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Purpose – The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of service innovation in networks. Especially the most loosely coupled forms of innovation networks, innovation communities, can be valuable in service innovation, but may not be manageable in the traditional sense. Rather, they may require orchestration characterized by discreet guidance that also accommodates the specific nature of services. Through informed orchestration, it is possible to deal with several contingencies, and influence the absorptive capacity at the network level to generate new service innovations. Design/methodology/approach – These issues are examined through literature review and a case study. Findings – The findings suggest that individual orchestration mechanisms may be more closely connected to certain contingencies than others, and that both orchestration mechanisms and contingency factors have a role in absorptive capacity development within service innovation networks. Research limitations/implications – While the case study approach limits the possibility to make wide generalizations, the in-depth insights provide valuable knowledge. Practical implications – There has been a shift from inter-firm competition towards competition between networks of organizations, increasing relevance of absorptive capacity at the network level. Originality/value – Despite the recent increase in service innovation literature, research on service innovation taking place in networks is scant. Knowledge on some aspects can be derived from more traditional notions on technological innovation, but both the distinctive features of services and central characteristics of innovation networks make it necessary to reconsider some of the established views. In particular, managing – or rather orchestrating – service innovation is still a challenging area.

Purpose This paper aims to study the antecedents of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption among farmers and determine how trust in the technology influences its adoption when mediated by perceived value and risk. Through the conceptualization of trust and perceived risk, the authors factor in farmers’ perceptions of agricultural technology providers and discuss different forms of perceived value, spanning economic, green and epistemic value. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a distinctive research design, drawing on elements of the value-based adoption and technology acceptance models. By linking different elements of perceived value with IoT technology, the authors also apply the service-dominant logic to this study. They study how trust affects perceived value and risk and then determine how perceived value and risk, in turn, affect IoT adoption. The authors test the hypotheses by developing a structural equation model to analyze the results of a survey, wherein 492 farmers from Iowa, the USA, participated. Findings The results show a positive relationship between trust and perceived value and a negative relationship between trust and perceived risk. Perceived value had a positive impact on IoT adoption, whereas perceived risk had a negative impact on IoT adoption. Practical implications The research findings on trust and perceived value and risk are timely and relevant for business-to-business (B2B) marketing practitioners and agricultural stakeholders, especially in an era where farmers are expressing growing concerns about data handling risk posed by IoT technology adoption. Originality/value The research findings signal a transition in focus from the goods-dominant logic to the service-dominant logic in agriculture, whereby farmers are drawn to IoT technology because of perceived economic, green and epistemic value and as a result, can differentiate themselves on how well they deploy operant resources. This paper not only provides a unique conceptualization of perceived value but also pave the way for a richer conceptualization of IoT core functions that enable farmers to fulfill green and epistemic goals. This is the first B2B marketing paper discussing the antecedents of IoT adoption in agriculture, such as farmers’ perceptions of both monetary and non-monetary forms of value and perceived data handling risk.

Purpose – The current knowledge concerning how organizations adopt innovations is considerably less than the sum of its parts. The aim of this paper is to review the innovation adoption and diffusion approach and connect it with the main related theoretical fields within business-to-business marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a conceptual discussion, the aim being to develop an integrative conceptual framework. Findings – The adoption and diffusion approach gives little indication of the effects on adoption of the established relationships and the wider relational setting comprising the direct and indirect influences between the network actors. It is rather the innovation and the related communication that are in focus. As a result, the innovation and its adoption and diffusion are considered unique phenomena, the actors are assigned the static roles of opinion leaders and change agents, social system can be defined, and there is no competition. The current theoretical approaches within the business-to-business marketing could provide support in building a more realistic view of adoption and diffusion in industrial context. Originality/value – The contribution of the proposed conceptual model lies in its capacity to take into account organizational behavior in the form of individual-level actions that underpin the adoption process and relate this intra-firm behavior to its wider network context, thereby facilitating the production of a system-level account and a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of adoption.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) to affect organizational buying behavior. Potential impacts on organizational communication, buying center structure and processes and privacy and security issues are discussed. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that advances testable propositions based on the technology overview and use of existing organizational buying behavior theory. Findings This paper concludes that major changes are likely as a result of the adoption of IoT. The nature of organizational communication may shift to more machine-to-machine communication and buying centers may become smaller, less hierarchical but more coordinated, with less conflict. In addition, privacy and security concerns will need to be addressed. Originality/value This is the first attempt to conceptualize the impact of adoption of IoT technologies that may help future researchers to examine the impact on a more granular level. For practitioners, it may help them prepare for the impacts of the IoT technological juggernaut.

