Faculty of Economics

Avtorski izvleček: Ob odličnem marketinškem in psihološkem znanju so tiskani oglasi zelo učinkovita metoda za prepričanje potencialnega kupca v nakup. Z ustrezno izbiro tiskanega medija, ki doseže veliko število ljudi s potrebo in možnostjo potovanja, s pravilno postavitvijo sestavin oglasa ter slogom pisanja, ki nagovarja potrošnike, da oglaševana storitev rešuje njihove probleme, lahko tiskan oglas doseže visok odstotek odziva. Oglaševalec mora poskrbeti, da v svoje promocijske materiale vključi tiskane oglase z udarnimi naslovi, zaradi katerih se potencialni kupci ne bodo mogli upreti nadaljnjemu branju. Fotografija mora biti zelo privlačna ter v družbi besedila pod sliko, ki opisuje fotografijo in povzema cilj oglasa. Diplomsko delo vključuje tudi raziskavo z metodo anketnega vprašalnika, ki s praktičnim primerom podpre teoretični del. Raziskava je ovrgla kar nekaj hipotez, nekaj trditev je bilo predpostavljenih pravilno. Analiza anketnega vprašalnika daje zelo uporabne rezultate, ki so odlično vodilo oglaševalcem turističnih storitev. Raziskava odgovarja na vprašanje, kako turistični tiskani oglasi vplivajo na nakupno vedenje potrošnikov.

Povzetek. Blagovna znamka predstavlja premoženje podjetja, saj podjetja ugotavljajo, da lahko le prek oblikovanja močne identitete blagovne znamke gradijo na mreži zvestih kupcev. Raznovrstna ponudba izdelkov, ki zadovoljuje enake potrebe, kaže na izjemen pomen blagovne znamke, s katero se porabnik identificira. To so v zadnjem času spoznali tudi trgovci, ki so začeli uvajati trgovsko blagovno znamko, s katero hočejo povečati ugled trgovini, izboljšati dobičkonosnost poslovanja in pridobiti večji delež porabnikov. Slednje pa je mogoče le, če k uvajanju trgovske blagovne znamke pristopijo s skrbno načrtovano strategijo, ki obenem odraža tudi pripravljenost podjetja vlagati v dejavnike, ki blagovni znamki omogočajo izpolnjevanje obljub kupcem. V ta namen v okviru pričujočega prispevka predstavljamo teoretični model, ki vključuje strateško analizo obstoječega poslovanja po blagovnih znamkah, izgradnjo identitetnega sistema nove blagovne znamke in napotke za učinkovito udejanjenje tega sistema v praksi. Poleg upoštevanja tega modela pa morajo trgovci preučiti dejavnike nakupnega odločanja, ki bi ciljne porabnike pripeljali do izbire trgovske blagovne znamke. Ključni pojmi: trgovska blagovna znamka, identiteta, pozicioniranje, nakupno odločanje.

The popularization of some network-based research constructs is widely observed among IMP scholars. Most existing studies about inter-firm networks are descriptive and qualitative in nature which resulted in generating many new concepts but the ability of this kind of studies in providing managerial guidelines has been questioned . On the basis of resource-based theory of the firm there were some recent attempts to develop constructs which allow for quantitative and explanatory studies (Ritter, . Corresponding with results of these studies this paper aims at evaluating some previously suggested measurement scales for network knowledge and internal communication in the context of Slovenian B2B companies. Some scholars make a distinction between relationship marketing (RM) or Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) and the network approach to marketing. It is especially observable among IMP scholars who treat their projects as based on interaction and network approach to marketing . This distinction is not clear if we take into consideration that interaction, relationship and network are strongly related concepts and both IMP-related scholars and RM-related scholars treat buyer-customer relationship as the main research object. Widely speaking the inter-firm network is phenomenon built from companies and the relationships between them. It is also argued that enriching network studies by relationshipbased concepts is crucial for increasing managerial usefulness of network studies. The network notion seems to be an extremely general concept for managers. Managers are interested mostly in so-called focal networks and especially relationships with various stakeholders built around their companies. This paper draws attention to the connection between network knowledge, internal communication as network-based constructs and customer relationship quality. Regression analysis was used to verify statistical relationships between these constructs.

