ISBM Research
Q U A RT E R LY
Summer 2010
Volume 3, Issue 2
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
In This Issue . . .
A
In This Issue ............................................ 1
Still Time to Register...2010 ISBM B-to-B
Academic Conference ...........................1
B-to-B Ph.D. Camp, Conference Highlight
2010 Summer Schedule .....................2
Planning Business-to-Business Research for
the Review Process, Lisa K. Scheer.........3
Gary L. Lilien
From the Membership:
Announcing Next ISBM Members Meeting,
Kotler to Keynote .................................5
2010 ISBM Dissertation Award Competition
Deadline ............................................6
Raj Grewal
IPSS Update: (ISBM Ph.D. Seminar
Series) . ..............................................6
Other Announcements ................................7
s summer peaks (at least for those of us north of the equator),
we bring you greetings from the ISBM! This issue of the
academic newsletter provides both significant substance and
some appetite-whetters. On the substance side, Lisa Scheer provides
useful guidance for B-to-B scholars who wish to get their research
published in a quality journal. (Who doesn’t ?). She suggests how
that research should be developed so that it has the best placement
possible and we are grateful to her for sharing her views. And we
have a lot of appetite whetting to offer. We (Lilien) provide a brief
sketch and pointers to the program details for our biennial PhD
camp and Academic Conference, both to be held at the Harvard
Business School, 11-12 August, immediately before the Summer
AMA Conference. We hope to see many of you there—and it
is not too late to register. Ralph Oliva’s From the Membership
column provides a preview of the ISBM Members’ meeting, to be
held 15-16 Sept on the Penn State Campus in State College. The
theme is Bridging Marketing and Sales to Drive Profitable Growth
and features an outstanding program, with Phil Kotler keynoting.
And although summer has just begun, Fall is not that far away
and we (Raj) provide a preview of what the ISBM PhD Seminar
Series (IPSS) has to offer next. And a key reminder—the ISBM
dissertation support completion entries are due 15 September—see
details below.
So there is some excellent material here and some great opportunities to share research
and insights coming up soon.
Enjoy!
Gary L. Lilien
Research Director
Institute for the Study
of Business Markets
CONTACT INFORMATION
Research Director
Gary L. Lilien, ([email protected])
Associate Research Director
Rajdeep Grewal, ([email protected])
Executive Director
Ralph Oliva, ([email protected])
Institute for the Study of Business Markets
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University
484 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802
USA
+1-814-863-2782 • WWW.ISBM.ORG
Raj Grewal
Associate Research Director
Institute for the Study
of Business Markets
THERE’S STILL TIME TO REGISTER...ISBM ACADEMIC CONFERENCE 2010:
ADVANCES IN B-TO-B MARKETING
August 11 - 12, 2010
Harvard Business School
Hawes Building
Boston, Massachusetts 02163
U.S.A.
Updates and complete conference details can be found at the conference website
http://aca10.isbm.org or contact the Conference Coordinator, Lori Nicolini ([email protected]) for
details and to register.
PAGE 2
ISBM B-to-B Ph.D. Camp, Conference Highlight 2010
Summer Schedule
T
he dates are fast approaching for the biennial ISBM BtoB PhD camp and B-to-B Academic Conference coming up August 11 and
12 (just prior to the AMA Summer Educator’s Conference) at the Harvard Business School in Boston.
As usual, Abbie Griffin is acting as Camp Director and has put together a fantastic program for PhD students engaged in or
considering a concentration in B-to-B marketing. Participating academics besides Abbie include Ruth Bolton from MSI, Raj Grewal
from Penn State, Christophe Van den Bulte from Wharton, Arnaud De Bryun from ESSEC, Michael Ahearne from University of
Houston, Srinath Gopalakrishna and Lisa Scheer from Missouri, Rob Palmatier from Washington, and Sundar Bharadwaj and Sandy
Jap from Emory. Additional Round Table Leaders include: Ajay Kohli, James Narus, Robert Spekman, Wes Johnston, Robert
Thomas, Rosanna Garcia, Thomas Steenburgh and Das Narayandas. For a full schedule of the camp, see http://phdcamp10.isbm.org
The PhD camp takes the full day of 11 August, but overlaps a half day with the Academic Conference which begins at noon on 11
August, allowing PhD students to mix with Academic Conference attendees. The preliminary schedule for the Academic conference is
now available at http://aca10.isbm.org
As you will see from the program agenda, featuring over 100 papers and 150 attendees, this will be an exciting event, providing a
diverse set of sessions, including a large “meet the editors” session. As an experiment we will be doing the meet the editors session as a
“paper fair” this year, so that people can actually meet and speak to the editors one-on-one.
