Submission of a competitive paper

Introduction This paper focuses on an important, yet uncharted phenomenon in international business marketing, the utilization of references. The idea that references play an important part in business marketing is generally taken for granted. Most issues of business magazines like Business Week and Business Strategy Review contain anecdotal evidence of the essential role of references in such strategic actions as launching new products, getting entry into new markets, and in enhancing the company position in an industry. Yet, there is little reported academic research on references, their creation, usage, effectiveness, or even what kind of activities and customer relationships can be considered to be references. Managers generally view successful deliveries of equipment, services, or projects to customers as references. These deliveries are often compiled to various types of reference lists that are attached to offers sent to potential customers in hopes that a positive impression will be conveyed. A frequently expressed goal is to reduce the perceived risk of a potential buyer facing a choice of a new supplier or product by communicating the credibility of the supplier. The importance of specific supplier / product attributes is reflected in the utilization of different types of reference lists: customer segment specific lists, product specific lists, technology specific lists, and country / area specific lists. In brief, the reference deliveries are often considered references. In addition to specific deliveries, the names of existing customers are seen and used as references. From the perspective of this managerial interest in references and the perceived relevance of the use of references in business marketing it is surprising to recognize that there does not exist any specific theory or theories of references. A preliminary scanning through organizational buying research tradition, business marketing studies including both strategic 2 3 aspects and marketing communication research, and through the rapidly emerging relationship marketing literature revealed only scattered, pragmatically oriented notions and examples about the usefulness of references in different marketing contexts. Amazingly references seem to remain as a white area in our theoretical maps of business marketing. What is the role of references in a network context and in the Industrial Network Theory (Ford 2002, Håkansson and Snehota 1995)? Although the IMP-driven network theory does not explicitly discuss references, many of its key concepts and empirical findings support the importance of references also in industries characterized by network relationships. For example, the role of a supplier is assumed to …