Developing effective customer solutions. An associative learning perspective.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s120.2023.09Keywords:
customer solutions; relational exchanges; associative learning; business-to-business marketing.Abstract
Purpose of the paper: Contribute to the understanding of the factors affecting the development of effective solutions.
Methodology: Starting from the premise that the development of customer solutions entails a high, though varying, degree of learning, this paper builds on the cognitive and behavioral science to suggest two pre-conditions of effective learning, then discusses some organizational practices that shape the solution development context in a way that mirrors the two pre-conditions of effective learning and, by this way, guarantees more effective solution development.
Findings: Building on the cognitive and behavioral science, this paper suggests that effective learning takes place through ‘association across related knowledge’ and pinpoints two pre-conditions for effective learning: prior knowledge and strength of association. It then suggests some organizational practices that could generate these pre-conditions within a solution development context, enabling the achievement of effective solutions: informal narratives and story-telling sharing, contingent-hierarchy, multiple-expertise teams, social ties, co-location of assets and co-creation of ‘boundary objects’.
Research limits: Since the literature on customer solution is an emerging, though steadily body of research, extensive empirical investigations are necessary to develop a more systematic understanding on the conditions affecting the development of effective customer solutions.
Practical implications: This paper suggests several organizational practices that could be employed within a solution development context which would lead to effective customer solutions.
Originality of the paper: This paper contributes to research by employing for the first time an ‘associative learning perspective’ in the understanding of the conditions affecting the development of effective solutions.
References
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TURNBULL P., FORD D., CUNNINGHAM M. (1996), “Interaction, relationships and networks in business markets: An evolving perspective”, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 11, n. 3-4, pp. 44-62.
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ANDERSON E., WEITZ B. (1992), “The use of pledges to build and sustain commitment in distribution channels”, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 29, n.1, pp. 18-34.
ARNDT J. (1979), “Toward a concept of domesticated market”, Journal of Marketing, vol. vol. 43, n. 4, pp. 69-75.
BOWER G.H., HILGARD E.R. (1981), Theories of learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.
BRADSHAW G.F., LANGLEY P.W., SIMON H.A. (1983), “Studying scientific discovery by computer simulation”, Science, vol. 222, n. 4627, pp. 971-975.
BRADY T., DAVIES A., GANN D.M. (2005), “Creating value by delivering integrated solutions”, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 23, n. 5, pp. 360-365.
BROWN J. S., DUGUID P. (1991), “Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation”, Organization Science, vol. 2, n. 1, pp. 40-57.
BUNDERSON S.J. (2003), “Recognizing and utilizing expertise in work groups: A status characteristics perspective,” Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 48, n. 4, pp. 557–591.
CAPON L. (2011), Key Account Management and Planning, New York, The Free Press.
COHEN W.M., LEVINTHAL D.A. (1990), “Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 35, n. 1, pp. 128-152.
COLM L., ORDANINI A., BORNEMANN T. (2020), “Dynamic governance matching”, journal of Marketing, vol. 84, n. 1, pp. 105-124.
COURT D.C., FRENCH T.D., KNUDSEN T.R. (2006), “The proliferation challenge”, in Profiting from proliferation, WEBB A.P. (ed), New York, McKinsey and Company, pp. 8-19.
COVA B., GHAURI P.N., SALLE R. (2020), Project Marketing: Beyond competitive bidding, Chichester, Wiley.
DAVIES A., BRADY T., HOBDAY M. (2006), “Charting a path toward integrated solutions”, MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 47., n. 3, pp. 39-48.
DAY G.S. (2004), “Achieving advantage with a New Dominant Logic”, in “Invited commentaries on ‘Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 68, n. 1, pp. 18-19.
DWYER F.R., SCHURR P.H., OH S. (1987), “Developing buyer-seller relationships”, vol. 51, n.2, pp. 11-27.
EMSHWILLER J.R. (1981), “Suppliers struggle to improve quality as big firms slash their vendor rolls”, Wall Street Journal, August 16, B1-B2.
GRANOVETTER M.S. (1982), “The strength of week ties: A network theory revisited”, in MARSDEN P.V., LIN N. (eds.), Social structure and network analysis, Beverly Hills CA, Sage, pp. 105-130.
HAKANEN T., JAAKKOLA E. (2012), “Co-creating customer-focused solutions within business networks: a service perspective”, Journal of Service Management, vol. 23, n. 4, pp. 593-611.
HAKANSSON H., OSTEBERG C. (1975), “Industrial marketing: An organizational problem?”, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 4, n. 2-3, pp. 113-123.
HAKANSSON H. (1982), International marketing and purchasing of industrial goods: An interaction approach, London, Wiley.
HAKANSSON H., SNEHOTA I. (1995), Developing relationships in business networks, London-New York, Routledge.
