COURSE UNIT TITLE

: BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETS

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
UMR 4120 BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETS ELECTIVE 3 0 0 6

Offered By

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (UOLP-SUNY ALBANY)

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR BURCU ILTER

Offered to

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (UOLP-SUNY ALBANY)

Course Objective

The objective of this course is to emphasize and analyze the idiosyncrasies of business markets and elaborate on how these idiosyncrasies matter for firms acting on those markets. It also aims at providing an understanding of specific issues and problems faced by firms, getting to know some tools and concepts to analyze and answer to these challenges; acquiring the capability to identify and analyze some underlying mechanisms of the challenges on business markets.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Differentiate between business and consumer markets in order to be able to analyze how companies operate in business-to-business markets.
2   Interpret the process of industrial buying in order to be able develop effective marketing strategies relevant to the characteristics of B-to-B markets.
3   Identify critical elements of value offerings in business markets including product, price, place and promotion for the purpose of developing effective industrial marketing plans.
4   Discover the way buyer-seller relationships run in order to be able to build harmonious relationships with buyers and sellers.
5   Propose solutions to real life marketing problems based on analysis.
6   Work effectively as part of a team participating and interacting in the group in a productive manner for him/herself and for the group as a whole.
7   Demonstrate high communication skills in presenting a report.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

UMR 2001 - PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Nature of business markets Rangan, V.K. & Isaacson, B. (1994). Scope and Challenge of Business-to- Business Marketing, in Rangan et al. (Eds), Business Marketing Strategy: Concepts and Applications. Irwin, USA, pp. 3-13. Anderson, J.C. & Narus, J.A. (1998). Business Marketing: Understanding What Customers Value. Harvard Business Review, 66, Nov-Dec., 53-65.
2 Business buyer behavior Webster, F.E. & Wind, Y. (1972). A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior. Journal of Marketing, 36, 12-19. Bonoma, T.V. (2006). Major sales: Who really does the buying Harvard Business Review, 84, July-August, 172-181.
3 Segmenting business markets Shapiro, B.P. & Bonoma, T.V. (1984). How to Segment Industrial Buyers, in Rangan et al. (Eds), Business Marketing Strategy: Concepts and Applications. Irwin, USA, pp. 3-13.
4 Marketing strategy development: Product Ch. 8: Developing and Managing Products (Dwyer & Tanner, 1999)
5 Marketing strategy development: Price Ch. 14: Pricing and Negotiating for Value (Dwyer & Tanner, 1999) Shapiro, B.P. & Jackson, B.B. (1978). Industrial Pricing to Meet Customer Needs, in Rangan et al. (Eds), Business Marketing Strategy: Concepts and Applications. Irwin, USA, pp. 3-13.
6 Marketing strategy development: Distribution
7 Marketing strategy development: Promotion Shapiro, B.P. & Posner, R.S. (2006). Making the Major Sale. Harvard Business Review, Jul-Aug, 140-148. Anderson, J.C., Narus, J.A. & van Rossum, W. (2006). Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review, 84, May, 91-99.
8 Buyer-seller relationships Dwyer, F.Robert, Paul H. Schurr and Sejo Oh (1987), Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships, Journal of Marketing, 51 (April), 11-27. Shapiro, B.P. & Posner, R.S. (2006). Making the Major Sale. Harvard Business Review, Jul-Aug, 140-148. Anderson, J.C., Narus, J.A. & van Rossum, W. (2006). Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review, 84, May, 91-99.
9 Buyer-seller relationships Leonidou, L.C., Palihawadana, D. & Theodosiou, M. (2006). An integrated model of the behavioural dimensions of industrial buyer-seller relationships, European Journal of Marketing, 40, 1/2, 145-173. Hakansson, H. & Snehota, I. (2006). No business is an island: The network concept of business strategy. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 22, 256-270.
10 Guest speaker
11 Guest speaker
12 Term project presentations

Recomended or Required Reading

Ford, D., Gadde, L., Hakansson, H., & Snehota, I. (2006). The Business Marketing Course: Managing in Complex Networks, Wiley: West Sussex.
Ford, D., Gadde, L., Hakansson, H., & Snehota, I. (2011). Managing Business Relationships, Wiley: West Sussex.
Dwyer, F.R. & Tanner, J. (1999). Business Marketing, McGraw Hill: USA.
Rangan, V.K. & Isaacson, B. (1994). Business Marketing Strategy: Concepts and Applications. Irwin, USA.

See notes for further materials.







Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Lecture
2. Discussion
3. Case Study
4. Group Work
5. Presentations

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MT Midterm
2 TP TermProject
3 FN Final
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MT * 0.40 +TP * 0.20 + FN * 0.40
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MT * 0.40 + TP * 0.20 + RST * 0.40


*** Resit Exam is Not Administered in Institutions Where Resit is not Applicable.

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

1. Midterm exam will be based on essays which evaluate understanding, synthesis and evaluation of the text book and the lecture material.
2. Group project will be assessed on the wider application of knowledge to the analysis and solution of a business-to-business marketing problem confronted by a specific company. Teams will have two options:
a)They can contact a firm in a position of a reseller/ retailer who will talk about their problems with their suppliers.
b) They can contact a firm in a position of a manufacturer who will talk about their problems with their distributors.
Each team will need to hand in a one-page description of the issue and firm it has selected to examine, and the intended analysis after the mid-terms. The description should also include the sources of information that will be utilized to investigate the issue. A team project should: (a) clearly define the issue or problem at hand, including its importance, (b) contain a thorough analysis of the customer, competitive and organizational environments relevant to the problem or issue, and (c) offer a recommendation for handling the problem or issue. Students will also be evaluated on their time management and teamwork skills.
3. Presentations will be assessed on preparation, understanding, knowledge, capacity to structure, oral communication skills, ability to respond to questions and manage discussion

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attending at least 70 percent of lectures is mandatory.
2. Plagiarism of any type will result in disciplinary action.
3. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions.
4. Students are expected to attend to classes on time.
5. Students are expected to prepare ahead of time for class.
6. Students are expected to follow appropriate business etiquette regarding cell phones.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

To be announced.

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 12 3 36
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 12 2 24
Preparing assignments 1 20 20
Preparation for final exam 1 30 30
Preparation for midterm exam 1 30 30
Midterm 1 1 1
Final 1 1 1
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 142

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14PO.15
LO.154
LO.24
LO.34
LO.434
LO.534
LO.6555
LO.75555