Collaborators: Managing Business Markets

Question 1

Collaborators

Answer 1

Collaborators are entities that work with the company to design, communicate, and deliver value to target customers

eg. suppliers, manufacturers, distributors (dealers, wholesalers and retailers),research- and-development companies, service providers, external sales force, advertising agencies, and marketing research companies

vertical supply chain
or horizontal supply chain

Question 2

collaborator value benefits and drawbacks

Answer 2

The benefits of collaboration include greater effectiveness, cost efficiency, flexibility, and time to market;

the drawbacks include a loss of control, loss of competencies, and the possibility of strengthening the competition.

Question 3

collaborator power

Answer 3

higher prices, margins, discounts, and allowances; preferential access to scarce resources; and premier shelf space and product-delivery schedules.
1 offering differentiation
2 collaborator size
3 strategic importance 
4 switching costs

Question 4

Collaborator conflict

Answer 4

tensions among collaborators, often caused by the differences in their goal-optimization strategies.

there are vertical conflicts - in channel and

horizontal conflicts between retailers

Question 5

everything is a value creation process

Answer 5

ya

Question 6

collaboration can occur in 3 domains:

Answer 6

1 value-design collaboration (including product and service development, brand building, price setting, and incentive design)

2 value-communication collaboration (advertising, public relations, and social media)

3 value-delivery collaboration (actual delivery of a company’s products and services)

Question 7

levels of collaboration

Answer 7

1 explicit collaboration (contractual, joint ventures, franchise agreements)

2 implicit collaboration (lower level of commitment)

Question 8

vertical integration

Answer 8

acquisition of an entity occupying a different level in the value-delivery chain.
- forward and backward integration

Extending ownership upstream (toward suppliers) is referred to as backward integration, whereas extending ownership of activities downstream (toward buyers) is referred to as forward integration

eg. Starbucks directly manages all aspects of its business, including sourcing, roasting, distributing, and serving the coffee

Question 9

Horizontal integration

Answer 9

a business entity at the same level of the value-delivery chain.

R&D, manufacturer and service provider