20307 - INDUSTRIAL MARKETING

Industrial markets shows distinguishing features that urge differentiated marketing approaches and processes compared to consumer markets. Furthermore, industrial markets have been experiencing relevant changes challenging the logic and processes implicit in a number of consolidated industrial marketing practices. This course focuses on the specificities of industrial markets and delves into the multiple areas of competence and activities required to effectively manage industrial customers, from the understanding of industrial customers, to the the creation and commercialisation of the value propositions for those customers. This course aims at providing students with the theoretical knowledge about the management of industrial markets, by discussing concepts and models that typically refer to the specificities of industrial markets. Second, this course aims at helping students develop a knowledge-of-use of these concepts and models, by providing a variety of fruitful contexts where students can practice the application of these concepts and models. Third, this course aims at nurturing students’ critical thinking, by exposing them to a variety of realities that have been challenging even the more consolidated marketing practices, soliciting innovative managerial responses.

• Industrial markets: distinguishing features and recent emerging trends.
• Types and nature of exchange processes in industrial markets. 
• Types of exchange processes and implications on effective management practices. 
• Economic and competitive relevance of partnering with industrial customers.
• Cooperation and competition in industrial markets.
• Customers’ purchasing behavior in industrial markets across different types of exchange processes.
• Industrial market segmentation and customer portfolio analysis.
• Value proposition for industrial customers.
• Key Account Management approaches and practices.

This course should prepare the students to:

• Identify the main distinguishing features that characterize industrial markets and understand how these features affect the development of effective industrial customer management practices.
• Select ways to deal with the increasing complexity in firm-to-firm interdependences.
• Recognize ways to develop customer knowledge.
• Select ways to serve industrial customers.

This course should prepare the students to:

• Analyse a specific industrial market context and acknowledge the nature of the inter-firm interdependences as well as select approaches to develop and mantain a competitive advantage in that market.
• Analyze a customer business context and choose strategies to gain customer preferences and maintain customer relationships over time.
• Measure the economic returns of the investments in the relationships with industrial customers.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments

• Case Studies consist in reading and discussing cases where a specific topic is well detailed in practice. These cases expose the students to fruitful contexts of application of specific topics included in the course program. By getting exposed to these case studies, students learn how to use concepts and models in practice as well as they are challenged in critically thinking of ways to solve issues that firms managing industrial customers typically face. 
• Individual assignment consists in a research project where students develop a research paper on a specific, well focused research question, under the supervision of the course instructor. This research project aims at providing the students with an opportunity to open their minds to the more relevant changes that have been challenging the ways to manage industrial customers, develop a rigorous method of inquiry, challenge their critical thinking, and strive for a non obvious managerial response.
• Guest speaker's talks give the students an opportunity to interect with outstanding professionals and get exposed to real contexts where some topics of the course can be observed in practise in their full complexity and in their more recent developments. The inclusion of guest speaker's talks urge students to deepen their practical knowledge and to exert their critical thinking.  

• The written exam is taken at the end of the course in one of the regular exam dates. The written exam is based on three questions extracted from a list of questions on the course contents included in the program and discussed during class hours. The overall list of questions from which the text of the exam is extracted is distributed in the first few days following the end of the course. The written exam mostly assesses the acquisition of the concepts of the course and, to a lesser extent, the practical knowledge and critical thinking of the students.
• The individual assignment consists in carrying out a research project, i.e. writing a paper bound to answer to a specific research question under the supervision of the course instructor. This assessment tool complements the written exam as it enables to better assess a number of soft skills, e.g. communication skills and critical thinking.   
• Active class participation assessment is based on the quality of the students’ contribution during class discussion. Students are encouraged to read in advance the material referred to the class topic and their contribution to class discussion on that topic is assessed. Also, students’ contribution in case study discussion is assessed and included in this area of evaluation. The evaluation of the students’ class participation and research project are valid for the three regular exam calls in the academic year 2023-2024. This assessment method also contributes to assess more globally the learning process of the students as it enables to better evaluate a number of soft-skills (e.g., communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork) and practical knowledge (as active participation also involves case study discussion).

Non-attending students have to take a written exam, on the contents of the course textbook, in one of the official exam dates. The written exam mostly assesses the acquisition of the concepts of the course and, to a lesser extent, the practical knowledge and critical thinking of the students.

A selection of papers from the Reading Collection: Industrial Marketing, EGEA 2023. The selection of papers are those included in the course detailed program.

Reading Collection: Industrial Marketing, EGEA 2023. The whole set of papers published in the Reading Collection is required for non-attending students.