Business-to-Business Marketing Management: Strategies,

Cases, and Solutions

Chapter 1 Introduction to Business-to-Business Marketing Management: Strategies,
Cases, and Solutions
Mark S. Glynn, Arch G. Woodside
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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT:
STRATEGIES, CASES, AND
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SOLUTIONS

Mark S. Glynn and Arch G. Woodside

The chapters in this book are the responses by leading experts in the
business-to-business (B2B) field to contribute a chapter covering their areas
of expertise. The resulting chapters present an international perspective of
contemporary marketing issues relevant not only to senior management but
also to mid and operating levels that are involved in the firm’s marketing
function. Each chapter offers coverage of knowledge and skills useful for
effective performance of marketing actions and also provides a relevant case
study for the reader to practice in sense-making and using the tools just
learned.
The book is also relevant to MBA and postgraduate management
trainees (e.g., learners, students) as part of their business marketing studies.
Furthermore, instructor’s notes (available from either editor) provide an
additional commentary on these review questions. A synopsis of each
paper follows.

Business-to-Business Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions

Advances in Business Marketing & Purchasing, Volume 18, 1–9
Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 1069-0964/doi:10.1108/S1069-0964(2012)0000018006
1
 2 MARK S. GLYNN AND ARCH G. WOODSIDE

A NOTE ON KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT IN

MARKETING

Following this introduction, the Chapter 2, ‘‘A Note on Knowledge

Development in Marketing,’’ by Amjad Hajikhani and Peter LaPlaca,
examines four themes in the development of marketing management
knowledge. The discussion initially considers the scientific basis for the
marketing discipline, then the academic divide between academic research-
ers and marketing managers.
The chapter describes major changes in the theoretical basis of marketing
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over time. Hajikhani and LaPlaca frame propositions for effective knowl-
edge development by considering the economic and behavioral bases of
marketing as well as the units of analysis whether these be at the single
customer level or overall with the mass market.
The four themes Hajikhani and LaPlaca discuss include the following
topics:

 economic foundations and mass marketing,

 behavioral foundations and mass marketing,
 economic foundations and single customers, and
 behavioral foundations and single customers.

The economic foundation and mass marketing theme stress the

importance of consumers as rational economic units, as well as the
marketing tools such as pricing and advertising, which enable firms to meet
these objectives. This marketing management approach is contrasted with
the second theme that considers the power of consumers as decision-making
units. In this scenario, the role of marketing within firms is to glean
consumer knowledge in order to make better marketing decisions.
The third theme considers firms as single units but within an economic
framework. In this theme, the emphasis is on strategy and planning
particularly using push strategies. Criticisms of these approaches led to the
consideration of the fourth theme in this chapter, the behavioral foundation
and single unit that are business customers. In this theme the emphasis is on
relationships between buyer and seller. Hajikhani and LaPlaca highlight
some of the deficiencies of the traditional marketing management paradigm
within the relationship context. The chapter concludes by examining these
themes in terms of marketing practice in more ancient times. While both
students and researchers still traditionally see marketing as having a
promotional focus, Hajikhani and LaPlaca discuss some of the knowledge
 B2B Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions 3

implications of a more relational perspective particularly for business-to-

business marketers.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL BUYING CENTER AS A

FRAMEWORK FOR EMERGENT TOPICS IN
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING

The arguments of the previous chapter set the foundation for Chapter 3 that
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explores business unit purchasing. This chapter by Jennifer D. Chandler and

Wes Johnston examines several research traditions in organizational buying
and considers the managerial implications. The first section reviews the
organizational buying literature and suggests three emergent topics. These
topics center on innovation, knowledge management, as well as brands and
relationship processes. A detailed examination of 280 articles on these topics
suggests a range of themes. The authors take these themes to develop a
broad perspective of organizational buying that goes beyond the traditional
buyer–seller dyad.
The figures that this chapter presents demonstrate this progression,
starting with the traditional buyer–seller dyad, and then showing the buying
center relationship interactions within and across channels. Finally, the
authors present an integrated buying model of buying center behavior that
includes the key characteristics of actors within the buying network as well
as the processes and buying tasks and decisions.

MONITORING SEGMENTED MARKETS:

RELATIONAL AND TRANSACTION PERSPECTIVES

Chapter 4 also addresses the differences between relational and transaction

marketing but applies these perspectives to market segmentation. The
authors, Ann H. Clarke and Per V. Freytag discuss how sellers should plan
their approaches to organizational buyers through market segmentation.
They report the results of a Danish Survey, which shows the extent to which
business-to-business firms evaluate and monitor their customer segments.
The chapter then discusses the important differences between transactional
and relational market monitoring, proposing a list of key facets that firms
should keep track of in their strategy monitoring processes. This monitoring
process keeps managers not only up to date with the important external
 4 MARK S. GLYNN AND ARCH G. WOODSIDE

factors but monitoring also highlights potential internal problems, which

include both the marketing program and how the firm employees handle
relationships and the networks.
The authors also consider the differences that exist between firms and
whether the positioning of firm affects market segment monitoring. The
research reveals that firms monitoring from a transaction or a relational
perspective should be prepared to utilize very different processes and
assumptions.
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AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES THROUGH