The academic conference will close with a B-to-B Issues Forum, where Ralph Oliva, ISBM Executive Director will report on the 2012
ISBM Trends Study and, along with Das Narayandas and Thomas Steenburgh from HBS, will moderate a panel of B-to-B Marketing
Executives. The Panelist will react to the Trends Study and give their perspectives on the issues most crucial to their businesses that we
should be focusing our research attention on.
It is not too late to register for this important conference http://php.smeal.psu.edu/isbm/acad_conf/index.php
Do try to come; it will be the place to be for the global B-to-B Marketing Community. We hope to see you there!
Gary L. Lilien, [email protected]
Raj Grewal, [email protected]
Das Narayandas, [email protected]
Conference Co-Organizers
Abbie Griffin, abbie.griffi[email protected]
Camp Director
Das Narayandas
Harvard Business School
© 2006 http://philip.greenspun.com/copyright
Abbie Griffin
PAGE 3
Planning Business-to-Business Research for the
Review Process
W
e’re driven
to explore
topics
that intrigue
us. We invest
countless hours
in the literature
Lisa K. Scheer
and untold
more executing original research.
We’re enthused and eager to share
our findings with the world. Then
we submit our precious work and
nervously await judgment from
unseen others, much like hopefuls
at an Internet-dating service. But
disappointment often ensues despite
our best efforts. Even if blessed by the
revision of our dreams, we are often
frustrated by the inquisition.
•
Can you take actions that increase the
probability of a positive publication
outcome? Yes. Although reviewers
idiosyncratically focus on issues close
to their hearts, they also often concur
about serious problems. The fact is,
many potentially devastating reviewer
objections can be foreseen – if you
think like a critic instead of the creator
of a work of art. However, if you wait
until manuscript preparation to think
critically, it’s too late. Let me share
a couple examples from my research
with various colleagues to illustrate
how you can plan your research for the
review process and thereby mitigate
many pitfalls.
•
Invest time in clearly defining key
constructs. Don’t focus only on
what the construct is, but equally
on what it is not. If you can’t
figuratively draw a bright line
around the conceptual domain,
don’t proceed. Potential for mismeasurement soars. Questions
about discriminant validity will
abound. Stop. Think. Clarify.
For example, when planning to
publication. But we underestimate
the danger of having no link
with precedent. This becomes
increasingly critical as your
“Aha! Factor” rises. When theory
contradicts established precedents,
findings are counterintuitive,
or implications threaten
conventional wisdom, beware!
Do not assume reviewers will
be thrilled about these pathbreaking contributions. Instead,
expect reviewers to scrutinize your
findings exceptionally diligently.
And indeed they should – as
should you! Are your findings
driven by an idiosyncratic
research context? Is the “wow”
ephemeral and due to mis-labeled
constructs or improper measures?
Demonstrating that a wellestablished precedent is replicated
in your research helps anchor your
study, lends credibility to your
methods, and makes it harder to
dismiss your exciting findings.
assess trust at three different levels
within a B2B joint venture, we
needed to clarify “Who trusts
whom?” at each of those levels.1
Without a very clear picture of
the specific parties within the
dyads at each level, it would
have been very unlikely to get
discriminant validity between
interorganizational trust, agency
trust, and intra-JV trust.
If your focal construct’s domain
is close to a previously-studied
concept, measure both constructs.
If you do, you can demonstrate
discriminant validity. If you
don’t, you must resort to arguing
your case without evidence.
Reviewers tend to view their own
unsubstantiated logic as more
persuasive than yours. It matters
not that the construct doesn’t
appear in your model – its role is
to ensure your model sees the light
of day!
