Theories of Marketing – Exam
Question 1: Market Orientation (10 points)
a) Compare customer-led vs. market-oriented
My answer: Customer-led, the initial proposition of Narver&Slater (1990) states that organizations
need to be customer-oriented, competitor-oriented and need inter-functional coordination in order
to excel in their market. After monitoring expressed needs of consumers, they need to be reactive
and generate customer value. This is often based on consumer surveys and has a short-term focus.
When they revisited the concept of Market Orientation in 1998, they stated that being reactive is
not enough, and that firms need to be pro-active, not only focus on expressed needs, but latent
needs as well. Instead of conducting customer surveys to find out what people need, firms should
work with groups of customers to constantly test their new products and innovate them based on
customer feedback. The focus is more on long-term goals and the aim is to constantly innovate to
deliver superior value.
b) A case was provided about SnapNurse, an innovative system for nurses that was introduced
in a hospital. We had to decide whether it is a customer-led or a market-oriented
organization and tell why. Also, they asked whether any information is missing with which
we could decide on the above. If so, then what information would be good to know.
My answer: SnapNurse is more customer-led than market-oriented, because the article says that
¨suddenly hospitals didn't want different nurses flitting in and out daily¨ - from this information I
assume that it was an already expressed need by hospitals after the pandemic started, and therefore
it is a responsive step from SnapNurse. However the article states that the firm is incredibly flexible,
and innovative, therefore it can also be the case that they already started working on this shift after
Covid hit, and it was not the hospitals, who initiated it first, but SnapNurse proactively came up with
this innovation. It would be interesting to have this extra information.
I received 7/10 points
Question 2: Company Capabilities (10 points)
What are firm capabilities, what are the different types and what do they mean? Provide an example
to one of the types from the SnapNurse case.
List 2 capabilities that enable SnapNurse to drive sustainable value.
Choose one of the capabilities and use the VRIO framework on it.
My answer:
a) Capabilities are the competences that enable a company to deliver relevant and different
(than what competitors can deliver) value to their customers. Outside-in capabilities mean
that we do not start with the firm, but start with the market, look at what customers need
and then try to deliver them value based on that. An outside-in capability in case of
SnapNurse was its nurse-base, the many nurses who were already part of the system. So
when shift was needed, they could leverage this capability and it enable the firm to succeed.
b) Two capabilities of SnapNurse that enable them to deliver sustainable value are their nurse-
base and the history of the firm. By history, I refer to the pre-covid way of firm operation,
when nurses were paid daily.
, c) The history of SnapNurse is the most crucial for their value proposition. It is definitely
valuable, as it adds value to the nurses. It is rare, because especially in the medical business,
it is not common to be able to get paid after each working day and it is enable by the history
of the firm. It can be imitated, but takes time for competitors, as it was developed by
SnapNurse long time ago. And it is definitely organized to capture value, because the firm
leverages it.
I received 8/10 points
Question 3a. Brand extensions (10 points)
What are the risks involved in brand extensions? What do they mean?
Which type of brand extension Instastaff (in regards to SnapNurse) should use and why?
Which did they use actually, and do you think it was a good choice?
My answer:
a) Brand reputation risk means that when one of the brands have some problems - financial, product
default or a scandal for example - then it has an effect on the other brands. It is most crucial when
we talk about a branded house, in which case brands are strongly related to the mother brand.
Brand dilution risk means that the brand and its unique characteristics loose their meaning, mostly
in case of branded house architectures Brand cannibalization happens most often in case of house of
brands, when the individual brands under the mother brand target the same consumers, and thus
the brands are at the expense of other brands from the same house of brands. Brand stretch risk
means that the meaning of a mother brand is so strong in consumers mind that they hinder the
brand from being innovative. An example for this is Levis - they have such brand associations that
when they introduced business suites, consumers did not understand it. It happens mostly to house
of brands.\
b) I would advise using the endorsed brand architecture. The two dimensions of the model are
functional and emotional values. Functional values are the same, because the underlying technology
Instastaff provides does not change, but they are targeting a new target group, therefore different
emotional values are needed.
c) Based on the logo and name of Instastaff, they chose the House of Brands option, which I do not
agree with.
I received 7/10 points
Question 3b. Brand relationships (10 points)
What kind of relational bond does SnapNurse provide?
My answer:
- SnapNurse provides an experience service. In case of experience services, we can mostly identify
whether it was good or bad after using it.
