Summary
Contents
Written by a group of top American and international scholars, Networks in Marketing provides an overview of what networks are and how they are used in marketing management practices. This timely volume examines a variety of topics, including customer-to-customer and business-to-business networks, relationships as investment opportunities, and strategic alliances. It also looks at market dynamics, specifically brand switching and the structure of consumer networks. In addition to these major topics, a stellar cast of marketing scholars–Lou Stern, Robert Spekman, Joseph Galaskiewicz, and others–contributes mini chapters that reflect on their own research and expertise. The final chapter explores several advanced methodological issues and discusses directions for future research. Researchers and professionals in marketing, consumer behavior, relationship marketing, and methodologists will find the information provided in this volume valuable. This book may also be of interest to organizational networkers and traditional social network scholars.
Managed Networks: Creating Strategic Advantage
Managed Networks: Creating Strategic Advantage
How can firms build a competitive advantage that is diffacult to copy? Recent strategic thinking (Pralahad & Hamel, 1990) views positional and performance superiority as a consequence of relative superiority in the resources that a business deploys. In turn, these resources are the result of past investments made to enhance the firm's competitive position. Resources, comprising integrated combinations of assets and capabilities (Day, 1994), have traditionally been thought to reside primarily within the firm. There is increasing empirical evidence, however, that suggests that superior resources can also emerge from the synergy resulting from the coordination of independent firms in a series of value-adding partnerships. Wal-Mart's cross-docking logistics system, which enables the transfer of inventory from suppliers ...