For example, when introducing
distributive fairness to the
marketing literature,2 we
anticipated that reviewers
were likely to hold one of two
preconceived notions – that
distributive fairness between
supplier and reseller would
implicitly equal equity or,
alternatively, be equated with
better outcomes. We decided
to measure both equity and
outcome favorability so we could
demonstrate distributive fairness’s
distinctiveness. In a side benefit,
we also formulated separate
hypotheses regarding the role of
equity, which ultimately generated
another publication.3
•
Plan to replicate a well-known
finding. We are rightly wary
of duplicating well-established
results and not making sufficient
contribution to warrant
For example, when introducing
the construct of customer’s
salesperson-owned loyalty, we
knew many studies had linked
customer loyalty with greater
selling firm outcomes. We needed
to replicate that well-established
finding to provide credibility for
our methods and to demonstrate
that salesperson-owned loyalty
could have an impact beyond
that associated with loyalty to the
firm. We were able to show that
salesperson-owned loyalty had
a direct impact on selling firm
outcomes – and that what appears
to be loyalty to the firm can be
comprised largely of salespersonowned loyalty.4
•
Include a test of the most
compelling alternative explanation
for your findings. We can
never rule out all competing
continued on page 4
PAGE 4
Planning Business-to-Business Research for the
Review Process continued from page 3
possibilities, but with sufficient
forethought we often can identify
alternative explanations for the
observed pattern of effects. Think:
Even if your key hypotheses
were supported, what potential
alternative explanations are
reviewers most likely to raise? Has
prior research grown from one
theory base, while you draw on
another literature? Is there a welldocumented antecedent of your
dependent variables which could
be confounded with the construct
you examine? Don’t modify your
theoretical model, but simply
measure another construct or
two which allows you to examine
that alternative empirically. You
can either proactively share those
results to bolster confidence in
your hypothesized model or hold
them in reserve until a reviewer
raises the question. “We had the
same thought and can rule out
that possibility because . . .”
For example, when developing
measures of punitive tactics and
punitive capability,5 we were
certain reviewers would question
how our approach differed
from Frazier and Summers’
influence strategy framework,
so we also measured influence
strategies using extant scales.
Thus, when a reviewer insisted
that our constructs were simply a
relabeling of coercive influence,
we were prepared – we documented
conclusively that they were
indeed discriminant, we explained
theoretically why coercive influence
should not have the same effects, and
then demonstrated empirically that
coercive influence and punitive tactics
did not have the same effects.
It is important to note that these tactics
should be deployed after you develop
your theoretical framework or model.
Strong theory is the foundation and these
ideas concern the style, functionality, and
safety of the structure built upon that
foundation. Time spent incorporating
these types of considerations at the
research design phase will reduce time
invested in data analysis and enhance your
odds of publication.
References:
1
Fang, Eric (Er), Robert W. Palmatier,
Lisa K. Scheer, and Ning Li (2008),
“Trust at Different Organizational Levels.”
Journal of Marketing, 72 (March), 80-98.
2
Nirmalya Kumar, Lisa K. Scheer,
and Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp
(1995), “The Effects of Supplier Fairness
on Vulnerable Resellers,” Journal of
Marketing Research, 32 (February), 54-65.
3
Lisa K. Scheer, Nirmalya Kumar, and
Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp (2003),
“Reactions to Perceived Inequity in
U.S. and Dutch Interorganizational
Relationships,” Academy of Management
Journal, 46 (3), 303-16.
4
Palmatier, Robert W., Lisa K. Scheer, and
Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp (2007),
“Customer Loyalty to Whom? Managing
the Benefits and Risks of SalespersonOwned Loyalty,” Journal of Marketing
Research, 44 (May), 185-99.
5
Nirmalya Kumar, Lisa K. Scheer, and
Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp (1998),
“Interdependence, Punitive Capability,
and the Reciprocation of Punitive Action
in Channel Relationships,” Journal of
Marketing Research, 35 (May), 225-35.
Lisa K. Scheer
Emma S. Hibbs Distinguished Professor
of Marketing
University of Missouri
[email protected]
PAGE 5
“From the Membership” Announcing Next ISBM
Members Meeting: Kotler to Keynote
W
ill dig into the issue of marketing/sales connection at
our next ISBM members meeting. We’ll be getting
together September 15-16, 2010, at the Nittany Lion
Inn here on the Penn State University Park Campus. Please
save the date and plan on being here!
The title for this meeting be “Bridging Marketing and Sales
to Drive Profitable Growth”. We are working to assemble
this meeting in close concert with Dr. Mike Ahearne,
Executive Director of the Sales Excellence Institute at
the University of Houston. Dr. Ahearne and his team are
bringing important additional research insight to the process
of professional selling. Linking together with The Sales
Excellence Institute, as well as Dr. Wes Johnston at Georgia
State provides important balance to our resources covering
business markets.
