Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter shall be discussing the findings of related researches to this study. It shall provide a discussion on the significance of this study to the existing literature. The contents of this portion of the study is gathered and collated from its secondary data.

Introduction

Ten years ago, personal salespeople in business-to-business activity would have scoffed at the idea of using direct marketing techniques as a sales approach applicable for an industrial customer. In fact, it was considered that these tools were only for the use of companies selling items to mass markets. Today, these tools have been integrated into the fabric of more than half of the Fortune 500 companies as part of their normal way of conducting business (Nash, E. L. 1986).

Business-to-business marketing is considered by companies to be a sound business strategy and more so when the electronic means is utilized (Ramsdell, 2000). For buyers, B2B marketplaces promise not only to deliver more competitive prices but also to rid the supply chain of a host of inefficiencies. For sellers, B2B creates a channel for their product distribution thus minimizing the cost of transaction attained when they themselves engage with the end-users of their products.

Factors such as trust and reputation are critical, and there is also the notion of cooperative strategies based on mutual benefit rather than the simplistic idea of maximizing revenues to individual organizations (Farrely and Quester, 2003; Archer and Yuan, 2000; Abramson and Ai, 1999). There is widespread research and anecdotal evidence of the importance of relationships in business-to-business markets and concepts such as the virtual value chain (Rayport and Sviokla, 1995) and cooperative supply chain structures (Holland 1996) extend the theory to market networks of separately owned organizations choosing to work closely together.

In practice, relationships in business-to-business marketing have come to mean trust that results in protective and complementary relations in Asia, and will thus include the sharing or pooling of resources (Hamzah-Sendut et al, 1990 in Abramson and Ai, 1999, p.10). These factors are all part of the Asian concept of guanxi, the six key constructs of which being: Mutual trust between parties; Commitment towards mutual benefit; Empathy towards all parties; Maintenance of relationship; Provision of favors to partners; and Full reciprocation of favors; (Abramson and Ai, 1999, p.10).

In business-to-business trade among buyers and sellers, the relationship involves complex products traded where there are high levels of inter-dependencies. In these situations it is necessary to co-operate in order to maximize the opportunities for the network of companies, and to build in protection measures against opportunistic behavior, either through trust developed over time, contracts, or a combination of both (Agrawal and Pak, 2001; Ramsdell, 2000; Hollad, 1996).

Two adjacent players--the buyer and the seller--usually share information at each stage of the supply chain and transaction process, and the nature and amount of what they share depends on the quality of their relationship (Agrawal and Pak, 2001). Thus, the successful exchange of information in the transaction of B2B reflects the amount of investment and trust buyers and sellers bestow to each other.

The B2B relationship is even more controversial in the emerging market of B2B retailing. The business is lucrative where Internet business-to-business sales will reach $1.3 trillion by 2003 and; by 2004, business-to-consumer sales will reach $100 billion (Lord, 2000). Aside from the potentially huge market offered by the internet, E-commerce technologies provide effective and efficient ways in which corporate buyers can gather information rapidly about available products and services, evaluate and negotiate with suppliers, implement order fulfillment over communications links, and access post-sales services (Chaston and Mangles, 2003). From the supplier side, marketing, sales, and service information is also readily gathered from business partners. Building and maintaining B2B relationships is the key to success in e-commerce and, unless service is maintained, customer loss may result, more than offsetting any cost efficiencies due to introducing e-commerce technology (Archer and Yuan, 2000). Since the core of e-commerce is information and communications, support for managing customer relationships particularly trust is of primary consideration in the buyer-seller relationship (Archer and Yuan, 2000).

Although there is some evidence of a move towards electronic markets, there is also strong evidence to support the hypothesis that electronic communication technologies will forge closer relationships rather than create more fragmented ones. This is particularly true in business-to-business markets where the levels of interdependencies between buyers and sellers are typically extremely high compared with business to consumer markets (Johnston and Lawrence, 1988, Konsynski and McFarlan 1990).