BUYER–SELLER RELATIONSHIPS
Chapter 5 by Roger Baxter continues the relational theme developed in the last
chapter. Here, he explores the process of exchange between buyers and sellers.
Baxter considers the extent to which buyer resources become available to
sellers in the context of business-to-business relationships. Usually, the
emphasis in business-to-business marketing is on what resources the seller
offers the buyer. However, recent theoretical developments emphasize the co-
creation of value between buyers and sellers. Thus, the availability of buyer
resources is an important moderator between measures of the quality of a
buyer–seller relationship and the future financial performance of the seller.
Results of a buyer survey tests the linkages between these constructs. The
hypothesized pathways are all supported, indicating partial mediation. The
results suggest that availability of buyer resources is an important mediator
between relationship quality and future financial performance. The
implications of Baxter’s conceptual model are then considered, in particular
the importance of the contribution of buyer in the interfirm relationship.

MULTISTAGE MARKETING

The next chapter explores the linkages between buyers and sellers that the
previous chapter highlights, which considers stages beyond the buyer–seller
dyad. Chapter 6 by Michael Kleinaltenkamp, Michael Rudolph, and Matthias
Classen investigates additional linkages within business-to-business marketing.
Typically, in business-to-business marketing management, examining the
buyer–seller dyad means excluding other parties in the business network,
particularly the end-customer. Chapter 6 examines the effects of derived
 B2B Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions 5

demand and their importance within a multistage marketing and contrasts this
with ‘‘primary demand’’ from the end-customer. Co-branding is a form of
multistage marketing and the effects on marketing strategy is examined.
The facets of marketing stage marketing are explored, in particular the
upstream and downstream effects. In multistage marketing ‘‘push’’ strategies
are more evident and the authors discuss the benefits from the efficiencies
created by vertical coordination. The authors illustrate their points with a
number of practical examples to support their theoretical framework.
Ingredient branding, mentioned next, is another important form of multistage
marketing. The authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using
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this strategy. In a multistage marketing plan the target groups at each stage
need to be identified in advance. The article also considers other industrial
processes and services that are especially relevant to multistage marketing.

INTERACTION: COHERENCE TO A FUTURE

In Chapter 7, Christopher Medlin and Michael Saren focus on interaction

over the longer term. Interaction is a key component of business relationships.
Medlin and Saren point out that this facet of business relationships has been
somewhat overlooked in the marketing literature. In this chapter, the authors
discuss the nature of interaction in business markets and highlight the
advantages or disadvantages it may confer in a business situation and discuss
how interaction can affect the development of a business relationship.
The chapter highlights several important aspects about interaction especially
the potential future benefits of interaction, the cognitive processes involved on
behalf of the actors involved and the degree to which the interaction present
remains unchanged or changes in the future. These interactions also have
interactivity effects that can result from previous or present interactions. Thus,
the interaction in such business relationships can influence the likely future
outcomes. The authors then outline the research implications.

SWITCHING COSTS: A KEY TO UNDERSTANDING

AND MANAGING BUSINESS CONSULTING
RELATIONSHIP LONGEVITY

In terms of business-to-business marketing management relationship

longevity is important. However, in trying to optimize the best return when
 6 MARK S. GLYNN AND ARCH G. WOODSIDE

using firm resources, firms often outsource many good and services that
were previously produced in house. This outsourcing often involves
changing between suppliers and Chapter 8 by Melvin Prince and Robert
F. Everett examines the switching costs involved on the effects on the
business relationship. In this chapter, the authors examine switching costs in
the context of professional services of a nature that are essential to firm
rather than short term in nature.
The authors explain that switching costs consist of a number of
dimensions as well as number of consequences and effects. The authors
present a series of recommendations that address managing these costs,
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particularly with relationship terminations. In addition, the authors also

examine the effects of switching costs and their strategies on clients
and consultants. The authors provide a useful client interview guide,
which firms can use to evaluate their consultants. Finally, the authors
propose a research agenda consisting of a range of research questions and
hypotheses.

EMERGING TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS GLOBAL SALESFORCE
Chapter 9 by Arun Sharma examines changes in business-to-business
marketing including global developments and how these are affecting the
salesforce. The author highlights a solutions focus, globalization, and the
Internet as key drivers for change to the processes of managing a
salesforce. A theoretical underpinning of these processes is the service
dominant logic and Sharma explains the implications of this perspective
for how a salesforce might function in the global context. One
implication discussed by the authors is the change in how customers
see a salesperson previously being the company representative to a more
contemporary perspective of the person who provides solutions for
customers.
The authors discuss how such changes affect the selling process,
salesperson compensation, and the importance of internal marketing to
employees of the firm. Furthermore, the advent of information access that
buyers have through information technology has implications for sales
people. These changes invariably affect how firms organize their sales people
on a global basis and the management of staff sales process with staff
from different cultural backgrounds in markets at different stages of
development.
 B2B Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions 7

