Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing

(Volume 14, Issue 2, 1999)

Business-to-Business Marketing in Asia

Guest Editor:  George T. Haley

George T. Haley is also Associate Editor for the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing's Executive Solutions; should you have an article idea or submission, please send  an e-mail to gthaley@asia-pacific.com

Table of Contents and Abstracts

Editorial:  May you live in interesting times -- An ancient Chinese curse, pp. 86-88

Business service market segmentation: The case of electrical and mechanical building maintenance services, pp. 151-161
Bill Merrilees, Rohan Bentley and Ross Cameron, University of Newcastle, Australia

This paper identifies market segments for a category of business services, namely building maintenance services. Hitherto there has been little research on business service segmentation. Data has been collected through written surveys and analyzed by factor analysis and cluster analysis. Although only one type of business service is analyzed, the method is applicable to other types. Four market segments were identified, with respective emphasis on customer focus, relationship-seeking, price sensitivity and high expectations. The study indicates the value of segmentation analysis as a planning tool for business services, which is the newest and fastest growing sector in business-to-business marketing.

East Vs. West: Strategic marketing management meets the Asian networks, pp. 91-101
George T. Haley, University of New Haven, USA and Chin Tiong Tan, Singapore Management University, Singapore

Strategic management in Asia is different. Decision-making differs from that taught in Western, and even Asian, schools of business. In the last decade, the influence of Japanese management systems on Western management practice has become evident. Though the Japanese economy is the world's second largest, and Japan's population substantial, neither compares with the combined economies and combined populations of non-Japanese Asia. The influence of the most aggressive elements of the non-Japanese Asian business communities, the Overseas Chinese and Overseas Indian Networks, cannot help to be felt on Western management practice. The authors explain why this difference in decision-making style exists, analyze the implications of the Asian decision-making style for managing in Asia, and discuss its implications for the future of strategic marketing management practice.

The impact of religion and reputation in the organization of Indian merchant communities, pp. 102-117
Gopalkrishnan R. Iyer, Florida Atlantic University, USA

The complex interplay of religion, reputation and repeated transactions among trade and business communities that dominate the Indian intermediary markets are detailed in this paper. Using prior historical sociological and ethnographic accounts, the author highlights some unique aspects of Indian merchant communities and the common elements that these share with other business communities in Asia. The analysis lends credit to the notion that marketing theory can gain substantially from a focus on identity, family and other forms of kinship relations. Strategic implications drawn from the analysis show that while foreign consumer goods firms cannot afford to ignore the large and growing Indian market, their success will depend to a large extent on their understanding of the intricacies of the Indian merchant communities that dominate various marketing channels.

Relationship marketing in Japan: The buyer-supplier relationships of four automakers, pp. 118-129
Jai-Beom Kim, Myongji University, Republic of Korea and Paul Michell, Leeds University Business School, UK

We examine the individual buyer-supplier relationships of four major Japanese automobile manufacturers. Building on the relationship marketing and the interorganizational trust literature, we relate their supplier management practices to the type of supplier organizations they use, the relative sales revenue, number of employees, and profitability of both buyers and suppliers, and the level of equity held by automakers in their supplier. Our major finding reveals that the major Japanese automakers have far more diversity than commonality in their supplier policies, and suggests that a comparison of major Japanese companies individually, not collectively, is a rich area of research into buyer-supplier relationships.

Co-ordination of international channel relationships: Four case studies in the 
food industry in China, pp. 130-150
Hong Liu, and Yen Po Wang, Manchester Business School, UK

This paper examines the pattern of relationships between foreign manufacturing firms and local third-party distributors and the effective management and co-ordination of supplier-distributor relationships in China. Case studies of four foreign-funded food manufacturers in China have been conducted. Different distributorships and styles of relationship management have been identified in each firm. Major relational constructs examined include channel conflicts and relationships, power sources and relational outcomes. Nine propositions have been derived from the findings. Research and managerial implications have also been discussed.

Executive Solutions:  Chartering brand integrity -- why this matters in emerging markets , pp. 162-164
Chris Macrae, Marketing Consultant, Rockville, Maryland, USA, Editor of "Brand Chartering Handbook" and MELNET

Introduction by George T. Haley (Guest Editor):  Branding has always been a key issue.  Companies, whether serving business or consumer markets, work hard to develop brand names to establish their market positions.  The growing globalization of markets and competition has made branding much more important as a recognized brand name reduces substantially the costs of entering foreign markets or defending home markets.  In a recent interview (Haley et al. 1998), Stan Shih, CEO of Taiwan-based Acer Computers, identified a lack of branding awareness as the key problem faced by Asian businesses trying to compete internationally. Unfortunately, most work in branding has been conducted by consumer marketers in Western markets.  However, business marketers in general, and Asian marketers in specific, can learn a great deal from consumer branding.  The following note by Chris Macrae, one of the few authorities on branding with extensive Asian experience, is a good start for marketers in Asia.  Though his examples draw on consumer products, his message is directly applicable to business products/markets.