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The Surpluses and Shortages in Business-to-Business Marketing Theory and Research

By December 1, 2006February 15th, 2019Marketing Research, Marketing Theory
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Purpose – Business-to-business marketing has come of age in the last three decades and research in this area has been extensive and impressive. This paper examines the extant body of business-to-business marketing research and identifies surpluses and shortages with the goal of stimulating future research.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper focuses on two questions regarding future business-to business marketing. First, what has been the focus of understanding in business-to-business marketing theory and what should be its future focus? Second, what has been the purpose or objective to study business-to-business marketing and what should be the future objective for research?

Findings – It is found that research in business-to-business marketing is fundamentally changing and will continue to change. The paper identifies areas of business-to-business marketing research that have received surplus attention and areas that require additional attention.

Practical implications – The paper provides guidelines for future exploration of the business-to-business research domain.

Originality/value – The paper is analogous to the widely cited paper by Sheth (1979) that reviewed the state of consumer behavior research and identified areas that had been unexplored or under-explored, and in the process provided an impetus for new research in consumer behavior.

The Surpluses And Shortages In Business To Business Marketing Theory And Research

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