Bring Your B2B Customer into Your Strategy: How to Successfully Align Customer Strategy with Corporate Strategy
(A2022-107777)

AUTHORS

Mehak Gandhi, University of St.Gallen

ABSTRACT

The sudden slowing down of thriving markets and the quick emergence of new opportunities for firms with their B2B customers can both happen at a rapid pace in times of uncertainty, making successful collaboration between a firm and its B2B customers increasingly important and creating the need for strategic alignment between the two firms. This research shows that strategic alignment between a firm and its B2B customer can be defined across three levels of strategic sensitivity or planning fit, leadership unity or execution fit and resource fluidity or resource fit. These levels further enhance corporate strategy planning as a dynamic capability by the sensing, seizing and transforming of opportunities with the B2B customer, thus integrating the customer’s strategy into a firm’s own corporate strategy.