- in case of experience goods/services, social and functional bonds were identified as the most
Question 1: Market Orientation (10 points)
a) Compare customer-led vs. market-oriented
My answer: Customer-led, the initial proposition of Narver&Slater (1990) states that organizations
need to be customer-oriented, competitor-oriented and need inter-functional coordination in order
to excel in their market. After monitoring expressed needs of consumers, they need to be reactive
and generate customer value. This is often based on consumer surveys and has a short-term focus.
When they revisited the concept of Market Orientation in 1998, they stated that being reactive is
not enough, and that firms need to be pro-active, not only focus on expressed needs, but latent
needs as well. Instead of conducting customer surveys to find out what people need, firms should
work with groups of customers to constantly test their new products and innovate them based on
customer feedback. The focus is more on long-term goals and the aim is to constantly innovate to
deliver superior value.
b) A case was provided about SnapNurse, an innovative system for nurses that was introduced
in a hospital. We had to decide whether it is a customer-led or a market-oriented
organization and tell why. Also, they asked whether any information is missing with which
we could decide on the above. If so, then what information would be good to know.
My answer: SnapNurse is more customer-led than market-oriented, because the article says that
¨suddenly hospitals didn't want different nurses flitting in and out daily¨ - from this information I
assume that it was an already expressed need by hospitals after the pandemic started, and therefore
it is a responsive step from SnapNurse. However the article states that the firm is incredibly flexible,
and innovative, therefore it can also be the case that they already started working on this shift after
Covid hit, and it was not the hospitals, who initiated it first, but SnapNurse proactively came up with
this innovation. It would be interesting to have this extra information.
I received 7/10 points
Question 2: Company Capabilities (10 points)
What are firm capabilities, what are the different types and what do they mean? Provide an example
to one of the types from the SnapNurse case.
List 2 capabilities that enable SnapNurse to drive sustainable value.
Choose one of the capabilities and use the VRIO framework on it.
My answer:
a) Capabilities are the competences that enable a company to deliver relevant and different
(than what competitors can deliver) value to their customers. Outside-in capabilities mean
that we do not start with the firm, but start with the market, look at what customers need
and then try to deliver them value based on that. An outside-in capability in case of
SnapNurse was its nurse-base, the many nurses who were already part of the system. So
when shift was needed, they could leverage this capability and it enable the firm to succeed.
b) Two capabilities of SnapNurse that enable them to deliver sustainable value are their nurse-
base and the history of the firm. By history, I refer to the pre-covid way of firm operation,
when nurses were paid daily.
, c) The history of SnapNurse is the most crucial for their value proposition. It is definitely
valuable, as it adds value to the nurses. It is rare, because especially in the medical business,
it is not common to be able to get paid after each working day and it is enable by the history
of the firm. It can be imitated, but takes time for competitors, as it was developed by
SnapNurse long time ago. And it is definitely organized to capture value, because the firm
leverages it.
I received 8/10 points
Question 3a. Brand extensions (10 points)
What are the risks involved in brand extensions? What do they mean?
Which type of brand extension Instastaff (in regards to SnapNurse) should use and why?
Which did they use actually, and do you think it was a good choice?
My answer:
a) Brand reputation risk means that when one of the brands have some problems - financial, product
default or a scandal for example - then it has an effect on the other brands. It is most crucial when
we talk about a branded house, in which case brands are strongly related to the mother brand.
Brand dilution risk means that the brand and its unique characteristics loose their meaning, mostly
in case of branded house architectures Brand cannibalization happens most often in case of house of
brands, when the individual brands under the mother brand target the same consumers, and thus
the brands are at the expense of other brands from the same house of brands. Brand stretch risk
means that the meaning of a mother brand is so strong in consumers mind that they hinder the
brand from being innovative. An example for this is Levis - they have such brand associations that
when they introduced business suites, consumers did not understand it. It happens mostly to house
of brands.\
b) I would advise using the endorsed brand architecture. The two dimensions of the model are
functional and emotional values. Functional values are the same, because the underlying technology
Instastaff provides does not change, but they are targeting a new target group, therefore different
emotional values are needed.
c) Based on the logo and name of Instastaff, they chose the House of Brands option, which I do not
agree with.
I received 7/10 points
Question 3b. Brand relationships (10 points)
What kind of relational bond does SnapNurse provide?
My answer:
- SnapNurse provides an experience service. In case of experience services, we can mostly identify
whether it was good or bad after using it.
- in case of experience goods/services, social and functional bonds were identified as the most