Understand Business-to-Business Markets

Bingham, Jr. & Raffield III (1990) define business-to-business market as below:

A business-to-business marketing transaction takes place whenever a good or service is sold for any use other than personal consumption, and all the activities involved in this process make up business-to-business marketing.

Business customers are usually organizations and may be public or private, end-users, or reseller, and so would wholesalers, retailers, and other such resellers buying goods and services in the operation of business. Similarly, governmental agencies and non-profit institutions such as universities and hospitals are also seen as business customers (Haas, 1992). Eckles (1990) states that business products fit into seven classifications: (1) raw materials, (2) installations, (3) auxiliary equipment, (4) component parts, (5) processed materials, (6) supplies and (7) industrial services. Based on the earlier theoretical discussion, Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics retailer (buyer) buy auxiliary equipments such as televisions, furniture, and computers from suppliers (sellers) for resale to consumer market customers. The retailers are operating their business in the business environment where according to Eckels (1990) that the demand for business goods is derived. It is argued that the business demand is relatively inelastic because demand is not likely to change significantly in the short run and tends to be more volatile than consumer goods and services demand.

Identify Characteristics of Buyer-seller Relationship

Buyer-seller relations operate within a highly complex organizational environment bordering on a partnership where trust and respect for each other prevails (Eckels, 1990). It is argued that companies and relationships in the business markets are inter-dependent and that the interaction is a series of short-term social interactions that are influenced by the long-term business process that bind the firms together. Ford (2002) also argues that it would not make sense of companies by looking at them in isolation, but only in relation to each other. The buyer-supplier relationship in Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics business markets can be analysed based on the general characteristics of buyer-seller relationships identified by Gadde & Hakansson (1993) as below:

a) Complexity

Gadde & Hakansson (1993) state that the complexity of the relationship depends on the number of people involved. In general, the buying process in Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics business markets involves buyers, supplier's salespeople, buyer's and supplier's marketing department with extensive contacts to discuss and solve more or less advanced problem. However, the complexity of the entire buyer-suppliers interface system lies in the fact that the ultimate actions may be controlled by some individuals who do not involve in the original transaction. This may include the supplier's operation planning, transportation, and inventory control people. On the buyer's side, the budgetary committee, that could hole the ultimate authority over the dispensation of the organisation's finances.

b) Relationships as investments – their long-term nature

Ford et al (2002) argue that every action in a relationship should be seen in a time perspective that the investment which may involve costs will be pay off in the long run. Based on their arguments, the cost of Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics business buyer-supplier relationship may involve contact/information cots and adaptation costs especially during the beginning stage. The costs will fall later when buyer is getting to know the suppliers and their abilities and expertise through marketing and sales promotion activities. It is worthy to note that it is more effective to retain and maintain existing relationships than to seek out new ones that may pose an obstacle to implementing changes. Hence, buyers and suppliers should note that day-to-day activities should remain at a relatively high level to maintain a long-term relationship.

c) Adaptation

Adaptation occurs when one party in a relationship alters its processes or the item exchanged to accommodate the other party (Gadde & Hakansson, 1993). Ford (2002) discusses that adaptation behaviour would vary over the life of the relationship. In the early stages it will be a means to develop trust, and in the mature state it will expand and solidify the relationship. There are many types of adaptations stated by Gadde & Hakansson (1993) such as technical, administrative routines and knowledge-based adaptations. Buyer-seller in Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics business markets should continuously increases their knowledge of each other application of technology to give themselves an important developmental boost. Besides, administrative routines such as planning, supply and communications systems need to be adapted by both parties for effective working relationship. Hallen, Seyed-Mohamed & Johanson (1988) cited by Sheth & Parvatiyar (2000) argue that adaptation tend to bond the buyer and seller in a tighter relationship and create barriers to entry for competing suppliers.

d) Power and dependence

Power and dependence may be unbalanced with regard to individual dimensions and varies with the general state of the economy (Gadde & Hankansson, 1993). The buyer-seller relationship may be more important to the buyer than the seller, or vice versa. For example, Sharp Corporation viewed the relationship with SAFE was more important to SAFE and the relationship was struggled and characterised as distrust and both try to avoid vulnerability to other. In 2001, the relationship was dissolved due to negative and strong form of reciprocity. Gadde & Hankansson (1993) argue that there is no best strategy in any individual case of imbalance power and dependence relationship. However, the awareness of the problem, regular and systematic discussions are the first step to learn and handle the questions better, and to build trustworthy relationship.

