Buyer organisation attractiveness in luxury retail : Case: Luxbag

Conventionally, buyers are regarded as the dominant party in buyer-supplier relationships. In luxury retail however, luxury brands (suppliers) are highly selective about their distribution chains and buyer organisations must establish positive attitudes towards brands to receive preferential treatment and business opportunities, ergo to be attractive partners. The purpose of this study is to examine how a Finnish buying organisation manages its attractiveness to establish and develop luxury brand partnerships. The sub-objectives are to examine 1) how the luxury market in Finland has developed, 2) what are the perceived key drivers of buyer attractiveness and 3) what are the decisions on managing attractiveness. The study outlines the key drivers influencing the relationship initiation and development processes. First, the discursive theoretical framework is described, based on previous literature on the concept of customer attractiveness, i.e. its determinants and outcomes, and also including its theoretical underpinnings in social exchange theory. Second, the data for the empirical research was collected through a semi-structured expert interview on the themes derived from the theoretical background. The case study company was selected based on its expertise in luxury fashion retail and its market leadership position. The findings of the study support the existing theories to a large extent but also offer a perspective on the specific characteristics of relationship management in the luxury retail industry. The study underlines the importance of trustworthiness, commitment, sincerity, proactivity and insight to market development in developing and maintaining luxury brand partner-ships. On the other hand, the study also confirms that financial and operational factors affect perceived attractiveness to the same extent as social factors. To conclude, the findings offer interesting insight to the main research question of the study as well as to the current circumstances of luxury retail of Finland.Perinteisesti ostajat nähdään ostaja-myyjä-suhteiden hallitsevana osapuolena. Luksusmuodin markkinoilla kuitenkin brändit ovat hyvin valikoivia jälleenmyyntiverkostoistaan ja ostajien on luotava positiivisia asenteita itseään kohtaan saadakseen suosivaa kohtelua ja liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia, toisin sanoen oltava viehättäviä kumppaneita. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia, miten suomalainen ostajaorganisaatio luo ja kehittää asiakasvetovoimaansa luksusmuodin tuotteita myyviä päämiehiään kohtaan. Alakysymykset ovat 1) miten luksusmuodin markkina on kehittynyt Suomessa, 2) mitkä ovat vetovoimaisuuden keskeisiä ajureita ja 3) millaisia päätöksiä ostajaorganisaatio tekee vetovoimaisuutensa parantamiseksi? Tutkielma hahmottelee suhteiden kehitykseen vaikuttavia pääasiallisia ajureita. Tutkimuksen alkuun rakennetaan aiempaan tutkimuskirjallisuuteen pohjautuva asiakasviehättävyyden teoreettinen viitekehys, joka sisältää myös käsitteen taustat sosiaalisen vaihdannan teoriassa sekä asiakasviehättävyyden lopputulemat. Laadullisen tutkimuksen tiedot kerättiin semistrukturoidun asiantuntijahaastattelun avulla vetovoiman teoreettisen taustan pohjalta nouseviin teemoihin nojaten. Tapaustutkimuksen kohteena oleva organisaatio valittiin sen osaamisen ja luksusmuodin vähittäiskaupan paikallisen markkinajohtajuuden perusteella. Tutkielman tulokset tukevat pitkälti aiempaa tutkimuskirjallisuutta mutta tarjoavat myös näkökulman luksusmuotialan suhdemarkkinoinnin erityisominaisuuksiin. Tutkimus alleviivaa luotettavuuden, sitoutuneisuuden, rehellisyyden, proaktiivisuuden ja lokaalin markkinatuntemuksen merkitystä päämiessuhteiden kehittämisessä. Toisaalta tutkimus osoittaa taloudellisten ja operatiivisten tekijöiden olevan yhtä merkittäviä viehättävyyden ajureita kuin sosiaaliset tekijät. Lopputuloksena tutkimus tarjoaa mielenkiintoisen näkökulman tutkielman pääkysymykseen sekä luksusmuodin tämänhetkiseen markkinatilanteeseen Suomessa

An Integrative framework of buyer-supplier negative relationship quality and dysfunctional interfirm conflict

