5. CONCLUSION
5.6. Suggestions for further research
It has already been indicated several times, the conceptual study of the present revealed a distinctive research gap. Even though the connection between communication and relationship development clearly exists, there is a lack of research on the topic.
Therefore, further research should be conducted on this.
The following suggestions demonstrate the many questions regarding relationship communication that could be researched.
Firstly, the importance of consistent planned communication in terms of relationship development should be researched further. The literature review does address the issue only indirectly for example by referring to Bullen, LeFave and Selig (2010), who argue that collaboration cannot exist without communication. It was also assumed in the present thesis that planned communication would automatically trigger more interaction
92
and, consequently, make the relationship be more valuable. However, this is all hypothetical. It would be interesting to study how a consistent planned communication strategy actually changes a B2B relationship.
Furthermore, another interesting topic to be researched is the process of having positive outcomes derive from interactive relationship. Currently, academic literature has researched widely the relationship-enhancing benefits of interaction. However, only little research has been done to find out what is required in order for these outcomes to actually appear. For example, under what kinds of circumstances do face-to-face meetings trigger personal connections, or does this always happen automatically?
Finally, it would be necessary to further investigate the usage of the theoretical framework of relationship communication more. In order to increase its credibility, it should be applied to different companies and to different business environments.
93 REFERENCES
Andersen, P. H. (2001) Relationship development and marketing communication: an integrative model.Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 16 (3), 167-182
Ballantyne, D. (2004a). Dialogue and its role in the development of relationship specific knowledge. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 19 (2), 114-123.
Ballantyne, D. (2004b). Pathways less traveled to value creation: interaction, dialogue and knowledge generation. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 19 (2), 97-98.
Bianco, A. (13. April 2008). The vanishing mass market. Haettu 18. July 2011
osoitteesta Business week:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_28/b3891001_mz001.htm
Biggemann, S. & Buttle, F. (2009) Coordinated interaction and paradox in business relationships. Journal of business & Industrial Marketing, 24 (8), 549-560.
Brennan, R.;Canning, L. E. & McDowell, R. (2010) Business-to-Business Marketing.
Sage Publications Ltd.
Bullen, C. V.; LeFave, R. & Selig, G. J. (2010) Implementing Strategic Sourcing: A Manager's guide to World Class Best Practices. NL: Van Haren Publishing 2010.
Buttle, F. (2009) Customer Relationship Management. Oxford: Elseview Ltd.
Christopher, M.; Payne, A. & Ballantyne, D. (2002). Relationship Marketing - Creating Stakeholder Value. Oxford: Elseview Ltd.
Davenport, T. H.;Harris, J. G.;& Kohli, A. K. (2001). "How do they know their customers so well?". MIT Sloan Management Review, 24 (2), 66-73.
94
Davis, P. R.;& Love, P. (2011) Alliance contracting: Adding value through relattionship development. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 18 (5), 1-22.
Dimitriadis, S. (2011) Customers’ relationship expectations and costs as segmentation variables: preliminary evidence from banking. Journal of Services Marketing, 25 (4), 294-308
Duncan, T. & Moriarty, S. E. (1998) A communication-based marketing model for managing relationships. Journal of Marketing, 62 (April), 1-13
Dwyer, F. R.; Schurr, P. H. & Oh, S. (1987) Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships.
Journal of Marketing, 51, 11-27.
Gremler, D. D.; Gwinner, K. P. & Brown, S. W. (2001) Generating positive word-of- mouth communication through customer-employee relationships. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12 (1), 44-59.
Grönroos, C. (1990). Service Management and Marketing. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
Grönroos, C. (1996) Relationship marketing: strategic and tactical implications, Management Decisions, 34 (3), 5-14.
Grönroos, C. (2004) The Relationship Marketing Process: Communication, Interaction, Dialogue, Value. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 19 (2), 99-113.
Gummesson, E. & Polese, F. (2009) B2B is not an island! Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing, 24 (5-6), 337-350.
