Zugl.: Düsseldorf, Univ., Diss., 2008

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to explore why and how B2B-companies use podcasts as a marketing tool and evaluate how it canfunction together with other marketing strategies. Problematization Digital content marketing is an increasingly popular marketingstrategy within B2B. There is however a large content saturationonline, this puts pressure on organizations having to increase theirmarketing creativity and finding alternative means to stand outfrom the crowd while at the same time staying within theirmarketing budget. Podcast marketing is a form of content marketingbeing fairly untapped territory and with little research dedicatedtowards it, however being the fastest growing medium it is of highinterest to better understand its marketing potential and how toutilize it. Methodology A qualitative case study with an iterative approach. The empiricalfindings derive from semi structured interviews with five selectedcase companies and a podcast producer. Conclusion Why B2B companies use podcasting as a marketing tool variessomewhat, the five main reasons identified are cost and timeefficiency, active listening, building relationships, branding andemployer branding. Some view podcasting in a strategic sense first,while others seem to use podcasting just as much for their ownenjoyment as they do for strategic purposes. There are challenges inregard to measuring success. However, those challenges do notappear to be very problematic as costs are low. Reaching the rightpeople is more important than reaching the masses. Contribution This study adds to existing research within the field of B2B content marketing by exploring podcasts as a marketing tool.

This thesis aims to explore what and how Swedish micro firms use digital media towards relationship initiation in a Business-to-Business (B2B) context. Digital media has been increasingly studied in marketing over time, but it has been predominated by Business-to- Customer (B2C) context, while the Business-to-Business context lacks attention, micro B2B firms even less in particular. Moreover, previous studies show that micro B2B firms lack knowledge of how to leverage digital media and thus they have not fully exploited the benefits in relationship marketing. Therefore, this thesis anticipates gaining a better understanding of the phenomenon of digital media use by micro B2B firms towards customer relationships and focuses on the initiation stage due to its importance in the relationship marketing process as well as the limited knowledge in existing literature.  This thesis employs a qualitative and multi-case study approach to explore the focal phenomenon. Four micro companies which have less than 10 employees from the life science industryparticipate in the empirical study. The data comes from semi-structured interviews and observation of their websites and social media accounts. Each firm has conducted two interviews. The data analysis follows the Gioia methodology, including within case and across cases analysis, as well as the theory elaboration study.  This study shows that Swedish micro B2B firms rely on their own websites, email, and social media mainly LinkedIn to communicate with potential customers, hence fostering relationship initiation. These digital media have been used to trigger the interest of potential customers, establish credibility by knowledge sharing, and create value. The findings contribute to the literature by extending the knowledge of what and how digital media is used by micro B2B firms towards relationship initiation. They are in line with extant literature showing that digital media enables companies to attract customers, engage their participation, and meet as well as provide services online. In addition, they confirm that digital media can enhance their trustworthiness due to increased communication and interaction. Furthermore, the findings identify the processive process of the case firms and their potential customers from unfamiliarity to relationship initiation, which illustrates three levels of interactivity in sequence: message-based level, knowledge-based level, and participant-based level. The progress of interactivity indicates the development of the trust of potential customers.  This thesis sheds light on what digital media micro B2B firms use and how to use towards relationship initiation with unfamiliar potential customers. Also, it provides insights into how micro B2B firms could establish and increase their trustworthiness in the market. Additionally, this thesis extends the managerial implications to the society and other stakeholders.

This study addresses the rationale of using partners in relationship initiation with potential buyers and how relationship initiation takes place in triadic settings. As the authors have identified relationship initiation as an under-researched area, further research in this field is needed in order to enhance knowledge regarding the use of partners in the relationship initiation with potential buyers. Based on a case study, the authors investigate a company, their partners and potential buyers during the relationship initiation process. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and analysis of documents. A model was developed based on existing literature in order to allow the authors to analyse the data. The analysis provides an overview of how and why companies use partners to initiate relationships with buyers and how relationship initiation occurs in triadic settings. A new conceptual model was developed suggesting that any actor within this triadic setting can trigger the relationship initiation and that this process shouldn’t necessarily be regarded as sequential. This study also shows that the degree of brand awareness that a company possess can influence their relationship initiation processes.