Purpose: Problems of relationship quality and interfirm conflict in business to business settings are serious concerns that need to be addressed. Thus, the authors have engaged in an extensive review to promote an understanding of these complex issues. This paper develops an integrated framework for analyzing wide-ranging relations between individual representatives and patterns of interfirm incompatibility for managerial control. Methodology/Approach: The review involves numerous sources that include articles and monographs. A theoretical framework is constructed to integrate fragmented empirical data. In particular, social identity and commitment-trust theories are mobilized for this framework. Findings: The review of studies has a substantial consistency with the theoretical framework. The paper outlines a causal chain from interpersonal agent dissimilarities to dysfunctional buyer-supplier relations, culminating in interfirm pathological conflict. Moderating factors in the causal chain are: agent identity differentiation (for interpersonal dissimilarity), supplier relations mismanagement (for buyer-supplier relationship quality), and interfirm opportunism (for interfirm pathological conflict). Buyer-supplier interfirm incompatibility mediates the causal link between interpersonal dissimilarity and buyer-supplier relationship quality. Identity differentiation, the validation of one’s self-image, is introduced as a process that determines buyer-supplier agent interpersonal dissimilarity judgments. This framework employs a contextual perspective. It describes interactions between observations of micro-level phenomena of interpersonal dissimilarities and macro-level models of interfirm fit. From a managerial perspective, interpersonal relations between individual buyer and supplier agents may be further strengthened by such strategies as expanding the scope of the interpersonal relationship, relaxation of role responsibilities, and volunteering business-related contact referrals. Originality/Value: A new theoretical framework has been devised to predict and explain relationship quality and interfirm pathological conflict in the B to B context. The framework contributes to the value of the knowledge base by serving as a means for building new diagnostic tools for assessment of interfirm behavioral issues affecting exchanges. New concepts are introduced to enhance current literature on B to B marketing. The framework provides concrete indicators that operationally define ideas and enable or improve measurement for empirical modeling

Achieving preferred customer status in the Dutch plastics recycling industry

The aim of this research is to gain insight into the aspects and processes in the Dutch plastic recycling industry which might lead to a preferred customer status and acquiring benefits once the status has been reached. The whole process of reaching preferred customer status goes through various phases in which customer attractiveness, supplier satisfaction, commitment and reinforcement play a role. The study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with suppliers, customers and traders in the plastic recycling industry in the Netherlands. The results show that during the customer attractiveness phase, a customer needs to convince the supplier that they are dealing with a trustworthy partner. Relational dimensions are not a priority for the supplier but do play a role if operational aspects are seen as more or less equal, which is often likely to be the case in a competitive market. In contrast, traders do attach importance to the personal relationship with customers from the start. A supplier will confer a preferential status to customers who (according to their feelings) will deliver the highest levels of satisfaction. Alternatives seem to come into question mainly where someone is significantly dissatisfied with the existing customer or if a significantly better alternative arises. The whole study is summarised in a reverse marketing model.Keywords: customer attractiveness, reinforcement, supplier satisfaction, commitment, preferred customer status, reverse marketing mode

Report on Expert Interviews

This short report represents a summary of the analysis conducted so far on the GfK Panel Data. The focus was on the main three types of raw meat: chicken, pork, beef, as well as three categories of processed food products: liver paste, cold cuts and sausages. The aim was to look at the market indicators for each one of the six sub-categories, out of which market share and penetration were considered to be the most important. Besides these two indicators, I also included some extra calculations for each category, which can be analysed further and more in-depth if needed. One of the desired outcomes of the analyses was to identify companies and brands that were successful in each sub-category. Unfortunately, due to the generally low market shares of the organic products, the number of options was limited. Beef and pork were two categories where no brands were registered in the original product and sales Files. In the chicken category there was only one brand registered between 2006 and 2010, however, the market shares were extremely low for this category. There were only one or two households buying organic chicken products. The processed meat sub-categories both had a few companies registered. However, the diversity isn’t large. Still, it is good to notice that in the three sub-categories there were two companies that were most present: Farre Food and Hanegal. Market shares were generally low for all six sub-categories. Organic beef, pork and liver paste were the only categories to reach market shares of over 1%, while organic chicken had the lowest market shares of all. The trends were generally fluctuating over time. The highest market shares for liver paste, pork, chicken and beef were registered in 2007. All these four categories had much lower market shares in 2009, but it is interesting to notice that in the same year, organic cold cuts and sausages registered the highest market shares. Except for chicken, all market shares dropped in 2010 compared to 2009. Penetration levels had a clear descending trend for organic beef and liver paste, whereas for the other subcategories the levels fluctuated. Organic chicken and sausage generally had an ascending trend, while organic pork and cold cuts usually had descending trends in penetration levels. The highest penetration rates were registered in 2006 for liver paste, beef and cold cuts and in 2008 for sausages, chicken and pork. Out of all the six sub-categories that were analysed, organic beef has had the highest market shares and highest penetration rates, even though the figures were lower and lower every year. Regarding the average price paid/100 gr of meat products, we notice that in the organic category there is more fluctuation than in the conventional category, meaning that the price of organic products varies more between years. According to the analysis, the price difference between the organic and the conventional options in a sub-category is clearly notices in the processed meat category, but it is not as well defined for chicken, pork and beef. There are some limitations regarding the analysis of the panel data. On the one hand, these are due to the fact that there are some incompatibilities between the product file and the sales file regarding the identification of products as being organic or not. On the other hand, some of the products were registered as “unknown”, meaning that they are neither analysed as being organic, nor as being conventional, but as being a separate category. It is considered however that due to the fact that the results of the analysis are so small, the correction of these errors would not change the numbers significantly