Outstanding Speakers:
We are very fortunate to have Dr. Philip Kotler, Kellogg
School of Management, Northwestern University, and Mr.
Neil Rackham, “The Professor of Professional Selling” as our
keynote speakers kicking off the meeting.)
Dr. Kotler and Mr. Rackham will be building on their
research insights and frameworks covered in their article
“Ending the War between Sales and Marketing,” in the July/
August 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review. Dr. Fred
Wiersema will be part of the discussion, and hopefully lead
a panel to enable us to share ideas, questions, and further
thoughts.
In addition to these important thought leaders, we’ll be
gathering insights from cases in process and experiments
underway in better linkage between marketing and sales
ongoing at Xerox, Grainger, and Sabert.
better alignment? Which “levers” would have the greatest
impact: linkages in language, linkages in process, linkages in
organization, -- with which really are the most important to
focus on?
Dr. Andy Zoltners suggests an important framework for
thinking through the space between sales and marketing -which might also create pathways for research. He outlines
important solution pathways including those found in
company culture, people, structure, and process/systems.
You’re cordially invited...
As the business-to-business academic thought leadership and
field research community, you are the most valuable asset in
the ISBM network. Our pledge is to do whatever we can
to help you frame, conduct, and publish research bringing
insight to our practice. Our upcoming Members Meeting
might be a great opportunity for many of you who are
navigating this murky space between sales and marketing, to
share and learn with our members in the practice.
Please join us at the Nittany Lion Inn on the Penn State
University Park campus September 15-16, 2010. Call or
email us, (814-863-2782; [email protected]) to register or learn
more about the event.
All the very best,
Ralph A. Oliva
Executive Director
Institute for the Study
of Business Markets
Professor of Marketing
[email protected]
Research leaders including Wes Johnston from Georgia
State, Andy Zoltners from ZS Associates and Tim Furey of
MarketBridge are also on the agenda. We’re fortunate to have
Dr. Srinath Gopalakrishnan of University of Missouri and
Suj Krishnaswamy from Strategic Insights coming to share
some of their research with us as well.
Some early insights . . .
In early discussion with each of the speakers, some insights,
ideas, and thoughts on potential future research are already
developing.
What are the antecedents to good strong linkages between
these two functions? How can we measure the quality
of “alignment” between sales and marketing? Is this a
place where a figure of merit, maturity model, or series of
metrics would better enable us to guide activities to drive
Ralph Oliva
PAGE 6
2010 ISBM Dissertation Award Competition
Deadline - 15 September
Penn State's Institute for the Study of Business Markets announces its twentieth @annual Business Marketing Doctoral Support Award
Competition.
Up to three candidates in accredited doctoral programs will receive dissertation support awards. Dissertations in any area of business-to-business
(industrial) marketing or in any of the methodological areas that support advances in business marketing will be considered. See "Research
Priorities" under the ISBM Research section of the ISBM website for more information.
In addition to applications from Ph.D. students in marketing, we encourage applications from students in economics, management science,
organizational psychology, statistics, anthropology and other disciplines whose developments help advance our understanding of the operation of
the business marketplace.
The award consists of:
•
Up to $7,500 in financial assistance to be used for travel, conference attendance, data collection, and other expenses of conducting and
presenting the results of the research.
•
Assistance, as needed, in gaining the cooperation of both ISBM member firms and non-member firms for data, interviews, etc.
•
Unlimited use of databases held by or accessible to the ISBM, as needed.
The outstanding submission, if awarded, will receive the ISBM Dissertation Proposal Prize, an additional award of $2,500.
Ph.D. candidates interested in the competition should submit an abstract of their research not to exceed five double-spaced pages, along with
a current vita and a vita of their dissertation advisor. The abstract should address the potential importance of their work to business marketing
practice, its theoretical contributions, the research methodology, and the amount and kind of support requested. The abstract must be submitted
no later than September 15, 2010.
Please visit the website (http://isbm.smeal.psu.edu/researcher/award) for complete submission details.
Since 1991, the ISBM has funded the research of over 70 B-to-B Ph.D. students through the competition. To see some of the past winners
and their topics, see the ISBM Competition Award Winners (http://isbm.smeal.psu.edu/researcher/award/winners/doctoral-support-awardcompetition-winners).
