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We are very pleased to introduce this e-book to all JBIM readers. The timing of the e-book cannot be any better. The 2003 Goldman Sachs global economics paper, "Dreaming with BRICs: Path to 2050," suggests that India as one of the leading BRIC countries has the potential to out perform Japan to become the third largest economy in the world by 2032. Even though the Indian economic tiger is predicted to roar loudly in coming two decades, our current knowledge of Indian business milieu, and business marketing in particular is low as reflected in the body of current knowledge in business-to-busine

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate in an emerging market (India), the impact of relational embeddedness of dyadic business relationships on relationship quality (RQ) and the moderating impact of tertius iungens orientation (TIO) on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 75 business managers from various industries in India was surveyed, and analysis was done using moderated multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe key finding of the study is that among the five different types of connection that a firm has (with competitors (C), value chain partners (V), internal (I), external (E) entities and auxiliary (A) connections), the A‐connections like those with banks, MR agencies, advertising agencies and other service providers, have the most favorable impact on relationship quality with firms' customers, when its boundary personnel exhibit high TIO (bonding) towards their customer. However, the direct impact of A‐connection on RQ is negative, possibly due to the negative externalities such as sharing limited common resources. Other four connections were found to be insignificant.Research limitations/implicationsA major limitation of this study is sample size (75). Hence, the findings of this study may not be generalisable.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that higher ability to bond disparate actors in network of business firm (TIO) have a strong and favorable impact on improving the RQ with its customers in embedded relationships.Originality/valueThe major contribution of the study is to explain the moderating role of TIO in the network embedded dyadic business relationships.

The article aims to enhance the understanding of the effect of channel conflicts on channel efficiency through a conceptual framework, specifically the moderating effect of the conflict resolution strategies on the channel efficiency, the research on which is largely absent in the channel literature. Taking the behavioral science perspective, the paper provides a conceptual model on channel conflict – channel efficiency relationship for three different types of conflict resolution methods-problem solving, bargaining and politics for asymmetric power relationships, which would enable the organizations to adopt relevant conflict resolution strategies to maximize their channel efficiencies and hence maximizing returns from the channel investments.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of selling experience on the relationship between job satisfaction and sales performance, customer orientation and sales performance, and adaptive selling behaviors and sales performance, taking the context of B2B insurance selling.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 380 business‐to‐business insurance salespersons from an emerging market (India) to validate their model, the authors tested several hypotheses using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe results suggest that experience works with customer‐oriented selling in making the more experienced salespersons better performers. It was also found that for less experienced salespersons, the impact of job satisfaction on performance is weaker than for more experienced salespersons. In addition, it was found that more experienced salespersons' performance is better explained using job satisfaction and customer‐oriented selling rather than their adaptive selling behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes by explaining the mechanism for the above relationships. The study also contributes to knowledge by showing that more experience may not be always good for sales performance. Since the sample comes from an emerging market, the paper extends the knowledge from developed markets, and by testing in emerging markets.Practical implicationsThe managerial implications of this study lie in explaining those situations where experience can make salespersons more productive. The current sales literature on B2B selling contexts falls short of explaining this mechanism in salesperson performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to knowledge uniquely by extending the body of empirical evidence that suggests that for experience, more is not always better. The study also shows that a more experienced salesperson does not improve his/her performance by adopting adaptive selling strategies. Such adaptive selling strategies are probably more suitable for younger salespersons, given different expectations from them by customers. For experienced salespersons, job satisfaction and customer‐oriented selling are more important than adaptive selling. This study explains the mechanism for the above relationships.