Analysis of Suppliers' Satisfaction with the Procurement Process for Goods and Services at RSUD Dr. R. Goeteng Taroenadibrata Purbalingga

This research focuses on the crucial role of procurement of goods and services in the operation of hospitals to support effective and efficient healthcare services. The objective of this study is to analyze suppliers' satisfaction with the procurement process at Dr. R Goeteng Taroenadibrata Purbalingga General Hospital, through the evaluation of communication effectiveness and procurement procedure quality. The research employs a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional method. The population consists of 218 suppliers who collaborated with Dr. R Goeteng Taroenadibrata Purbalingga General Hospital in 2022. A sample of 69 respondents was selected, with a 10% margin of error and 90% confidence level. The results indicate that the communication process and procurement procedure quality significantly influence supplier satisfaction at Dr. R. Goeteng Taroenadibrata Purbalingga General Hospital. Good communication and high-quality procurement procedures positively contribute to supplier satisfaction, underscoring the importance of maintaining strong supplier relationships and improving procurement processes. The implications of this study suggest that hospitals should focus on communication and procurement procedures to enhance the efficiency of procuring goods and services, providing a foundation for further research in improving supplier relationships in the healthcare sector

How to Increase Users' Social Commerce Engagement? A Technology Attractiveness Model

With the proliferation of social networking and electronic commerce, social commerce helps people engage in various forms of online social commercial activities through sharing their product or service knowledge and experiences. A better understanding of users' engagement in social commerce websites thus become increasingly important. Based on the attractiveness theory, this study proposes a research model that highlights the unique role of technology attractiveness, including task, social, and physical attractiveness, in promoting user involvement, which in turn affects social commerce engagement. Results demonstrate that users' perceptions of technology attractiveness are positively associated with their involvement with social commerce websites, and further stimulate engagement. In addition, website involvement partially and fully mediates the effects of social and physical attractiveness, respectively, on social commerce engagement. The limitations and implications of this study for research and practice are further discussed

How to Increase Users\u27 Social Commerce Engagement? A Technology Attractiveness Model

With the proliferation of social networking and electronic commerce, social commerce helps people engage in various forms of online social commercial activities through sharing their product or service knowledge and experiences. A better understanding of users\u27 engagement in social commerce websites thus become increasingly important. Based on the attractiveness theory, this study proposes a research model that highlights the unique role of technology attractiveness, including task, social, and physical attractiveness, in promoting user involvement, which in turn affects social commerce engagement. Results demonstrate that users\u27 perceptions of technology attractiveness are positively associated with their involvement with social commerce websites, and further stimulate engagement. In addition, website involvement partially and fully mediates the effects of social and physical attractiveness, respectively, on social commerce engagement. The limitations and implications of this study for research and practice are further discussed

La fonction achats et son statut dans l’entreprise : Revue de littérature

La fonction achats, considérait comme une fonction support et largement dépensière, constitue désormais une fonction stratégique créatrice de la valeur pour les entreprises. Sa contribution reste tributaire de sa perception par la direction et par les autres fonctions. Bien que l'importance du statut élevé des achats et sa contribution à la performance des entreprises aient été reconnues ces dernières années, sa conceptualisation reste largement ignorée. Ce document présente les résultats d'une analyse des articles qui traitent du statut de la fonction achats couvrant la période de 1993 à 2019 et publiés dans des revues anglophones de renommée internationale. Trois dimensions de ce concept sont identifiées : la perception, le caractère stratégique et la contribution à la performance. En outre, une attention particulière a été accordée à la relation entre « statut » et « maturité » des achats dans la mesure où ces concepts sont différents mais complémentaires et peuvent faire l’objet de variables interdépendantes dans des modèles de recherche futurs. Enfin, des limites de la recherche sont identifiées et des pistes de recherche sont suggérées