IPSS Update: ISBM Ph.D. Seminar Series Fall 2010
L
et me begin by thanking Mark Bergen and George John for teaching an excellent
seminar on Channel Management this past Spring (2010) and to Gerry Tellis for
an equally outstanding offering on Innovation Strategy. Indeed, with these scholars
devoting their time to develop future B-to-B researchers, I can safely say that the future of
the field is in good hands.
In this coming Fall (2010) semester Sundar Bharadwaj, Rob Palmatier, and Lisa Scheer
will offer two new offerings that will help foster Ph.D. students’
academic growth. In his Marketing Strategy Ph.D. Seminar, Sundar
Lisa K. Scheer
Robert Palmatier
Bharadwaj will introduce students to classic and contemporary
research in the areas of short-term and long-term marketing performance and metrics, marketing organizational
orientations and structure, marketing capabilities, cross-functional issues among others. In their course on
Relationship Marketing Theory and Research, Rob Palmatier and Lisa Scheer will help students (1) understand
the theories, research streams, and methods employed in relationship marketing research; (2) become more
sophisticated consumers of relationship marketing research; and (3) be better prepared to conceptualize, design
and implement their own research ideas.
Sundar Bharadwaj
I would like to thank Sundar, Rob, and Lisa in advance for their efforts and, as usual, I look forward your
suggestions and feedback.
Raj Grewal
Director - IPSS
[email protected]
PAGE 7
Special Issue of Industrial
Marketing Management on
Business to Business Branding
Industrial Marketing Management announces the call for
papers for a special issue on Business to Business Branding. The deadline for submission is 30 December 2010.
This special issue of Industrial Marketing Management
invites submissions that contribute to a better understanding of branding in B2B markets. Papers can be conceptual
or empirical and indicative topics include:
•
The extent to which branding theory developed in
consumer markets is transferable to business markets
•
The development, conceptualizattion, measurement
and management of brand equity for business to
business brands
•
The role of branding in the buyer’s decision making
process
•
The contribution of branding to developing and
maintaining B2B relationships
•
The importance of emotional and hedonic values for
B2B brands
•
Factors influencing the application of branding at the
organizational, product line, and individual product
level
5th International Conference on Business Market
Management
Tampere, Finland
18th - 20th of May 2011
Organized by the Department of Industrial
Management,
Tampere University of Technology.
Tampere University of Technology (TUT)
The conference is hosted by the Department of
Industrial Management at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in collaboration with the Journal of
Business Market Management (jbm).
Every second year, leading academics in the field of business-to-business markets meet at the International Conference on Business Market Management to present and discuss latest research results.
We cordially invite researchers in the field of business-to-business markets to share their knowledge
while enjoying a stimulating and diverse program, complemented by the opportunity to network with
colleagues and friends.
We are keen to receive both strong and innovative conceptual, as well as empirical contributions, with
a sound theoretical basis. Papers, abstracts, and special session proposals should be submitted to
[email protected]. Submissions should be made in MS Word format. The maximum length of papers
is 25 pages, including references, tables, and figures. Abstracts are expected to have a length of about
5 pages. Please check jbm’s author guidelines for style/format instructions (www.jbm-online.net). The
deadline for submissions is the 10th of January 2011. Reviews and acceptance letters will be sent on
the 14th of March 2011.
The conference will take place one week before the EMAC Conference at Ljubjana, Slovenia.
For further information, please contact:
•
Identification of performance metrics for B2B brands
•
B2B brand extensions
•
Cases of B2B brand success or failure
•
Outsourcing in B2B branding
•
The role of marketing communications in developing
strong business to business brands
•
The role of the internet in developing strong B2B
brands
•
Social media and the effect of word-of-mouth/mouse
on B2B brands
We would love to hear from you. If you wish
to comment on any of the articles (or have
thoughts for future articles), please pass them
on. Your suggestions will make the newsletter
better and more responsive to your needs.
Please email your correspondence to:
•
Customization and B2B brands
Newsletter Editor
Lori Nicolini ([email protected])
•
The impact of sustainable marketing practices on
B2B brands
Any questions can be emailed to guest editors: Dr. George
Christodoulides, [email protected] or Dr.
Sheena Leek, [email protected].
Olavi Uusitalo, Conference Chair, [email protected]
Tommi Mahlamaki, Conference Manager, [email protected]
COMMENTS... IDEAS...
Institute for the Study of Business Markets
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University
484 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802
USA
+1-814-863-2782 • WWW.ISBM.ORG