Im Rahmen eines strukturierten Fragebogens wurden Daten von insgesamt 191 untersuchten B2B-Marktplätzen zu 135 europäischen (inkl. 11 österreichischen) und 56 internationalen Marktplätzen erhoben. Hierbei wurden je Marktplatz 76 Kriterien untersucht. Um auch eine Rückmeldung der Kunden der Marktplätze zu erhalten, wurden zusätzlich 135 Fragebögen an leitende Personen des Einkaufs österreichischer Unternehmen verteilt. Ziel dieser zusätzlichen Befragung war es, die Bedeutung der erhobenen Einzelkriterien aus der Sicht von potenziellen oder bereits bestehenden Marktplatzteilnehmern zu bewerten. Es stellte sich die Frage, ob einzelne Unternehmen überhaupt in der Lage seien, im Vorfeld aufgrund der ihnen zur Verfügung stehenden Informationen zu entscheiden, ob bestimmte Marktplätze als "überlebensfähig" eingestuft werden können. Die durchgeführten Analysen sollten versuchen, diese Frage zu beantworten. Für Unternehmen, die sich einem Marktplatz anschließen möchten, ist es wichtig sich jenen Marktplatz auszuwählen, der eine höhere Überlebenschance besitzt. Somit stellt sich die Frage, ob bzw. welche Einzelkriterien oder Kriterienkonstellationen auf das Überleben eines Marktplatzes Einfluss haben. Mit Hilfe von deskriptiven und explorativen statistischen Analysen wurde im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes versucht, auf diese Fragestellung eine Antwort zu geben. Zusammenfassend konnten zwar bei einigen erhobenen Kriterien Tendenzen lokalisiert werden, die sich in der Praxis auf das Überleben eines Marktplatzes positiv oder negativ auswirken könnten. Generell kann aufgrund dieser Untersuchung jedoch nicht davon ausgegangen werden, dass ein Unternehmen alleine anhand der ihm zugänglichen Informationen in der Lage ist zu erkennen, ob der ausgewählte Marktplatz im Hinblick auf dessen Überlebensfähigkeit eine Teilnahme lohnt. Gängige, in einschlägiger Literatur aufgestellte Behauptungen konnten durch die durchgeführten statistischen Analysen übrigens nicht nachvollzogen werden.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität, Chemnitz, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 481-510) and index.

Univ., Diss.--Münster, 2003.

Medan en stor mängd forskning på affärsrelationer mellan företag har fokuserat på relationers utveckling efter ett avtalat samarbete, så har mindre forskning fokuserat på hur företagen först inleder och kommer fram till ett avtalat samarbete. Den forskning som finns på detta område har främst fokuserat på antingen större eller nyetablerade företag, medan mindre, redan etablerade företag inte studerats i lika stor utsträckning. En utmaning i detta är att förstå hur tillit mellan företag bildas i ett inledande skede av affärsrelationen. Detta arbete studerar därför hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar bildandet av affärsrelationer i mindre företag. Genom intervjuer med fem verkställande direktörer har studien illustrerat hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar relationsbildningen hos mindre företag. Sociala band, referenser och kommunikation anses i studien som de viktigaste faktorerna för lyckade relationsbildningar. Arbetet avslutas med att diskutera praktiska tillämpningar och rekommendationer för framtida forskning. / While a large amount of research regarding business to business relationships has focused on the development of relationships after an agreement to cooperate, less research has focused on the initial stage leading up to this agreement. Further, most of the research on this topic has focused on either large companies or startups, while small, already established ventures has not been studied to a great extent. A central issue in business relationships is how trust is initially built between companies. Using a relationship stage model and interviews with five CEO: s the study examines how trust building factors affect the development of small, already established companies relationships in the initial stage. Social bonds, references and communication are regarded in the study as the most important trust building factors for successful relationship initiation. The study concludes by discussing practical implications and recommendations for future research.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity on decisions by managers to continue or discontinue a new product after receiving negative performance feedback. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a classroom experiment design and uses logistic regression and a chi-square test to analyze the data. Findings: The findings of this paper show that self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity have not only main effects but also interactive effects on managers’ go or no-go decisions; further, the main effects are mediated by interactions. The effect of self-efficacy is moderated by process feedback and task complexity. Process feedback and task complexity also have an interactive effect on decisions about new products by decision-makers. Research limitations/implications: This paper extends the theory of escalation of commitment (EOC) by showing that self-efficacy, process feedback and task complexity can influence decision-makers’ go or no-go decisions after they have received negative performance feedback. Practical implications: This paper provides useful guidelines for managers on how to reduce the likelihood of EOC. Originality/value: The originality and value of this paper lie in its being the first to examine the effects of process feedback and task complexity on the EOC.

This study examines various approaches used by companies providingsoftware-as-a-service (SaaS) in a business-to-business (B2B) environment to find a pricing strategy. To be able to meet competition in a global market, a good pricing strategy is vital. Pricing is an important part of marketing, which must be congruent with the company's overall objectives. Strategic pricing is made up of different factors represented in the strategic pricing pyramid, which is based on a value-based approach. It is paramount to know your customers and their preferences when designing a pricing strategy and selecting pricing models, price metrics, market segmentation, bundling, and price levels. After having estimated how much value a product or service creates for a customer, this must be communicated to potential customers in order to convince them to purchase your offering. Choosing the right pricing strategy is not a onetime occurrence, but an on-going process. In this qualitative study, three case studies are performed to tie theory to real world practise.