Synopses & Reviews
This book provides an in-depth understanding of long term business relationships in industrial markets. During the late 1980s our view on business marketing changed remarkably: from a single transaction oriented, market mechanism-based description of marketing and purchasing we are moving into domestic and international buyer--seller relationships. In academic terms, we are experiencing a broadening of the paradigms that describe how companies interact. Business Marketing: An Interaction and Network Perspective provides an in-depth understanding of the long-term relations in business marketing, how these relationships develop, and their constituent parts and processes. Unfolding network theory is presented and applied to the description of how complex interdependencies between modern firms in international markets can be analyzed with the help of network concepts. Business Marketing: An Interaction and Network Perspective is suitable for graduate and doctoral level courses in business administration. The book will also be of interest to researchers and teachers working on business marketing, international marketing, and strategic management. Managers dealing with business marketing problems will also benefit from the insights provided by the interaction and network approaches.
Synopsis
Changing Views of Business Marketing This book aims to provide an in-depth understanding of long-term busi- in industrial markets. During the late 1980s our view ness relationships on business marketing changed remarkably. From a single-transaction- oriented, market mechanism-based description of marketing and purchas- ing, we are moving into domestic and international buyer-seller relation- ships. In academic terms, we are experiencing a broadening of the para- digms that describe how companies interact. This change in focus has its roots in the recognition that business marketing is frequently characterized by long-term interaction, coopera- tion, and coalitions between participant firms. The forces of quality, total cost management, and the need to decrease response times in new prod- uct/service development all are combining to accelerate the trend to- wards strategic relationships. In increasingly global markets, different forms of strategic alliances provide ways of joining forces in attempts to reach goals beyond any single firm's resources. Also, our way of seeing the corporate environment is changing. In- stead of the traditional view of markets or industries as constituted by independent companies operating mainly through market competition, we are starting to realize that markets can be more realistically defined and described as networks of interlinked organizations. The network view offers a highly promising tool for describing and analyzing the rapidly integrating global marketplace. For instance, strategic alliances can be seen as moves of establishing positions in a network or as ways of changing the whole network.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
1. Introduction: Interaction and Networks in Perspective;
K.K. Möller, D.T. Wilson. Part I: Conceptual Foundation of Business Relationships. 2. Business Relationships -- an Interaction Perspective: Basic Elements and Processes;
K.K. Möller, D.T. Wilson. 3. Dynamics of Relationship Development;
D.T. Wilson, K.K. Möller. 4. Buyer--Seller Relationships -- Theoretical Perspectives;
R. Dwyer, R. Dahlstrom, T. DiNovo. 5. The Development of Network Research -- a Question of Mobilization;
B. Axelsson. 6. Network Dynamics: Forces and Processes Underlying Evolution and Revolution in Business Networks;
B. Henders, H. Hökansson. Part II: Interactive Business Marketing: Relationships and Strategy. 7. Towards a Conceptual Understanding of the Antecedents of Strategic Alliances;
R. Spekman, K. Sawhney. 8. Time-Based Strategies and Supplier Relationships;
C. O'Neal. 9. One More Exploration into Buyer--Seller Relationships: Some Conceptual Foundations and Research Propositions;
V. Mummalaneni. Part III: Networks, Technology and Strategy. 10. Technology and Networks;
R. Thomas, D. Ford. 11. Industrial Networks and Technological Innovation;
H. Håkansson, A. Lundgren. 12. Competitive Strategies and Organizational Networks in New Technology Markets;
M. Cunningham. 13. International Networks and Network Strategies: Networks in Different Cultural Contexts;
F. Mazet, R. Salle, R. Spencer. 14. A Network Approach to Foreign Market Entry;
D. Blankenburg. Part IV: Methodological Aspects in Interaction and Network Research. 15. Methodology and Industrial Networks;
G. Easton. 16. The Meaning of Time in the Study of Buyer--Seller Relationships;
A. Miettilä, J.-Å. Törnroos. 17. Measurement Issues in Research on Inter-Firm Relationships;
J.B. Heide, G. John. 18. Modeling Business Relationships;
N. Syed-Mohammed. Part V: Implications and Challenges. 19. Interaction and Network Approach to Business Marketing: a Review and Evaluation;
K.K. Möller, D.T. Wilson. 20. Managerial Implications and Challenges;
D.T. Wilson, K.K. Möller. Index.