PurposeThis paper aims to review the author's association with the discipline of business‐to‐business (B2B) marketing for nearly 40 years. Of these, 34 were spent teaching in a postgraduate institute, i.e. the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, India.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is organized around nine lenses for reflection. These provide a comprehensive coverage of the author's experiences. The paper critically evaluates the author's performance as a B2B marketing instructor, researcher, trainer and consultant. It examines the evolution of B2B markets and marketing in India and traces the symbiotic relationship between academics and practice.FindingsThe reflection reveals that B2B marketing practices have benefited and improved a great deal in India due to interventions from academia. However, the most disturbing aspect of B2B marketing practices in India is all‐pervasive corruption. There seems to be no solution for it.Practical implicationsAn important audience for this paper is young faculty members. It is hoped the paper will be able to motivate them for more research and publications. The challenge for B2B marketing is to fuel the declining interest in the discipline. The B2B marketing discipline in India needs more faculty members, and substantial home‐grown research articles and cases.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates that the Indian B2B scenario has changed a great deal: the impact of competition and globalisation has transformed B2B marketing practices beyond recognition.

PurposeReview articles on B2B salespersons' performance in the recent past have been limited. This paper seeks to provide a review, focusing on the conceptualizations of the salespersons' performance construct, and its determinants, in a B2B context. A synthesis of the relevant predictors is presented, and new customer‐centric measures of performance in industrial selling are also proposed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an exhaustive review and synthesis of the conceptual and empirical studies on salespersons' performance and effectiveness. It also posits a set of propositions from a customer‐centric perspective.FindingsFar too many individual‐level variables are used as predictors of a B2B salesperson's performance and effectiveness. Future research must focus on context‐specific selling situations to identify the contextual skills required to perform the critical customer‐centric activities, rather than by using generic models that fail to apply to all situations.Research limitations/implicationsThe review paper provides a conceptual synthesis of studies carried out in the past. Future researchers can carry out a meta‐analysis of empirical studies to provide more pointed results.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the heterogeneity in B2B salespersons' performance, which makes unraveling its determinants more difficult. The paper makes a call for adopting measures that are customer‐centric, such that predictors are anchored in the activities of salespeople rather than their individual‐level characteristics.Originality/valueThe paper disentangles the inconsistencies in the conceptualization and measurement of the two key focal constructs, and highlights the conceptual overlap between these constructs. The paper also proposes performance measures based on customer‐centric activities, rather than being either firm‐centric or based on individual characteristics.

"This book looks at markets in low-income economies and how they require fundamentally different marketing systems and strategies. Analyzing the sociocultural characteristics of these markets, it offers solutions for businesses to overcome spatial, institutional, and financial challenges while working in these contexts. Markets for the poor are characterized by resource scarcity, weak institutions, and low literary rates, as well as a strong presence of cultural and community ties. This book provides an understanding of these marketplaces, including the consumer's wants and aspirations, the relationship of the individual within the social milieu, and their unique cultural contexts. It provides strategies for businesses to develop a bottom-up knowledge of global markets and incorporates practices which are inclusive and sustainable. It also explores the links between human development, entrepreneurship, and marketing which are especially relevant in the pandemic-hit global economy. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of marketing, business studies, business administration, rural management, marketing management, economics, and development studies.

PurposeFew research studies have been done to investigate the issue of new service development (NSD) in an emerging market. To address this gap in the literature the aim of this paper is to document a study of the NSD process and the strategy of business‐to‐business financial service firms in India.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted surveys of 148 multinational service firms operating in India and 126 local and indigenous Indian service firms belonging to the financial services industry.FindingsThe findings suggest that significant differences exist between multinational service firms operating in India and local/indigenous Indian firms. That is, service firms belonging to these two varied groups use different strategies to compete in the industry and emphasize different sets of development stages in service innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis has been restricted to one emerging market, i.e. India. This suggests the need for further studies of NSD in other emerging markets of the world.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research validate the initial contention that NSD practices vary from company to company, and thus there cannot be a "one size fits all" approach to service innovation. The insights from this study can help service managers to better understand and manage their NSD programs in an emerging market such as India.Originality/valueTo the best of the author's knowledge, this research represents the first attempt to investigate empirically the NSD practices of financial service firms in India.