Izvleček: Blagovna znamka kot pomemben vir premoženja podjetja postaja v zadnjem času vse bolj cenjena tudi med slovenskimi podjetji, saj ta ugotavljajo, da lahko prek oblikovanja močne identitete blagovne znamke gradijo na mreži zvestih kupcev. Raznovrstna ponudba izdelkov, ki zadovoljuje enake potrebe, kaže na izjemen pomen blagovne znamke, s katero se porabnik identificira. To so v zadnjih desetih letih spoznali tudi trgovci, ki so začeli za razliko od generičnih znamk, katerih glavni cilj je bil dobiček trgovca, uvajati pravo trgovsko blagovno znamko, s katero so povečali ugled trgovini, izboljšali dobičkonosnost poslovanja in pridobili večji delež porabnikov. V nasprotju s slovensko prakso, kjer so trgovske blagovne znamke v največji meri prisotne v živilski industriji, se članek osredotoča zgolj na tehnično trgovino oziroma konkretno na podjetje Merkur, pri čemer gre za preučevanje zaznavanja blagovnih znamk, cene in konkurenčne ponudbe na ožjem delu tehničnega asortimana, in sicer na kopalniški opremi. Kvalitativna raziskava, ki je bila izvedena v ta namen, je odkrila, da je trgovska blagovna znamka primerna za opremo manjše kopalnice, kjer se kot najpomembnejši dejavnik nakupa odkriva funkcionalnost izdelkov, še vedno pa mora biti izdelek porabniku vsaj malo všečen. Z razvojem trgovskih blagovnih znamk vloga cene vse bolj upada, pri čemer je za kupca tehničnega blaga pomembno, da mu trgovska blagovna znamka predstavlja nakup kakovostnega izdelka za optimalno ceno. Kljub temu, da se dokončna odločitev za nakup sprejme na prodajnem mestu, ugotavljamo, da je med intervjuvanimi osebami v večini nakupov blagovna znamka že predhodno izbrana. Tako lahko trdimo, da blagovna znamka vendarle igra pomembno vlogo v nakupnem procesu kopalniške opreme, zaradi česar je smiselno, da Merkur uvaja trgovsko blagovno znamko tudi na tem področju. Ključne besede: trgovska blagovna znamka, identiteta blagovne znamke, ustvarjanje blagovnih znamk, vedenje porabnikov, tehnična trgovina, Slovenija UDK: 339.17:347.772 JEL klasifikacija: M39

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for the lack of research attention paid to the Middle East (ME) and Africa regions. In particular, this study seeks to identify the reasons for and implications of the paucity of ME-and Africa-based studies in high-quality international journals in the marketing field with a specific focus on the challenges in conducting and publishing research on these regions. Design/methodology/approach-The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature on the ME and Africa regions to identify papers published in 23 high-quality marketing, international business, and advertising journals. This search resulted in 301 articles, among which 125 articles were based on primary or secondary data collected from a local source in those regions. The authors of these 125 articles constitute the Delphi study sample. These academics provided input in an effort to reach a consensus regarding the two proposed models of academic research in both regions. Findings-This paper differs from previous studies, where academic freedom emerged as the most important inhibitor to conducting and publishing research. The most frequently mentioned challenges in conducting research in Africa were access to data, data collection issues, diversity of the region, and lack of research support infrastructure. For the ME, the most often described challenges included validity and reliability of data, language barriers, data collection issues, and availability of a network of researchers. Editors' and reviewers' low interest and limited knowledge were ranked high in both regions. South Africa, Israel, and Turkey emerged as outliers, in which research barriers were less challenging than in the rest of the two regions. The authors attribute this difference to the high incidence of US-trained or US-based scholars originating from these countries. Originality/value-To the best of the knowledge, no marketing studies have discussed the problems of publishing in high-quality international journals of marketing, international business, and advertising for either region. Thus, most of the issues the authors discuss in this paper offer new insightful results while supplementing previous research on the challenges of conducting and publishing research on specific world regions.