e) Conflict and cooperation

Buyer-seller mutual goals can only be accomplished through joint action and the maintenance of the relationship. Conflict may arise if there is no goal and interest sharing. Hence, reciprocal trust is a prerequisite for long-term relationships (Gadde & Hankansson, 1993). It is also argued by Michel, Naude, Salle & Valla (2003) that buyer-seller relationship is built up through human effort and human contacts and in order for them to survive they must be under continual development.

f) Reciprocal Trusts rather than Formality

Trust has assumed a central role in the development of marketing theory as business marketers placed greater emphasis on building long-term relationship (Dwyer, Schurr, & Oh, 1987; Morgan & Hunt, 1994 cited by Doney & Cannon, 1997). Ford et al (2002) argue that trust should not be built in a relationship by making promises, but only by fulfilling them. He argued that it could be easy to destroy a buyer's trust when the seller demonstrates a lack of commitment to a relationship. Doney & Cannon (1997) discuss that seller should make significant investments to develop and maintain customer trust. They argue that for suppliers, the value of such efforts is most apparent when high levels of buyer trust lead to more favourable purchasing outcomes for the supplier. Although the process of building trust is expensive, time-consuming, and complex, its outcome in terms of forging strong buyer-seller bonds and enhance loyalty could be critically important to supplier firms.

Analyze Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing is defined as all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). Anderson (2001) suggests that organisations need to move away from the traditional one-off transactional approach to a relationship marketing perspective and this point supports the discussion in Hutt & Speh (2001) that a business marketer may begin with a relationship from a supplier with transactional exchange to a preferred supplier status with collaborative exchange.

Ford (200) argues that buyer and seller form long-term relationship, in which they share responsibilities and benefits, trust each other and are engaged in some coordinated planning. His view is supported by Sheth & Parvatiyar (2000) that relationship must be mutual beneficial to both buyers and sellers in order to exist, and adopting relationship marketing implies the acknowledgement that each partner has a stake in the others activities. In this way, both sides should think of ways to appropriately involve each other in strategy formulation and implementation processes. Gronross (1991) cited by Polonsky, Schuppisser & Beldona (2002) states that the traditional relationship marketing literature emphasis the benefits of keeping existing partners satisfied. Their discussion supports the views of Doyle (2000) that customers who stay with the supplier are assets of increasing value – each year they tend to generate higher and higher net cash flow. Besides, the rational factors that influence stakeholder relationship discussed by Polonsky, Schuppisser & Beldona (2001) clearly supports the key characteristics of buyer-seller relationship as discussed earlier.

Determine how trust of a selling firm and salesperson are built and developed in business markets.

a) Examine the antecedents and consequences of trust of a supplier firm and salesperson focusing on characteristics of the supplier firm, supplier firm relationship, salesperson and salesperson relationship.

Commitment and trust are the foundation of relationship marketing as it encourages buyers and sellers to make investment into a relationship, to resist taking advantage of alternative which provide short-term benefits, and not to behave opportunistically with regard to the relationship (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). It is argued that trust has assumed a central role in the development of marketing theory as business marketers placed greater emphasis on building long-term relationship (Dwyer, Schurr & Oh, 1987; and Morgan & Hunt, 1994 cited by Doney & Cannon, 1997).

