commonality between the offerings at UK HEIs, and that some significant gaps between the teaching offered by the academy, and the knowledge and abilities required by practitioners do exist. Research limitations/implications – The data sets have limitations of depth and scope. Further research is needed in which the details of marketing education and the requirements of marketing practice are examined more closely, and at levels other than undergraduate, and in countries other than the UK. Practical implications – This paper should be of interest to marketing programme managers, and also to marketing module co‐ordinators as a basis on which to consider the future development of their educational practices. Originality/value – The collation of data about marketing modules offered by UK HEIs will be of interest to most marketing teachers. Further value will be obtained if this paper is used as part of the re‐engineering of a marketing programme.

Doing business in China: is the importance of guanxi diminishing?

Purpose – Guanxi has been well documented as being an essential part of doing business in China. Yet, as China continues with market liberalisation, there are indications that its strategic importance is set to decline. From a joint venture perspective, this study seeks to examine the strategic importance of guanxi when doing business in China.Design/methodology/approach – First, the researchers reviewed articles on guanxi and established that although guanxi is still widely considered important, some experts are arguing that this importance is diminishing. Second, qualitative research was used to create a holistic picture of the importance attached to guanxi in UK‐Chinese joint ventures. This involved 25 semi‐structured interviews with those involved in establishing or managing such a joint venture.Findings – Although guanxi remains important when doing business in China, a number of factors indicate that this importance may begin to decline. These include Chinas market liberalisation, outward investmen...

Transferring Western HRM practices to developing countries : The case of a privatized utility in Jordan

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the nature of the human resource reforms introduced by a French multinational into a privatized Jordanian utility and the impact of these reforms on worker experiences, attitudes and behaviour.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of a single‐company case study using longitudinal interview data (44 interviews over a period of two and a half years) and a staff survey (202 completed and usable replies).Findings – Employees had experienced changes as a result of the HR reforms and these experiences were, at the aggregate level, associated with a number of positive attitudinal and behavioural outcomes. There were marked differences between different categories of staff in these respects, with more senior staff and those with higher educational qualifications being those most likely to report positive attitudinal and behavioural outcomes.Research limitations/implications – Studies of the transfer of Western management techniques to developing countries ...

Buyer/supplier partnering in British industry: The automotive and telecommunications sectors

Practitioners and academics in the fields of marketing and purchasing management share an interest in the effective management of inter‐firm buyer‐seller relationships. Buyer/supplier partnering has been advocated as an effective approach to the management of key customer or supplier relationships. Within both the automotive and telecommunications sectors of the British economy there is intense interest among major buying organisations in the development of durable partnerships with key suppliers. However, within both industries the major UK and American owned firms have to operate under the shadow of traditionally antagonistic relations with suppliers. The current state of buyer/supplier partnering within the two industries is evaluated within this historical context, and the key problem identified is the need to overcome antagonism within the inter‐organisational culture. The costs and benefits of partnering approaches to both marketing and purchasing are discussed, and implications for marketing manage...