ANALYZING THE B2B BRAND VALUE CHAIN

Chapter 10 by Mark S. Glynn examines the role of branding in business-

to-business markets. The popular perspective is that branding is less
important in business markets; however, the value of some business–
business brands reported in the business media is sometimes greater than
some more high-profile brands. There also has been a steady increase in the
number of published journal articles on business-to-business branding.
In this chapter, Glynn examines the research on business-to-business
brands within the framework of Keller and Lehmann’s (2003) brand value
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chain. The brand value chain links the processes of building brand equity
from a business-to-business marketing perspective with the customer to
market performance and shareholder value. At each stage of the brand
value chain the extant business-to-business branding research and its
contribution is reviewed. Early research in industrial brands focused the
marketing effort directed at business customers, whereas the more recent
research examines the performance in the marketplace of these brands.
One conclusion from this review is that the consumer psychology
perspective adopted by consumer marketers does not adequately address
the additional complexities involved in the organization buying and
marketing of brands.

WHAT’S A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS COMPANY? B2B

KNOWLEDGE OF FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS

Chapter 11 by Waldemar Pfoertsch and Hendrik Scheel also addresses the

topic of B2B brands. This chapter examines both the student and executive
knowledge of the importance of business-to-business brands and finds some
interesting difference between the two groups. The authors highlight some
important characteristics of business-to-business branding including com-
munication and brand strategies. The authors compare and contrast the role
of individual actions of the business professional with the naı̈ve consumer.
One important difference is that business professionals are much more
accountable than consumers in their purchase decisions.
The authors apply a series of characterizations for professional versus
consumer decision making to 30 existing companies. These analyses show
how each company in their business-to-consumer (B2C) and B2B businesses
performs on such characteristics such as derived demand, communication,
 8 MARK S. GLYNN AND ARCH G. WOODSIDE

brand strategy, and the role of the individual. Another group of companies,
component suppliers, that use ingredient branding strategies is also
discussed. The authors consider that managers do not often appreciate the
distinction in marketing practice between B2B and B2C companies, which
often appears to be rather blurred.

ECONOMIC VALUE, FRAMES OF REFERENCE, AND

THE IMPACT OF FRAMED POSITIONING
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STRATEGIES IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETS

Chapter 12 by Gerald E. Smith discusses the importance of considering the

reference value in business-to-business marketing decisions. Typically,
marketers consider one or two dimensions such as quality and price in
addition to considering the product or service category. Smith argues that
economic value is also important and marketers should consider the
product’s frame of reference, which includes both the product and the value
of that product.
When thinking about the reference value, it is useful to evaluate the
potential worth of a positioning strategy compared with other alternative
strategies. Smith explores how marketers might go about framing their
product and their competitors in more higher-level or abstract terms rather
than just focusing on tangible aspects of the purchase.

IMPLEMENTED STRATEGIES IN BUSINESS-TO-

BUSINESS CONTEXTS
The core proposition in Chapter 13 is that deeply examining and reporting
real-life B2B marketing–buying implemented-strategies-contexts is a pre-
requisite for the development and testing implemented-strategy theory (i.e.,
explanation), that is, B2B marketing–buying implemented-strategy-in-
context theory. Arch G. Woodside, Hugh Pattinson, and David B.
Montgomery define ‘‘implemented-strategy-in-context theory’’ as the
description and explanation of the antecedents, mechanisms, outcomes,
and interpretations by participants of what actually occurs in doing a
process. Chapter 13 describes research approaches and provides a basic
review of the literature that focuses on developing B2B implemented-
strategy-in-context theory.
 B2B Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions 9

CONCLUSION

This book highlights three key themes of business-to-business marketing

management. The first theme is organizational and within this theme two
chapters explore how firms approach the marketplace from both an
economic and behavioral perspective. The review of the organizational
buying literature highlights the importance of relationship processes and
brands. The second theme in the volume concerns the many relationship
processes. The next six chapters in this volume address the relational and
transactional marketing implications of market segmentation, buyer
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resource availability, the importance of managing derived demand through

multistage marketing, buyer–seller interaction processes, switching costs
with B2B relationships and salesforce management in global firms. The third
theme concerns the strategic decisions involved in positioning products and
services in the marketplace, and the last three chapters address business-to-
business branding, intrafirm brand knowledge, and the decisions involved in
positioning products to enhance perceived value.
Each chapter contains a case study that allows both student and
practitioner readers to apply the theory, research, and management lessons.
These cases cover a range of contemporary business problems from several
North American, European, and Australasian markets. These cases can
form the basis of in company training sessions as well as inform university
level lectures and tutorials for both executive and research focused students.
The editors will supply a set of solutions on request.

REFERENCE
Keller, K. L., & Lehmann, D. R. (2003). How do brands create value? Marketing Management,
12(3), 26–31.