Developing trust in a supplier firm is not only based on the size, but also the reputation, willingness to customize, confidential information sharing of supplier firm, and length of relationship with supplier firm and salespeople (Doney & Conoon, 1997). In general, Singapore home furnishing and customer electronics retailers build trust with supplier firms primarily relying on supplier firm's size and reputation. It is worthy to note that the supplier firms' willingness to make idiosyncratic investments and share confidential information provided evidence that they can be believed, they cared for the relationship and willing to make sacrifices. These investments contribute to forging strong buyer trust in the selling firm and they can be expected to pay off the long run (Ford et al, 2002).

b) Examine the role of supplier firm and salesperson trust on a buying firm's current supplier choice and future purchase intentions

Doney & Canoon (1997) argue that a company sales representative who proves to be dishonest and unreliable could jeopardize a long-term relationship between the buyer and seller but trusted salespeople helps to preserve customer commitment during difficult times. A close interpersonal relationship helps to reduce customer firm's costs in the long run that can be a source of competitive advantage for supplier's firm (Wathne, Biong & Heide, 2001). This can be done with emphasis on the supplier flexibility, product/service quality and relationship-specific adaptation stated by Cannon & Homburg (2001).

Relationship marketing strategies are often based on account management programs, in which buyers are assigned a designated sales person who acts as an intermediary between the buyer and supplier (Lovelock & Wright, 1999). As supplier's salespeople plays an important role in developing customer relationship value, the supplier firm should recognize the potential vulnerability if the key contact person were to leave, be transferred or promoted and thus be unable to serve the customer (Bendapudi & Leone, 2002). Because turnover is bound to occur, there should be efforts to capture the employees' knowledge about their customers to transfer this information to a replacement. Doney & Canoon (1997), and Cannon & Homburg (2001) suggest that supplier firms should emphasize customer satisfaction and note that the interpersonal trust engendered by salespeople and transferred to the supplier firm plays a key role in developing and maintaining enduring buyer-seller relationship.

New Trends

(Sullivan R. R. 1990) There is little doubt that a much tougher business world is developing. As the domestic marketplace moves toward a global environment, mass markets will tend to disappear. Technology costs will decline as capabilities expand, causing more prevalent use. As students who mature using computers enter the work force in increasing numbers, the environment for new methods of conducting business will continue to increase.

The salesperson will continue to be an integral part of the environment, but not in the same guise. Specialization in marketing techniques and presentation of products will expand. "Blanket orders," "systems contracts," and "electronic order-entry systems" will become commonplace in customer facilities. End users will electronically network with distributors' inventory systems, and prices will be electronically adjusted without the involvement of the individual salesperson.

The relationship between the manufacturers' representatives and the distributors' will invert, that is, the distributors' will become more implicated in buyer/seller interaction (Narus, J.A. and J.C. Anderson 1986). The field agent will turn responsibilities for prospecting and prospect qualification over to those who communicate by telephone or mail. The field agent will become a true "agent" in that she/he will identify prospects and needs without spending time in qualification. That activity will become the responsibility of other team members who will also handle small and marginal accounts while gathering marketing intelligence and solving minor technical problems. Instead, the personal salesperson's time will be devoted to the development of product and service recommendations, rather than the actual sale of product or service individually.

Predictions are that by 1990 about half of a company's sales force will work inside. The field person will continue to exist but in a different role. New roles will include customer instruction and training, and technical advising instead of taking orders. New salespeople should become more technical and specialized. The importance of the personal contact between buyer and salesperson is continuing to diminish as the inside group improves.

(Sullivan R. R. 1990) stated that corporate customers are more often entering into buy/sell agreements by interacting through inbound and outbound telemarketing, annual purchase agreements, and free hot lines to solve problems. Some of the products now sold in this manner include office supplies, pumping systems, and microcomputers and software. More than 17 percent of the six billion dollar microcomputer software market was sold through mail in 1986, along with five percent of the hardware market. Wang uses catalogs, direct mail brochures, and outbound telemarketing in addition to field agents who sell annual purchases agreements and offer discounts in return for purchase commitments with the direct mail division.

