Assisting SMEs to Establish RMA Diagnosis Checklist and Innovative RMA Process System to Enhance B2B Innovative Concept Adaptation and Its Value-Added Function

This research attempts to focus on Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) and the optimization of the RMA solutions. In the meantime, this research establishes RMA Diagnosis Checklist, Innovative RMA Process system, and a number of suggested solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This research has important implications as it optimizes RMA solutions to B2B problems for SMEs, provides useful information on effective RMA service policies for B2B marketing decisions and creates a general awareness of the importance and rationale of RMA. Finally, this study provides RMA as a diagnostic tool and strategic tactic for SMEs.

Changes in the Buying Behaviour of the Companies within the Context of the Digital Environment

The social and business environments have changed greatly in the last two years, in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the condition of increased adoption of the digital based activities in the everyday lives of the company. New tools and activities, like “remote working”, “online interaction”, “video conferences” are just some of the new tools that have changed the Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing and buying behaviour landscape and made it jump from the traditional to the current and possibly the future approach. The current paper tracks some of the changes that have occurred in the Business-to-Business marketing environment, while underlining the effects he shift to digital has had on the business consumers and on their buying behaviour, being sustained by several secondary data analyses resulted from current reports, which are the basis for developing successful B2B marketing strategies and tactics.

Examining the use of fsQCA in B2B marketing research: benefits, current state and agenda for future research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to build on recent efforts occurring within business-to-business (B2B) marketing research to advance methodological developments. As phenomena within B2B relationships have become increasingly complex, marketing scholars have begun to point out the limitations associated with correlation-based methodological approaches and highlight the need for new developments in this area. One such development is the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Design/methodology/approach This study uses a literature review to examine the use of fsQCA in B2B marketing research. Findings First, the current manuscript presents the benefits that the application of fsQCA can offer to market researchers investigating B2B phenomena. Second, the paper presents the current state of fsQCA use within B2B marketing. Third, it suggests possible marketing B2B research topics that can be explored using fsQCA. Originality/value The study highlights the benefits of fsQCA, presents the current state of fsQCA use within B2B marketing and offers a rich future research agenda for B2B marketing scholars. This agenda can also help spur additional method developments in the discipline.

How B2B marketers interact with customers and develop knowledge to produce a co-owned marketing strategy

Purpose This paper aims to explore how senior business to business (B2B) marketing managers within a collectivist culture, contribute to knowledge development by interacting with staff in customer organizations to produce a co-owned marketing strategy. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research strategy incorporating an open-ended questionnaire was used to collect data from 15 senior B2B marketing managers in three Korean companies that deployed the customer-centred approach. The grounded theory technique (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) and the mind map method (Burgess-Allen and Owen-Smith, 2010) were used to show how senior Korean marketing managers’ thoughts are processed and knowledge transfer occurs. Findings The findings show that a governance mechanism is instrumental in guiding interactive communication that results in knowledge being used that benefits the members of a partnership arrangement. The knowledge development process is enhanced by mutual trust and emotional bonds that are established through socialization. Cyclical interaction through socialization and frequent (in)formal meetings facilitates the process of turning explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge and vice versa, and encourages new knowledge to be developed. Socialization also helps to reduce learning myopia and contributes to the innovatory processes that result in customer needs being met. Originality/value The paper provides insights into the importance of boundary setting that facilitates cooperative marketing action, which results in a B2B integrated marketing intelligence and planning process.