Gummesson, E. (2004) Return on relationships (ROR): The Value of Relationship Marketing and CRM in Business-to-Business Context. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 19 (2) , 136-148.
Harwood, T. G. & Garry, T. (2006) Relationship marketing: why bother? Handbook of business strategy, 107-111.
95
Hirsjärv, S. & Hurme, H. (2000) Tutkimushaastattelu – Teemahaastattelun teoria ja käytäntö. Helsinki, Finland: Yliopistopaino
Håkansson, H. &. Ford, D. (2002) How should companies interact in business networks? Journal of Business Research, 55 (2), 133-139.
Iglesias, O.; Sauquet, A. & Montaña, J. (2011) The role of corporate culture in relationship marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 45 (4), 631-650
Jelínková, M.; Loš Ģáková, H. & Munzarová, S. (2006) Process of Complex CRM.
Vadyba / Management, 1 (10), 59-68.
Johnston, R. & Kong, X. (2001). The customer experience: a road-map for improvement. Market Service Quality: 21 (1), 5-24.
Latusek, W. P. (2010) B2B relationship marketing analytical support with GBC modeling. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 25 (3), 209-219.
Lindberg-Repo, K. & Grönroos, C. (2004) Conceptualising communication strategy from a relational perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 33 , 220-239.
McKenzie, K. E. (2009) Defining and Understanding Communications Planning: A Current Assessment and an Exploratory Study. Journal of Promotion Management, 15 (3), 341-356.
Morgan, D. L. (1997) Focus groups as qualitative research. USA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Ng, S.; David, M. E. & Dagger, T. S. (2011) Generating positive word-of-mouth in the service experience. Managing Service Experience, 21 (2), 133-151.
Novicevic, M.; Sloan, H.; Duke, A.; Holmes, E. & Breland, J. (2006) customer relationship management: Barnard’s foundations. Journal of Management History. 12 (3), p. 306-318.
96
Ouschan, R.; Sweeney, J. & Johnson, L. (2006) Customer empowerment and relationship outcomes in healthcare consultations. European Journal of Marketing, 40 (9-10), 1068-1086.
Peppers, D. & Rogers, M. (2004) Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley / Sons, Inc.
Peppers, D. & Rogers, M. (1997). Enterprise One to One. New York: Doubleday Books.
Rajamma, R. K.; Zolfagharian, M. A. & Pelton, L. E. (2011) Dimensions and outcomes of B2B relational exchange: a meta-analysis. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 26 (2), 104-114.
Ramani, G. &. Kumar, V. (2008) Interaction Orientation and Firm Performance.
Journal of Marketing, 1 (72), 27-45.
Rich, M. K. (2000) The direction of marketing relationships. Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing, 15 (2-3), 170-179.
Saren, M. (2011) Marketing empowerment and exclusion in the information age.
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 29 (1), 39-48.
Shen, A. & Ball, A. D. (2009) Is personalization of services always a good thing?
Exploring the role of technology-mediated personalization (TMP) in service relationship. Journal of Services Marketing, 23 (2), 80-92
Sing, P. J. & Power, D. (2009) The nature of effectiveness of collaboration between firms. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 14 (3), 189-200
Su, H.; Fang, S. & Young. G. (2011) Relationship transparency for partnership enhancement: an intellectual capital perspective. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 26 (6), 456-468
97
Vegholm, F. (2011) Relationship marketing and the management of corporate image in the bank-SME relationship. Management Research Review, 34 (3), 325-336.
Witell, L; Kristensson, P.; Gustafsson, A. & Löfgren, M. (2011) Idea generation:
customer co-creation versus traditional market research techniques. Journal of Service Management, 22 (2), p. 140-159.
Woodside, A. G. (2010) Organizational Culture, Business-to-Business Relationships, and Interfirm Networks. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Wright, R. (2004). Business-to-Business Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide. Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.
Yin, R. K. (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Zen, Y. E.; Wen, H. J. & Yen, D. C. (2003) Customer relationship management (CRM) in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. Information Management & Computer Security, 11 (1), 39-44.
98 APPENDICES