Emerging selling systems now include personnel who specialize in the role of consultant, negotiator, system seller, and team member. The consultant must be as sensitive to the needs of the buyer as to those of the seller. In this role, it is conceivable that the consultant will be placed in a position of rejecting the position taken by her/his own company. (Sullivan R. R. 1990) This risk taker will become the champion of the buyer. The "prospect" will become the "client." Time commitments will be required of the field agent in order to become attuned to buyer needs. In the true sense of the word, the purpose will be to provide analysis and solutions. (Sullivan R. R. 1990) The negotiator will require goal maximization in order to create a common objective partnership and defense against the competition of the buyer and the seller. The system seller will move beyond product sales into a myriad of common problems. The result could be recommendations which involve other functions, such as the buyers' production function and/or communication flow. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

New sales teams will have functional expertise and be flexible enough as a group to allow for modification of the team to match the circumstances. In other words, the team literally becomes a matrix organization made up of those individuals who could most effectively work with a particular buyer.

As the business environment moves towards an increasingly complex situation, the salesperson may be the individual who becomes the team manager or coordinator, using a variety of blandishments -- which could only be administered by someone in close proximity to the end user. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

The World of the Future

Selling should be redefined in such a way that it is described as a process whereby the seller ascertains, activates, and satisfies the needs or wants of the buyer to the mutual, continuous benefit of both the buyer and seller. The process should involve helping the customer identify problems, supplying information on potential solutions, and providing after-the-sale service to ensure long-term satisfaction. This should be done in the most convenient manner and at the lowest possible cost, using whatever means and methods necessary to satisfy customers' needs and wants. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

The sales effort must now be re-examined in light of the new techniques and pressures that are faced by those interacting in buying and selling. The field sales agent must move toward the kind of expertise that used to be within the domain of the master salesperson. Few salespeople have the time or capabilities necessary for handling the sales of business products without help from many various sources. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

In conclusion, the cost of personal selling has reached prohibitive levels. It is now time for sales oriented institutions to develop their sales efforts in such a manner that they truly become "interdynamic" and "integrated." The total selling effort should include interactive, supplemental, and impersonal selling methods in order to truly offer the customer the wherewithal of the selling company. If traditional barriers to cooperation within the company can be destroyed, then synergism can occur and true success is possible. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

Personal selling, in the classical sense, is no longer personal. It is true that the role of the individual is important in the overall process of selling. However, she/he must assume a position among a team of sellers involved in a complicated process of moving products from the manufacturer to the end user. (Sullivan R. R. 1990)

Price Information

Price information is another part of the advertising message that may differentiate business-to-business services advertising from consumer services advertising. Researchers have not compared the frequency of occurrence of price information in the context of the two types of services advertising; however, LaBand, Pickett, and Grove (1992) found that services ads were more likely than tangible product ads to contain information about price. In contrast, Abernethy and Butler (1992) reported that only 19.4% of the services ads in their sample made price-value claims, a significantly smaller proportion than the 78.7% they found for tangible product advertisements.

The conflicting evidence about the frequency of use of price information in services and tangible product advertising does not provide even indirect insight about the relative frequency of use of price information in business-to-business and consumer services advertising. However, price information gives buyers a rational criterion on which to base their purchase decisions. Further, price is generally viewed as a strong influence on organizational buying decisions (Dobler and Butt 1996). The rationality of the organizational buying process suggests that business-to-business services ads are likely to include price information in their message content more frequently than consumer services ads.

Appeal

One of the most basic elements associated with an advertising strategy is the choice of an appeal. Advertising appeals are commonly categorized into two broad types, rational and emotional. Stafford and Day (1995) note that the traditional view in advertising has been that the effectiveness of a particular message appeal is contingent on the type of product being advertised.

Interestingly, research on the advertising of services is contradictory on appeal usage. Several researchers have argued on a variety of conceptual grounds that services advertising lends itself to use of emotional appeals. For example, Young (1981) contended that services have a different hierarchy of effects than goods, which makes emotional appeals more effective for services advertising. Firestone (1983) noted the importance of developing a service personality through services advertising. Again, emotional appeals seemingly would be most effective in conveying a service personality to consumers. Upah (1983) noted the importance of services advertising to communicate the emotional end-benefit the firm is providing. Finally, Legg and Baker (1987) and Stern (1988) cited the need for dramatizing abstract offerings through service advertising.

Stafford and Day (1995) reported findings contradictory to previous ones. They conducted an experiment exploring the effectiveness of services advertising, using message appeal as an independent variable. The findings indicated that rational appeals were more effective than emotional appeals in generating favorable levels of attitude toward services advertisements. On the basis of their results, Stafford and Day argued that informational appeals should be used regardless of service type.