This paper examines the theoretical and empirical contribution of the influence of relationship components on export performance throughout the entire distribution (or supply) chain, presenting a study of buyer and seller (or distributor) relationships. We study the relationships in the emerging Slovenian economy, in which firms highly depend on imports and exports from international B2B markets, where business relationships and their components are important performance drivers. The findings are based on a case study of a Slovenian retailer that purchases home improvement and construction products from a German supplier and sells them in the Croatian market to its B2B buyers. The study was carried out in 2007. The qualitative part included 25 in-depth interviews with the retailer's employees in the Croatian market. A quantitative study of Croatian buyers of home improvement and construction products represents the second part of the empirical research. Using purpose-based sampling, 42 regular buyers answered the questionnaire. The study yielded some interesting results. The main indication was that export performance as a dependent variable was affected by two major factors: readiness to export and formation of the internationalization process, and the systematic creation and incorporation of relationships with potential buyers from the early (or preparatory) stages of the firm's entrance into the market, irrespective of the level of the distribution channel. It also showed that relationship marketing can be differently approached and understood in different cultures, and that marketers should be very cautious when designing "universal solutions" for relationships, as Palmer (1997) explained a decade ago.

Business networking is nowadays perceived as important factor of company's success but there is lack of international comparative studies with regard to effectiveness of some networking-based business practices. This study contributes to our knowledge on business networking as the driver of company's success in post-communist developing countries. Specifically, this study tests if developing systematic knowledge about business partners on the corporate level may improve customer relationships and financial performance of B2B companies operating in these countries. This study helps us also to understand the influence of countries' institutional features on the utilization of networking-related capabilities as we compared survey data from two Central European countries, Poland and Slovenia, that are both post-communist countries but they differ significantly in terms of formal and informal institutional environment. The sample of 568 B2B companies was managed in two countries. The study suggests that developing knowledge about business partners is more effective strategy in Slovenia than in Poland, mainly due to the cultural differences and because Slovenian economy is much more developed and more oriented at export performance.

One may observe a growing interest of management scholars and practitioners in business relationships since companies are nowadays dependent on other entities, resources and capabilities. The effectiveness of some marketing practices oriented at customer relationships was thoroughly discussed in prior studies, however, there is little literature related to managerial aspects of dealing with networks as more complex relational structures. In this paper we try to minimize this gap by investigating the link between the knowledge about various business partners and quality of intra-organizational relationships, as well as customer relationship quality and company performance. We also study the moderating role of making special investments in business relations under pressure of economic slowdown as experienced by B2B companies in Slovenia. We use data gathered via face-to-face interviews and analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypothesized relationships between r...

Recent studies on industrial marketing and business networks suggest that business relationships are changeable phenomena and many of them loose their rent-generating mechanism in time, especially when opportunity costs are taken into consideration. Unfortunately, our knowledge about management tools oriented at handling relationship dynamics is relatively weak. Trying to fill this gap, this study proposes a concept of Business Relationship Process Management (BRPM) and grounds it in dynamic capability view of company's strategy. BRPM comprises actions that help a company to restructure its relationship portfolio and improve relationships with deficient partners. This study contributes also to management knowledge by providing an empirical test for the validity of BRPM on the basis of an online survey conducted with 307 Polish companies that handle relationships in supply area. It supports the hypothesis that BRPM leverages the relationship portfolio performance and it complements other relationship-related strategies, like building personal business ties and relationship flexibility. The environmental uncertainty is discussed and tested as a factor moderating the influence of BRPM on relationship portfolio performance.

