بررسی ارزش مشتری در بازارهای کسب و کار جهانی : مقاله تفسیری

This commentary reflects on Blocker's cross-cultural investigation of relationship value in business markets, published in this issue, and identifies several research avenues. From a theoretical point of view, researchers should develop and test hypotheses grounded in both conceptual frameworks and extant literature to expand knowledge of how national cultures–as well as other country-specific variables–affect customer value perceptions in business markets. From a methodological point of view, ongoing research should establish cross-cultural measurement equivalence on the basis of procedures specifically designed to support formative customer value models. Finally, this commentary highlights several key insights related to models of customer value in international business markets.

Interest grows in customer value as an object of scholarly research in business marketing. Researchers and practitioners can draw on a rich and growing body of knowledge about customer value in industrial markets. The Marketing Science Institute (MSI) and Penn State University's Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) both played pivotal roles in nurturing this growing stream of research by consistently including customer value in their respective research priorities. Academic journals such as Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (Parasuraman, 1997) and Industrial Marketing Management (Ulaga, 2001) also devoted special issues and dedicated sections to advancing knowledge in this area. Researchers investigate customer value in business markets both conceptually and empirically (Lapierre, 2000 and Wilson, 1995), from customer and supplier perspectives (Menon et al., 2005 and Walter et al., 2001), and in business dyads and networks (Kothandaraman and Wilson, 2001). Over time, scholarly interest gradually shifted from a focus on product value-in-use and value-in-exchange to a consideration of value in relationships and broader networks. Reflecting on this burgeoning body of scholarly research, recent articles attempt to consolidate extant literature and provide directions for research ((Lindgreen and Wynstra, 2005); Payne and Holt, 1999). The reason for such strong academic interest in customer value may result from the criticality of value to every aspect of marketing decision making. Business marketers must understand how to create, communicate, and deliver value for (and with) customers. Core marketing building blocks, such as segmentation, targeting and positioning, value propositions, and pricing products and services, all rely on customer value as a key constituent. As business marketers face greater pressure, due to rampant commoditization in many industries, they increasingly search for new avenues of value creation, beyond traditional offerings. Growing globalization simultaneously forces marketers to understand the extent to which they can standardize or must adapt their value propositions across countries and markets.

Increasingly competitive global business markets make understanding customer value perceptions in international business relationships paramount. Yet most empirical research in this field relies on national data sets; customer value research therefore needs additional, internationally oriented, empirical input. Blocker (2011) builds on prior studies in this area and provides new insights into the cross-national generalizability of the customer value construct. His study lays foundations for additional research questions, from both theoretical and methodological perspectives. The present commentary in turn attempts to contribute to stimulating further development of customer value research.