Previous research on the message appeals of services advertising has not considered the possibility that different types of services might require different types of message appeals. Generally accepted distinctions between business-to-business services and consumer services suggest that different message appeals should be used in advertising the two types of services. For example, a more rational decision-making process, greater product complexity, and greater reliance on group decision making are associated with business-to-business services (Cooper and Jackson 1988). The need for rational justifications therefore seems likely to be greater in the context of organizational buying, which involves a continual search for alternatives that yield the best combinations of quality, service, and price (Dobler and Burt 1996), than in consumer buying.

Internet Address

The World Wide Web has given advertisers a new and efficient means of advertising and marketing their products (Hoffman and Novak 1996). As a result, World Wide Web Internet addresses have recently emerged in print ads as an advertising content element. Placing an Internet address in an ad enables a reader to acquire additional information about the product or sponsor in a timely and efficient way at his or her own convenience. Moreover, use of the World Wide Web and Internet addresses in advertisements has reportedly resulted in marketing and advertising cost savings associated with direct marketing, increased efficiency, and customer service (Hoffman and Novak 1996).

Because Internet addresses are a relatively new execution element for advertisers, little research is available on which to base a hypothesis about the relative usage of the World Wide Web for business-to-business and consumer service print ads. For both business-to-business buyers and consumers, the World Wide Web provides an efficient channel for acquiring information on which to base buying decisions (Hoffman and Novak 1996). However, Internet addresses seem most likely to be included in services advertisements targeted to the business-to-business market because organizational buyers are more likely than consumers to approach the buying decision-making process as rational decision makers (Cooper and Jackson 1988).

Quality Claims

Service quality has been a dominant research stream during the last decade. Theorists have developed several models to explain how service quality perceptions are formed, which have sparked wide discussion in the academic community (e.g., Gronroos 1983; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985). In several of the models, external communications with consumers play a central role in the formulation of customer perceptions of service quality (e.g., Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985). One of the strategic uses of external communications (e.g., advertising) with the consumer is to communicate special efforts to achieve quality that may not be apparent or visible because of the intangible nature of services. As a result, quality claims are often an important and vital message element in services advertising.

Quality claims are important in both business-to-business and consumer services advertising; however, Dobler and Burt (1996) suggest that quality is a particularly strong influence in organizational buying. In a study of perceptions of business-to-business service quality, Westbrook (1995) concurred and found the top three quality attributes to be responsiveness, competence, and reliability.

Quality claims can give potential buyers strong rational criteria for decision making. Because rational appeals are expected to be more widely used in business-to-business than in consumer services advertising, business-to-business services ads seem more likely to include quality claims, as such claims provide rational criteria on which business-to-business buyers can base their decisions.

Headline

Headlines in print ads are closely connected to the message appeal. Some researchers consider the headline to be of central importance to the effectiveness of an ad because the headline is sometimes the only part of an ad that is read (Hitchon 1991). In addition, the headline of a print ad may strongly influence the reading of the ad copy (Hitchon 1991).

Headlines can be written in many styles. Bovee and Arens (1992) classify headlines into five basic styles or categories: benefit, provocative, news/information, question, and command. A benefit headline makes a direct promise to the reader. A provocative headline attempts to stimulate the reader's curiosity. News/information headlines provide news, promise information, or include how- to information that seeks recognition for ad sponsors. Question headlines ask the reader a question, which generally is answered in the body copy. Finally, a command headline orders the reader to do something.

Like advertising message appeals, advertising headline styles seem apt to differ between business-to-business and consumer services ads. Specifically, news and information and benefit headlines seem likely to be used more frequently in business-to-business services ads than in consumer services ads because of the rational nature of those two types of headlines. Provocative, question, and command headlines seem likely to be used widely in both business-to-business and consumer services ads because those types of headlines can be readily adapted to for both rational and emotional appeals.

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Hong Kong Essays

Tuesday, March 18, 2008