Marketing relationships in Brazil: trends in value strategies and capabilities A ´ urea Helena Puga Ribeiro Fundac ¸a ˜ o Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Brazil Thomas G. Brashear Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Plinio Rafael Reis Monteiro Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Luciana Faluba Dama ´zio Fundac ¸a ˜ o Dom Cabral, Nova Lima, Brazil Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of value strategies among international and national firms in Brazil by exploring the trends in value strategies for use in future marketing relationships and the capabilities necessary to implement those value strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a Delphi technique to elicit the opinions and perceptions from a group of B2B marketing experts. An iterative data collection with 30 senior executives of national and foreign, mid- and large size firms in Brazil was used to explore the strategies firms use, the types of key capabilities, and the capabilities that drive performance. Findings – The findings show that both national and international firms in Brazil expect to continue to use commodity strategies as their primary relational form, but move toward the higher value added strategies. Higher value added strategies are expected to account for 42 per cent of the respondent firms’ relationships in the coming years. Firms rated “methods to identify and monitor” and “marketing intelligence” as the two most important capabilities for driving performance. An additional finding is the distinction between firms’ self-evaluations of capability competence and the capabilities that drive performance. Practical implications – The study provides insight into the links between value strategies practiced and the marketing capabilities required to support those strategies. Originality/value – The study provides practitioner insights into the practices and trends in the use of value-driving and value-creating strategies among firms in a big emerging market, Brazil. Keywords Value analysis, Corporate strategies, Competences, Emerging markets, Economic trends Paper type Research paper Introduction Creating superior market value is fundamental for a company’s long term success and survival (Slater and Olson, 1997; Woodruff, 1997). In the 1980’s, the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP) recognized that in business markets, long-term relationships are generally established between buyers and sellers. These relationships were increasingly characterized by the use of higher value added exchanges, higher integration and mutual dependence (Gummesson, 1987; Ha ˚kansson, 1982; Harker and Egan, 2006). Over time, the expansion of the relationship research and concepts created a belief that in most firms the relationship strategies would predominate over transactional strategies (Harker and Egan, 2006). This belief of relationship predominance was based primarily on the theoretical and empirical work based in Europe and the USA, both with very highly advanced market economies, and on B2B firms that tend to focus on high value added offerings. In particular, B2B marketing and exchange relationships have been seen to range from transactional to more cooperative/relational (Gro ¨ nroos, 1991; MacNeil, 1980). The evolution of B2B relationships from transactional to relational has been identified in Brazilian industry where research shows a movement from transactional to high forms of relationships, closer bonds and longer-term relationships (Grisi and Ribeiro, 2004). Similarly, Brazilian firms are developing both vertical and horizontal relationships that improve collective resources and improve global competitiveness (Mesquita and Lazzarini, 2008). Rossetti and Alvaro (2007) found that the industry sector leaders in Brazil anticipate increasing their value added service components from the current level of 21 per cent of offering to 42 per cent by 2010. But, firms in the middle of the market, with respect to performance, will reduce their service offerings by 13 per cent over the next three years. Although the widely held view is that firms should bond, develop relationships and offer high value added offerings, various B2B firms may operate as commodity providers or with a combination of many strategies. Gro ¨ nroos (1991) The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0885-8624.htm Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 24/5/6 (2009) 449–459 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0885-8624] [DOI 10.1108/08858620910966327] 449