Tim Foster - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Revolution in Marketing: Market Driving Changes, 2014

This thesis looks back over a ca 10-year period, 1994-2005, on the use of marketing communication... more This thesis looks back over a ca 10-year period, 1994-2005, on the use of marketing communication tools in industrial markets. The year 1994 is significant in two ways: First, it was the year I was hired as a doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. The year is also significant as it is around this time (1994-95) that the Internet became commercialized and openly available for use beyond simple, point-and-click information retrieval. This decade-long journey was broken into two parts: The first part explored the entire industrial marketing communication toolbox, where both personal and nonpersonal tools, as well as the emerging Internet were used for industrial sellers to provide information, as compared to what industrial buyers were using to obtain information. The second part looked at the Internet as a marketing communication tool onto itself. The first part of the study (1994-1998), resulted in a Licentiate thesis entitled "Industrial Marketing Communication: An Empirical Investigation on the Use of Marketing Communication Tools" (Foster, 1998). It is provided here synoptically as Study A. In Study A, industrial sellers and buyers were investigated as to how they utilized all of the marketing communication tools within the industrial marketing communication toolbox. It was found that there was still a heavy reliance on personal, non-commercial forms of marketing communication, primarily personal selling. The non-personal forms of marketing communication, or the "tools" within the compartments of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing, were also utilized, but not in the same way or to the same degree. The Internet was seen neither as a purely personal nor as only a non-personal form of communication, so it was given its own "compartment" in the toolbox, as highlighted in Study A's conceptual framework as an additional (new) "industrial cyber space" (or area) within the toolbox. Although being utilized at the time by industrial sellers and buyers, primarily via tools such as websites and to a certain degree e-mail, the Internet was considered a little-used but potentially valuable "marketing communication tool of the future." It was this finding that became the foundation and the invitation to investigate the Internet as a marketing communication tool onto itself in "the future." This became the focus of the next phase of the study. The second part of this study picked up where the first part left off and took place during the years 1999-2005. It started with looking at the literature on the use of the Internet in industrial (B2B) markets, and more specifically at the use of websites as industrial marketing communication tools. This in turn became the foundation for Study B in this doctoral thesis, "The Internet as an Industrial Marketing Communication Tool." For various reasons, chief among them the v flexibility with investigating the area at a time when so much was changing and at such a rapid pace, an article format was chosen over continuing on with the monograph format used in presenting Study A. Around this time Jones (1999) explained that not only should the Internet continue to be a focus of our respective scholarly research efforts, but it should also be used as a tool to conduct that research. From this, it became of interest to focus Study B on these two areas: The Internet as a focus of my research (i.e. the AREA focusing on its use as an industrial marketing communication tool), as well as a tool used in conducting the research itself (i.e. the APPROACH to the research). Therefore, the first two articles in Study B look empirically at the use of the Internet as a marketing communication tool in an industrial setting. The third article focuses on how the Internet was used as a tool in conducting this research. The fourth article looks back longitudinally over the entire 10-year period, from Study A through Study B, discussing the findings from both the area of research as well as the approach. Overall, it was found that this research area focusing on the use of industrial marketing communication tools is actually becoming revolutionized in terms of how industrial sellers and buyers, and potentially other stakeholders in the industrial value chain, communicate and interact with one another. More specifically, technology seems to be affecting these relationships in new and exciting ways. It is suggested that what this 10-year journey has produced is the idea that we are in the midst of a "perfect storm" of revolutions within industrial marketing communication research, where both the respective focus of our research as well as the ways in which we go about doing it are caught up and mixed together within areas that will inspire us to continue to do more research, if we can keep up. vi To the lights of my life, Lukas & Natalie vii Acknowledgements My name is on the front of this thesis, but there are so many who helped me put it there. None of us are alone in any facet of our lives, be it at home or in the workplace. To say "thank you" to so many is not enough. Instead, my "thank you" will be in the form of telling you what I have learned from those who helped me get here. I can't mention each person, but if you are reading this and you know me, you have been thought of…and I have learned from you…and for that I am thankful. Family comes first: This thesis, as shown on the page before this one, is dedicated to my two children, Lukas and Natalie, the lights of my life. You two have taught me what true love is, as there is no love in this world stronger or more beautiful than the love you share with your children. My Licentiate thesis (1998) was dedicated to my Mom and Dad, and I believe we are because of our parents love. My Mom, Jan, passed away in February 1996, two years before the completion of my Licentiate thesis. My Dad, Bob, since remarried to Mary Lou, still lives in my hometown of East Lansing, Michigan. To my Mom and Dad, you taught me how to live, but more importantly, you taught me how to love. I could not have asked for better parents, a better childhood, or better role models. To my brother Rob, and his wife Val and their children, Chloe and Jack, you have taught me that the true value of a person's life is not about what we get, but only in what we give. You have given me so much, yet words can't express it. To my sister Kris, and her husband Greg, and their children Sarah, Emily and Hannah, you taught me that the strength of a person's character is not in the words they use, but in the actions that support those words. Your support has meant more than you know. To all of my other relatives, past and present, you have taught me that life is about lessons learned, and that we need to use such lessons to simply move forward…there is only forward. When colleagues become friends: At work, as at home, the years go by so fast and are filled with an equal share of sunshine and shadows. Some of you have come and gone, while others remain attached to what has become a truly remarkable place to work, Luleå University in Sweden. To my supervisor, Esmail Salehi-Sangari, you taught me to never give up on myself…your gift is allowing people to believe in themselves, and I can't imagine a greater gift at this level than that. To my dear friend Åsa Wallström, who taught me what true friendship actually means and that silence is nothing that we should fear, but we do have to learn to deal with in its many forms. To Lars Bäckström, whose support and friendship has taught me that those we come in contact with in each lifetime are not an accident, but are meant to be. To Manucher Farhang, who taught me that it never matters who we are, but instead how we treat other people. To my longviii lost friend, Cristina Baptista, who taught me that the little things in life should be savored, and not worried about. To Lars-Ole Forsberg, who taught me that teaching is more of an honor than a duty. To five of the best people I know, who helped with so many things, but what I learned from all of you is the importance of always doing so with a smile on your face: Thank you Anne, Monica, Barbro, Carola and Tatiana. To the "computer guys" over the years, Lars-Göran, Janne, and in the end, Christofer, you guys taught me that our reliance on technology (and those who influence it) should never be taken for granted. Thanks for being there when I needed you. To Karin Axelsson-Grafström, who gave me my first eight hours of teaching in April 1992 at Luleå University, you taught me that the chances we take in life, be it on something or someone, are a gift you give without expecting anything in return. To all of my other colleagues and friends at the "old" Division of Industrial Marketing & e-Commerce (and the "new" Division of Business Administration & Management), as well as at the entire Department of Business Administration & Social Sciences, and throughout the entire community that makes up Luleå University, you have all taught me that life truly is an adventure, not a destination. To all of those (and there are so many of you) who took part in interviews and gave me access to your work and organizations, both for my Licentiate and now my Ph.D., you have taught me that organizations are not simply about profits, but people. A special thanks to Anders Furbeck and Johan Heyden at LKAB for their assistance, openness, and trust in allowing me access to their organization, both online and off. My interaction with so many of you over these years has been a privilege and true learning experience. And last but certainly not least, to all of the students I have had the pleasure of working with over the years, you have simply taught me, as teaching means learning again. You are why I am pursuing this Ph.D. in the first place…to teach…and therefore to learn. To all of you above, and anyone else I know who might read this, thank you. Luleå, Sweden-October 2006 Tim Foster 2.1...