Developing strategic marketing through the use of marketing networks

The entry of the retailing multiples (Tesco, Sainsbury, and Safeway) into the Northern Ireland grocery market in the late 1990s and early 2000 resulted in many dramatic changes for the food distribution channel. Immediately there was increased competition for the businesses working within the grocery distribution channel, many of whom were small to medium sized businesses (SMEs). Prior to the entry of the multiples, the SMEs existed in a relatively stable co‐operation between long‐standing channel members of suppliers and distributors. Following the entry of these retailing giants, the indigenous SMEs within the grocery distribution channel began to re‐examine their approach to business. This research focuses on how SMEs responded to the changes in the distribution channel through the use of their network structures. Research to date on SME networks and network activities in relation to marketing has focused mainly on the network sources used by SME owner/managers and the need for proactive use of networking. A study investigating the structural nature of the networks that SME owner/managers used during this time of change, in making their marketing decisions was carried out using a longitudinal qualitative research approach with twelve case studies involving SMEs working within a marketing distribution channel. The study examined the structural dimension of marketing networks in terms of key structural components derived from the literature and reveals the dynamic nature of SME marketing networks in practice.