Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing Practices in India

Introduction: Increasing importance of India in the global economy

India, considered to be an emerging market, is also a prominent BRIC country (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and fast becoming the hub of global economy today. Matloff (2004) cites a Gartner study according to which, 25 percent of all U.S. IT jobs will be offshored by 2010, from 5 percent today. It is likely that most of these offshored jobs will land up in India. Some industry pundits predict that like the Japanese ziabatsu, and the South Korean chaebols, India too may have its share of successful giants that accelerate her economic growth. Sheth and Sisodia (2006) in their path-breaking book, Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets foresee the world to get fragmented into three main regional trading blocks: the European/African bloc, the Asian Bloc with China and Japan as its center, and the US/North American bloc with US and India as allies.

Learning from innovative Indian business-to-business market management practices

In such a business environment, new and innovative business marketing practices are required. One of the most successful examples of innovative business marketing practices is that of India’s largest private sector steel manufacturer, Tata Steel, which was the first company to go for intermediate branding, and a co-branding with its suppliers. Tata Steel, using such innovative marketing processes, has decommoditized steel in India. Similarly, Tata Steel’s joint venture with India’s largest public sector steel giant, Steel authority of India (SAIL) has launched an e-sourcing initiative called www.metaljunction.com which is the largest B2B e-commerce platform in India. This joint venture also started an e-selling initiative that facilitated dis-intermediation, collecting statutory sales tax documents and receivables from buyers, and on its way to become a full-fledged KPO outfit, providing complete order generation and fulfillment services for the sales chain.

The promise of the India-focused special issue of JBIM

New B2B marketing practices should engender new B2B marketing theories, which while originating from Indian practice and context, are expected to have wider applicability and relevance. Most B2B Marketing literature presents theories and models that are grounded in B2B marketing practices in developed countries, which are characterized by mature markets. Very little research has been carried out on the issues and challenges facing B2B marketers in different sectors in India. Many sectors are growing rapidly, taking up important positions in the global context as well.
This special India-focused issue of JBIM seeks to focus on intriguing practices and resulting theory relating to the B2B Marketing and Sales in some of the key industries in India.

Indicative coverage of the India-focused special issue of JBIM

Contributions to this special issue should fulfill one or more of the following conditions:

* Papers could be from both academics and practitioners in B2B Marketing & Sales
* Papers that take an interdisciplinary perspective in understanding B2B Marketing & Sales in India
* Papers presenting new theories or research about B2B Marketing and Sales practice in the Indian context
* Papers covering any type of research paradigm including case studies, qualitative and quantitative analysis, conceptual and empirical research
* Papers presenting rigorously validated qualitative studies that build new theories or provide a “really fresh perspective” in B2B Marketing and Sales that are relevant for India
* Papers presenting case studies of not so celebrated firms in India, that showcase innovative Marketing & Sales practices

Papers that will not be appropriate for the special issue are:

* Papers that are mere replication studies and/or based on validating extant theories in the Indian context.
* Teaching cases.

Indicative list of topics for developing the papers

An indicative, though not exhaustive, list of suggested topics that would be suitable for this special issue would include:

* Understanding and managing value in the B2B context in India
* Managing Buyer-Seller relationships in the Indian market
* Driving efficiency and effectiveness in B2B selling processes in India
* Customer-centricity in B2B marketing processes in India
* Role of buying centers in Indian B2B firms
* Intermediate branding in India
* Pricing Issues in B2B buyer-seller relationships
* Role of supply-chain and logistics in B2B marketing in India
* Outsourcing/offshoring to India
* Co-creation of value with B2B customers in India
* Innovation and new product development for B2B customers in India
* Segmentation practices in Indian B2B markets
* Sales-Marketing interface issues in industrial firms
* Market orientation of B2B firms in India
* Ethics in B2B marketing and sales
* Green marketing of B2B products and services
* Influence of culture on B2B marketing
* Tendering and purchasing processes in India
* Online B2B marketing practices and innovations

Additional dimensions that the paper should address

All contributions should have the following sections, in addition to the specific
content of the paper:

1. A section highlighting managerial implications, based on results from the application of the theories being presented.

2. For the key ideas presented, a section explaining the relevance/applicability to a broader audience of practitioners/academics in other parts of the world.

Process for the submission of papers:

Papers submitted must not have been published, accepted for publication, or presently be under consideration for publication with any other journal. Submissions should be approximately 6,000-8,000 words in length. Submissions to the Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing must be made using the Scholar One Manuscript Central system. For more details, please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/jbim.htm and consult the author guidelines.

A separate title page must be uploaded containing the title, author/s, and contact information for the author(s). Suitable articles will be subjected to a double-blind review. Hence authors should not identify themselves in the body of the paper.

Deadlines for various stages of processing the papers are:

Submission of first draft of paper: 31 December 2009.
First review results: 31 March 2010.
Submission of revised manuscripts (as applicable): 31 May 2010.
Second review results (as applicable): 31 July 2010.
Submission of accepted manuscripts in final form: 31 August 2010.
Special issue expected: late 2010 or early 2011.

Please address all communication to the special issue Guest Editors:

D.V.R. Seshadri, Visiting Faculty – Marketing Area, Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560076, India
E-mail: dvrs@iimb.ernet.in

Or

Ramendra Singh, Doctoral Candidate (Marketing), Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad, IIM Ahmedabad, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380015, India
E-mail: ramendras@iimahd.ernet.in

References

Matloff, N. (2004), “Globalization and the American IT Worker,” Communications of the ACM, 47(11), 27-29.

Sheth, Jagdish N., and Rajendra S.Sisodia (2006), Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets, Response Books; Sage Publications, New Delhi.