Towards a typology of collusive industrial networks:dark and shadow networks

The prevailing understanding of collusive B2B networks is primarily based on the theories of industrial economists and organizational criminologists. ‘Successful’ collusive industrial networks (such as price-fixing cartels) have been seen to endure due to formal managerial structures of coordination and control. In this paper, we seek to transcend and challenge the understanding of these illegal forms of co-opetition by drawing on evidence from an in-depth examination of four price-fixing cartels that were facilitated chiefly by marketers. Our contribution introduces the notion of ‘shadow networks’ (networks where although attempts are made to ensure secrecy, multilateral modes of network structure dominate akin to ‘normal’ managerial endeavours such as joint ventures) and ‘dark networks’ (networks which appear more opaque and secretive through the adoption of bilateral modes of network structure and limited bureaucracy) to illustrate the types of collusive network forms that may exist. In addition, this allows us to build a deeper understanding of collusive network forms and related inter-firm interaction for an industrial marketing audience. We provide implications for marketing practice, theory, and policy. Specifically, we outline how organizations and the marketing function can perform self-administered antitrust audits in order to help avoid breaches of antitrust. Further, we consider the importance of the two forms of collusive inter-firm networks uncovered where marketers have attempted to render these secret from antitrust agencies, introducing a relatively new line of inquiry to the industrial marketing literature

Consumption narratives of extended possessions and the extended self

This paper investigates the nature of the boundaries between the extended self and possessions (including potentially extended possessions) in the context of gift giving for Hong Kong Chinese consumers. Our findings showed that informants narrated stories not only about the gifts that they themselves had received as being their important possessions and thus constituting part of their extended self, but they also described objects that they had given as gifts to close others as part of their own possessions. These extended possessions potentially constituted part of their own extended selves. In addition, by the virtue of their material presence, these extended possessions acted as continuous reminders of these extended selves. The extended possessions hence provided the informants with an anchoring point to increase the relatively stability of their relationships with others, thereby countering the labile nature of ever-changing identity narratives. This paper contributes to current debates concerning the relationships between the self, possessions, and gift giving providing a richer explanation and extending previous work on possessions and the extended self

Customer Portfolio Management A Study of Managerial Decision-Making in an Industrial Marketing Context

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The effects of managerial decision making behavior and order book size on workload control system implementation in make-to-order companies

Insufficient attention has been paid to behavioural influences on the implementation of the ‘Workload Control’ (WLC) concept – a Production Planning and Control (PPC) approach for small and medium sized Make-To-Order companies – and there is an implicit assumption that managers are rationalistic in their decision-making. This paper analyses the effects of both managerial decision-making behaviour and the size of a company’s order book, affecting the number of decisions that have to be made, on two case study implementations of a WLC system. The Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model from the Naturalistic Decision-Making literature is used to unpack the first case where implementation failed. This highlighted a misalignment between how the company’s owner-manager initially made operational decisions and how a rationalistic WLC system functions. But the company is studied over six years, allowing us to show how the owner-manager was forced to transition from the RPD model to a more rationalistic approach to PPC as the size of the order book increased. A second case study is then briefly presented in which WLC system implementation was successful; the RPD model was not strongly evident and the size of the order book was greater to begin with. The paper helps to understand the decision-making behaviour of managers in small companies and how it may conflict or be misaligned with the rationalistic assumptions underpinning the WLC concept. This provides a possible explanation for why few successful implementations of the concept have been presented in literature

Institutional life of intuitive insights:legitimacy of virtuoso intuitive marketing management

Intuitive insights have been recognized as an integral part of marketing and managerial proficiency. In this article, we expand upon this understanding by theorizing the institutional dimension of intuitive expertise. By developing a theoretical framework with supportive propositions we maintain that for intuitive managerial expertise to be effective it requires legitimization in its inter-organizational contexts. Intuitive insights hence have a significant institutional and social existence, irreducible to cognition. This means that institutional logic may support or contradict efficient cognitive strategies, significantly influencing the performance of marketing management. Managerial implications follow to the fields of marketing management and intuitive decision-making

The reflexive turn in key account management:beyond formal and post-bureaucratic prescriptions

Purpose: Recent empirical studies have reported an unexpected negative relationship between KAM formalization and performance. This study seeks to address: (1.) how and why do formal KAM programmes hinder effective KAM management, and (2.) how can the problems of formalization in KAM be overcome? Methodology An 18 month (340 day) ethnographic investigation was undertaken in the UK-based subsidiary of a major US clothing goods manufacturer. This ethnographic evidence was triangulated with 113 in-depth interviews. Findings: We identify how and why managerial reflexivity allows for a more effective combining of Formal and Post-Bureaucratic KAM practices. While Formal KAM programmes provide a means to control KAM, they have an unintended consequence of increasing organizational bureaucracy, which may hinder KAM effectiveness in the long-run. Heightened reflexivity, including ‘wayfinding’, is identified as a means to overcome many of these challenges, allowing for reflexively combining Formal with Post-Bureaucratic KAM practices. Research implications: The thesis of this paper starts a new line of reflexive KAM research, which draws theoretical influences from the Post-Bureaucratic Turn in management studies. Practical implications: This study seeks to increase KAM implementation success rates and long-term effectiveness of KAM by conceptualizing the new possibilities offered by reflexive KAM. We demonstrate how reflexive skills (conceptualised as ‘KAM wayfinding’) can be deployed during KAM implementation and for its continual improvement. Further, the study identifies how KAM programmes can be used to train organizational learning regarding KAM. Furthermore, we identify how and why Post-Bureaucratic KAM can offer additional benefits after an organization has learned key KAM capabilities. Originality/value: A new line of enquiry is identified: the reflexive-turn in KAM. This theoretical position allows us to identify existing weaknesses in the extant KAM literature, and to show a practical means to improve the effectiveness of KAM. This concerns in particular the importance of managerial reflexivity and KAM wayfinding, as a means to balance the strengths and weaknesses of Formal and Post-Bureaucratic KAM