Introduction to the Special Issue on B2B Research
Sandy Jap
0
Dave Reibstein
0
0
D. Reibstein University of Pennsylvania
,
Philadelphia, PA, USA
1
) Emory University
,
Atlanta, GA, USA
We are delighted to introduce the Special Issue on B2B research. The genesis of the papers was the Erin Anderson Invitational B2B Research Conference held at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania on October 16-19, 2008. Erin Anderson was a prolific scholar who made great contributions to the field through her research, teaching, and administrative efforts. Her untimely passing in 2007 after defeating brain cancer produced a significant loss to the discipline as well as a personal loss to the many friends and colleagues who knew, admired, and loved her: http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/areas/marketing/memorial/. Above all, Erin was a scholar who enjoyed debate, discussion, and diversity, particularly as it relates to the boundaries of the firm. She considered and experimented with a variety of theoretical perspectives and analytical techniques to investigate intriguing and groundbreaking topics in this space. Hence, the conference seemed a natural setting in which to encourage leading scholars from marketing, strategy, economics, and psychology to discuss the state of knowledge at the interface of the firm from behavioral and modeling perspectives on problems ranging from channel design and performance, manufacturer-retail interactions, sales force management practices and modeling, strategic advantage, transaction cost economics and governance, and business customer management. In addition, these scholars were asked to share their emerging research and speculate on future directions that would further advance our understanding of this economically significant area of our field. The culmination of these efforts is reflected in this Special Issue on B2B. The vision for this issue is that it would serve as an important milepost, for the research and state of the field to date, as well as a must read for researchers who currently work on or will begin work on issues at the boundary of the firm.
-
Erins contribution to channel and sales force management are well known, and
four papers extend our understanding of critical issues in this area. The first paper,
based on a track chaired by Aric Rindfleisch, examines her pioneering work in
transaction cost and calls for a more contextual understanding of long-standing
constructs in this area such as opportunism and governance. The second paper, based
on the channel design track chaired by Alberto Sa Vinhas, explores multichannel
management issues and identifies critical issues for future research. This topic is
particularly timely in todays marketplace as more and more firms must rely on
multiple routes to market, online and offline, directly and indirectly.
The next two papers speak to sales force management issues. The third paper,
based on the sales force management track chaired by Bart Weitz, introduces the
notion of the Embedded Sales Force and describes the need for sales forces to
better manage customer relationship processes while allocating and leveraging
resources among the marketing, sales, and various functions at the boundary of the
firm. The fourth paper, based on the sales force modeling track led by Murali
Mantrala, organizes the vast literature on sales force modeling along key problem
areas such as the marketingsales interface, sales force management and operations,
sales response, and the selling process and identifies crucial next steps for research
that seeks to advance these areas.
The remaining papers represent topic areas, research streams, and investigative
approaches that greatly interested Erin and fed her insatiable interest in problems at
the boundary of the firm. The fifth paper, based on the empirical modeling track
chaired by Kusum Ailawadi, examines the state-of-the-art pricing, promotion, and
private-label strategies in the management of manufacturerretailer interactions. The
authors highlight areas needing greater empirical insights (e.g., the role of
advertising and the nature of these interactions) and how the plethora of customer
data is shifting the balance of power between the parties. The sixth paper is based on
a track that considers business customer needs, chaired by Gary Lilien. This paper
suggests a variety of methods for discovering, claiming, and creating economic
value with business customers such as the use of experimental case research,
network analysis, and total design concepts to better use of the individual serial
innovatorsthe highly creative system thinkers within the firm.
The seventh paper, based on the behavioral track chaired by Joachim Vosgereau,
calls for greater convergence of perspectives from game-theoretic modelers and
behavioral researchers. They also raise the intriguing issue of consumer privacy and
its implications for channel management. Interestingly, the last paper, based on the
channel modeling track chaired by Anne Coughlan, provide (...truncated)