The purpose of the paper is to assess how dynamic nature of culture impacts negotiation strategies. This paper focuses on changing cultural values in relationship management in the context of negotiations. We illustrate the cross-cultural differences and commonalities by applying multiple case study method. We have found that negotiations in China are contextually and geographically based and can differ substantially in terms of the location within China, industry, business partner characteristics, and nevertheless guanxi (i.e. relationships, acquaintances, etc.) you and your partner possess. Most of the interviewees claim that negotiations in China are very much connected with the hierarchy, which is usually tight to the age of the counterpart. The most important and the biggest decisions are always made only by the firm owner, if the firm is private, or the highest ranked businessman. It is important to know, that in formal business meetings Asians seldom show any emotions with the face gestures. More importantly, their negotiation strategies are changing in time, which confirms the dynamic nature of culture. The added value of this paper is putting negotiation strategies in the context of a new yin-yang school of culture. Opposed to Chinese-Western relationship studies that are dominating the negotiation literature, we offer insights to Chinese-Eastern Europe relationships with a common cultural history. In sum, paper draws on literature from two disciplines, international trade and business negotiations, extending the scope of research contribution.

The popularization of some network-based research constructs is widely observed among IMP scholars. Most existing studies about inter-firm networks are descriptive and qualitative in nature which resulted in generating many new concepts but the ability of this kind of studies in providing managerial guidelines has been questioned (Golfetto, Salle, Borghini, Rinallo 2007; Brennan & Turnbull 2002). On the basis of resource-based theory of the firm there were some recent attempts to develop constructs which allow for quantitative and explanatory studies (Ritter, Wilkinson and Johnston 2004; Walter, Auer and Ritter 2006; Human 2007; Human and Naudé 2009). Corresponding with results of these studies this paper aims at evaluating some previously suggested measurement scales for network knowledge and internal communication (Walter, Auer and Ritter 2006) in the context of Slovenian B2B companies. Some scholars make a distinction between relationship marketing (RM) or Customer Relationship M...

This paper examines the theoretical and empirical contribution of the influence of relationship components on export performance throughout the entire distribution (or supply) chain, presenting a study of buyer and seller (or distributor) relationships. We study the relationships in the emerging Slovenian economy, in which firms highly depend on imports and exports from international B2B markets, where business relationships and their components are important performance drivers. The findings are based on a case study of a Slovenian retailer that purchases home improvement and construction products from a German supplier and sells them in the Croatian market to its B2B buyers. The study was carried out in 2007. The qualitative part included 25 in-depth interviews with the retailer’s employees in the Croatian market. A quantitative study of Croatian buyers of home improvement and construction products represents the second part of the empirical research. Using purpose-based sampling,...

This work aims at defining so-called dynamic marketing capabilities (DMC) in social media as the emerging construct important from perspective of both: marketing science and marketing practice. It is also oriented at identification of particular company resources that are strongly related to applying dynamic capabilities towards social media. This is a conceptual paper based on literature review. Specifically, we combine insights from dynamic capabilities theory, prior studies on dynamic marketing capabilities and the literature on social media marketing. DMC in social media seems to very promising construct that capture current trends in the business environment and at the same time, reflects paradigm changes that occur in management science, and in marketing, particularly.

Purpose of the paper and literature addressed: The purpose of this paper is to study and evaluate exporters’ task and emotional conflicts with international distribution channels, as well as their antecedents and export performance consequences. We use an interactive approach to explain the role, importance and type of long-term exchange relations between organizations. Channel conflict, dependence, and power were the foci of IMP research in the late 80s and early 90s, with conflicts considered as indicative of “sick” relationships and therefore to be avoided. However, later research views networks without conflict as typical of relationships, where actors do not put much effort into their interaction. Hence, the present research aims to conclude with the explanation of how the interaction dimensions discussed above affect the distribution channel (network) as a whole in a Slovenian export context. Research method: In-depth interviews with international salespeople and managers of t...

The undersigned GREGOR PFAJFAR, a student at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, (hereafter: FELU), declare that I am the author of the doctoral dissertation entitled The gap between buyers and sellers and its influence on conflicts within international distribution channels, written under supervision of prof. Maja Makovec Brenčič, PhD and co-supervision of prof. Aviv Shoham, PhD.