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to discuss the potential of AI to impact organizational buying behavior. Potential impacts on organizational communication, Organizational Buying Center (OBC) structure and dynamics are discussed. Design/methodology/approach This research is conceptual in nature and uses narrative literature review to develop testable propositions derived from a technology overview and incorporates existing organizational buying behavior theory. Findings The article's conclusion suggests that significant changes are likely due to the adoption of AI. The nature of organizational buying is anticipated to undergo a shift toward increased reliance on AI-generated input. Additionally, it is expected that the size of OBCs may decrease, with reduced vertical and lateral involvement, while promoting greater coordination and less conflict among members. Originality/value This paper aims to conceptualize the effects of AI technology adoption on organizational buying situations and the structure and dynamics of OBCs. For practitioners, this conceptualization may equip them to navigate the impacts of the AI technological advancements effectively.

Organizations that believe they should \"give something back\" to the society have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the theoretical underpinnings of CSR have been frequently debated, empirical studies often involve only limited aspects, implying that theory may not be congruent with actual practices and may impede understanding and further development of CSR. The authors investigate actual CSR practices related to five different stakeholder groups, develop an instrument to measure those CSR practices, and apply it to a survey of 401 U.S. organizations. Four different clusters of organizations emerge, depending on the CSR practice focus. The distinctive features of each cluster relate to organizational demographics, perceived influence of stakeholders, managers' perceptions of the influence of CSR on performance, and organizational performance.

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the concepts of co-creation and value-in-use with a specific focus on big data technology in agriculture. The authors provide a unique narrative of how farmers experience co-creation and value-in-use in monetary and non-monetary forms. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative study is based on semi-structured interviews with mid-Western farmers. The constant comparative method was used for coding the data. Results were analyzed through open and axial coding, and matrix queries helped establish linkages between different concepts via NVivo 12. Findings The paper provides rich insight into co-creation through direct and indirect interaction, autonomous co-creation and epistemic, monetary and environmental value-in-use in the digital agriculture sector. Interestingly, co-creation through indirect interaction gives rise to epistemic value-in-use. Also, value-co-destruction can undermine co-creation, while relational actors and the concept of psychological ownership are very relevant to the process of co-creation. Research limitations/implications The authors build on the extant literature on co-creation in knowledge-intensive B2B sectors with the unique findings linking different forms of co-creation with value-in-use. Practical implications The findings on co-creation and value-in-use are beneficial to diverse agriculture stakeholders such as farmers, agriculture technology providers, extension agents and policymakers. Agricultural technology providers can determine how to make the co-creation process more meaningful for farmers and also create suitable technology tools that enrich farmers’ knowledge about crop management. Agricultural stakeholders can learn how to develop big data analytic tools and marketing narratives to maximize value-in-use and pre-empt value co-destruction. Social implications The research can impact policy, as it addresses a very relevant issue of how farmers relate to big data technology amidst growing consolidation and privacy concerns in the digital agriculture sector. Originality/value Our work is both theoretically and contextually relevant. We incorporate elements of service-dominant and customer-dominant logic while analyzing farmers’ perspectives of co-creation and value-in-use.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate conceptually the relationship between the customer’s engagement and equity and to determine whether customer engagement could be positively enhanced by business-to-business (B2B) firms to maximize their customer equity, through examining the role of cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement. Design/methodology/approach This paper is built on the evolving marketing literature and proposes a comprehensive framework that uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the customer’s engagement and equity constructs; examines the relationships between customer satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement and customer engagement; and specifies the specific customer engagement dimensions – cognitive, emotional and behavioral – as key mediators of the engagement–equity relationship. Findings This paper indicated that customer engagement is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions: cognitive, emotional or behavior engagement. Customer’s satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement would be regarded as antecedents to customer engagement, whereas customer equity would be regarded a consequence for customer engagement. In addition, this paper identified three drivers of customer equity – value, brand and relationship equities – based on reviewing the previous studies. Originality/value This paper integrates philosophies from previous marketing studies of customer relationship management and customer engagement and equity into a B2B environment in a more customer-centric approach.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine predicted business-to-business (B2B) marketing capabilities for the next three to five years by companies in advanced, emerging and developing economies. Findings The authors identify the prevalent marketing capabilities in industrial companies operating in an advanced economy (USA), two emerging economies (Chile and Peru) and one developing economy (Bolivia), consolidating the themes in firms’ orientations. The study offers a taxonomy of the marketing role in different stages as per country development. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative approach based on grounded theory. Originality/value This manuscript contributes to the understanding of B2B marketing across different levels of market development. The authors offer theoretical and practical implications regarding the paradigms reigning the role of marketing. The coding scheme emerging from the data illustrates how companies and markets evolve in a two-way interaction.