Individuals in B2B Marketing: Sensemaking and Action in Context

The business world consists of interlinked entities, which require acting cooperatively in order to reach the desired aims. Individuals are at the core of business-to-business (B2B) marketing and are responsible for making decisions, negotiating, networking, branding, and all other of the firm’s vital processes. Especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the role of individuals is important, as those in charge of the SMEs are often the face and the mind of a company. However, the role of the individual in B2B marketing literature has often been overlooked.

This book covers the gap by providing a variety of novel perspectives that involve individuals as central figures in the B2B marketing environment. This book will provide practical implications on the topics in focus, which will bring the role and importance of individuals to the fore in the understanding of how B2B marketing works. It introduces readers to the role of embedded individual managers in developing and changing business systems and networks and consists of three core sections: cognition (individual sensemaking within a business environment), action (decision-making in business networks), and finally, contextualization (interrelation between micro- and macro-levels). Each section is supported with case studies to exemplify the research ideas presented.

Individuals in B2B Marketing offers a comprehensive investigation into this much overlooked topic and will be a valuable resource for marketing, entrepreneurship, and international business scholars and graduate students in particular.

Maria Ivanova-Gongne works as Associate Professor in International Marketing at Åbo Akademi University. She also holds the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Turku. Her research interests include business-to-business marketing management and migrant entrepreneurship, particularly the aspects of cross-cultural interaction and communication, as well as managerial sensemaking in international business. Another special interest lies in understanding sustainability in business from a cross-cultural and individual-level perspective. Her works have appeared in journals such as Industrial Marketing Management, Critical Perspectives on International Business, European Management Journal, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Scandinavian Journal of Management.

Lasse Torkkeli is Associate Professor at LUT Business School at LUT University, and Adjunct Professor of International Business in the Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku. His research interests are in the international entrepreneurship field and include the role of sustainability and digitalization in internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises. He has published in journals such as International Business Review, International Marketing Review, and Industrial Marketing Management, among other journals and publishers.

Nikolina Koporcic is Principal Researcher at Laurea University of Applied Sciences and an Academy Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland. Nikolina also holds the title of a Docent (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Turku and acts as Associate Editor of Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility Journal. Her research focuses on the role of individuals in corporate branding, entrepreneurship, and the co-creation of value in business-to-business relationships and networks. In particular, she is studying the importance of Interactive Network Branding for SMEs in business markets.

Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen (PhD) is Professor at Åbo Akademi University, School of Business and Economics, and Law, Finland. His research focuses on knowledge sharing and communication, especially in international contexts and with a focus on issues related to language. He has published in outlets including International Business Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, and Journal of International Management.