HARLOW H.F. (1949), “The formation of learning sets”, Psychological Review, vol. 56, n. 1, pp. 51-65.
HARLOW H.F. (1959), “Learning set and error factor theory”, in KOCH S. (ed), Psychology: A study of science, New York, McGraw-Hill, pp. 492-537.
JONES E., DIXON A.L., CHONKO L.B., CANNON J.P. (2005), “Key Accounts and team selling: A review framework and research agenda”, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, vol. 25, n. 2, pp. 181-198.
JORDAN B. (1989), “Cosmopolitical obstetrics: Some insights from the training of traditional midwives”, Social science and medicines, vol. 28, n. 9, pp. 925-944.
KRAATZ M.S. (1998), “Learning by association? Interorganizational networks and adaptation to environmental change”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 41, n. 6, pp. 621-643.
KRACKHARDT D. (1992), “The strength of strong ties: the importance of philos in organizations”, in NOHRIA N., ECCLES R.G. (eds), Networks and organizations: Structure, form and action, Boston, Harvard Business School Press, pp. 216-239.
LINDSAY P.H., NORMAN D.A. (1977), Human Information Processing, Orlando, FL, Academic Press.
MACNEIL I.R. (1980), The new social contract: An inquiry into modern contractual relations, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press.
MAGNET M. (1994), “The new golden rule of business”, Fortune, February 21, pp. 60-64.
MARCH J.G., SIMON H.A. (1958), Organizations, New York, Wiley.
MATTHYSSENS P., VANDENBEMPT K. (2008), “Moving from Basic Offerings to Value-Added Solutions: Strategies, Barriers and Alignment”, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 37, pp. 316-328.
MICHEL S. (2013), “Hilti Fleet Management: Strategically Moving from Products to B2B Solutions”, IMD-3-2354.
MORGAN R.M., HUNT S.D. (1994), “The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 58, n.3, pp. 20-38.
MURTHA B.R., BHARADWAJ S.G., VAN DEN BULTE C. (2014), “Interlocking Networks: How and When Do Connections Between Buying and Selling Teams Affect Customer Solutions?” Report No. 14-120, Marketing Science Institute.
NELSON R.R., WINTER S. (1982), An evolutionary theory of economic change, Cambridge MA., Harvard University Press.
REED R., DEFILIPPI R.J. (1990), “Causal ambiguity, barriers to imitation, and sustainable competitive advantage”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 15, n. 1, pp. 88-102.
RICHARDSON G.B. (1972), “The organisation of industry”, The Economic Journal, vol. 82, n. 327, pp. 883-896.
ROSENBERG N. (1982), Inside the black box: Technology and economics, New York, Cambridge University Press.
SAWHNEY M. (2006), “Going beyond the product. Defining, designing and delivering customer solutions”, in LUSH R.F., VARGO S. (eds) The service-dominant logic of marketing: Dialogue, debate and directions, M.E. Sharpe, New York, pp. 365-380.
SHARMA MOLLOY (1999), “The truth about customer solutions”, Viewpoint, Booz Allen & Hamilton, pp. 1-13.
SIMON H.A. (1985), “What we know about the creative process”, in KHUN R.L. (ed), Frontiers in creative and innovative management, Cambridge MA, Ballinger, pp. 3-20.
SIMON H.A (1991), “Bounded rationality and organizational learning”, Organization Science, vol. 2., n. 1, pp. 125-134.
SRIVASTAVA R.K., SHERVANI T.A., FAHEY L. (1999), “Marketing, business processes, and shareholder value: An organizationally embedded view of marketing activities and the discipline of marketing”, vol. 63, n. 4, pp. 168-179
STANLEY J.E., WOJCIK P.J. (2005), “Better B2B Selling”, McKinsey Quarterly, vol. 38, n. 3, p. 15.
SZULANSKI G., (1996), “Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm”, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 17, Winter Special Issue, pp. 27-43.
TULI K.R., KOHLI A.K., BHARADWAJ G., (2007), “Rethinking customer solutions: from product bundles to relational processes”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 71, n. 3, pp. 1-17.
TURNBULL P., FORD D., CUNNINGHAM M. (1996), “Interaction, relationships and networks in business markets: An evolving perspective”, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 11, n. 3-4, pp. 44-62.
UZZI B., (1996). “The sources and consequences of embeddedness for the economic performance of the organizations”, American Sociological Review, vol. 61, n. 4, pp. 674-698.
UZZI B., (1997), “Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: The paradox of embeddedness”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 42, n. 1, pp. 35-67.
WISE R., BAUMGARTNER P. (1999), “Go downstream: The new profit imperative in manufacturing”, Harvard Business Review, vol. 77, n. 5, pp. 133-141.
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2023-04-28
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