This research examines how the consumer responds to corporate advertising by a global BtoB advertiser. Based on the theory of consumer knowledge, corporate reputation, Attitude toward the Ad (Aad), and global consumer culture, this study assumes a positive relationship between Aad and corporate reputation, and in turn, word-of-mouth intentions. In addition to causal relationships, the moderating effects of level of knowledge were tested. The results showed positive causal relationships among consumer knowledge, brand attitude, and word-of-mouth communication. However, the moderating effects of level of knowledge were not fully supported. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.

본 연구는 급변하는 경영환경 속에서 BtoB거래에서의 협업이 중요함에도 불구하고 협업을 구성하는 요소가 불명확하기에 협업Quality라고 명명한 측정도구 개발이 목적이며, 이를 바탕으로 BtoB기업의 조 직성과와의 구조적 관계를 연구한 논문이다. 협업Quality의 측정개발은 Study1, Study2로 구성이 되어있으며, Study1에서는 FGI를 통해 협업 Quality의 측정항목을 개발하고, 전문가 집단의 인터뷰를 통해 협업의 구성요인을 알아냈다. Study2에서 는 측정항목들의 신뢰성과 타당성을 검증하여 4개의 요인으로 도출하였고, 이 요인들을 신뢰, 공유된 목표, 정보공유성, 조직유연성으로 명명하였다. 마지막으로 도출된 요인들과 조직성과와의 관계를 규명하였다. 결과적으로 본 연구의 협업Quality는 BtoB거래에서 공급업체와 구매업체간의 협업을 의미하며, 개발된 측정도구는 향후 협업과 파트너십 연구에 기초자료가 될 것으로 기대된다.

Although the SDL paradigm has contributed to the conceptualization of “value co-creation”, and despite the prioritization of sustainable marketing by business-to-business corporations, the academic literature has failed to study the role played by sustainability in business-to-business (BtoB) value co-creation. Here, using case studies, we examine how business-to-business companies embrace the concept of sustainability to co-create value, and we further develop the theory through a qualitative approach. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between the supplier and customer networks and how the SDL value co-creation translates into business-to-business offering. The customer network is first used by the supplier to create sustainability awareness among end users (social marketing) or to understand their behaviors, whereas the supplier network creates the fit with the customer or end-user expectations for sustainability by delivering a sustainable service targeting performance or supply chain integration (green marketing). The dichotomy between green and social marketing is of high interest for BtoB marketers as in vertical business relationships, upstream companies may implement green marketing but they cannot be certain their efforts will meet the needs of the end users as they have little to no direct contact with these users. Ross et al. (2011) define green marketing, as “companies applying sustainable thinking holistically, from production to post-purchasing service, aiming to balance the company’s need for profit with the wider need to protect the environment”. The authors also recognize that “while companies may do all they can to pursue a green marketing effort to contribute to sustainability, if consumers do not change their own behavior to become more sustainable then little will be achieved” (2011: 149). To overcome this potential hurdle they introduce the concept of “social marketing”, which can be defined as “the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social or public good” (French and Blair-Stevens, 2006: 4). If we apply the SDL value co-creation model to this diachronic approach, splitting the production from the use of the product, and even looking at the use of the product across time (i.e., during the product life cycle), then we have to look at the network of actors involved in the different stages of this value co-creation model in a BtoB context. The SDL paradigm implicitly recognizes the value creation network (Lusch and Vargo, 2006), which can be defined as when “actors come together to co-produce value” (Norman and Ramirez, 1994). Cova and Salle (2008: 272) show that to translate the SDL into a BtoB offering, the supplier network must interact with the customer network, “thereby co-creating value with them and for them”. From there, we can suggest that a sustainable value proposition in BtoB will be the process by which companies link the supplier and the customer network while incorporating green and social marketing (Ross et al., 2011). Our findings improve and detail our understanding of this interaction between the supplier and customer networks.