Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Simone Manfredi, Domenico Celenza and Rosa Lombardi
The relationships between companies and interlocutors base on interpersonal trust. They help create
value by exchanging resources (Ferrero 1992; Groonroos 1990; Hakansson, Snehota 1989),
information and knowledge.
Important relationships are to businesses a way <strong>of</strong> creating (Rullani 2004) and spreading knowledge.
For instance, <strong>the</strong> relations with clients let companies get more information on <strong>the</strong> referring market as
well as on <strong>the</strong> companies (Pirovano, Gilodi 2003; Sicca 2001).
Knowledge transforms into relational capital (Stewart 1997) in relation to how and how much
companies are able to react to <strong>the</strong>ir clients’ needs and to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r two intellectual capital’s
components. As a result, companies create products that match each and every client’s needs.
Depending on what stage is <strong>the</strong> relation at, it is possible to generate a gradual growth <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> produced
surplus and <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> competitive advantage gained in spite <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> costs <strong>of</strong> new knowledge, which will
reduce in <strong>the</strong> future.
You must also take into account that <strong>the</strong> relationships between businesses generates as network
(D’Alessio 2008; Jhonson 2009; Lorenzoni 1992) or partnership agreements (Rullani 1989; Lai 1990;
Bastia 1989; Broglia Giuggi 2001).
A company reaches an agreement with o<strong>the</strong>r companies through some cooperative strategies and by
creating relations that can be included in a wider network. Therefore, businesses gain knowledge
transfer not through research and development, but through <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> innovation created by <strong>the</strong>
inter-relation with <strong>the</strong> external environment.
3.1 Relationships with clients
Among all stakeholders, clients are <strong>the</strong> most important ones and represent one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main factor <strong>of</strong>
company income.
Success businesses aim to satisfy clients and make <strong>the</strong>m loyal (Vicari 1995). This helps <strong>the</strong>m protect
<strong>the</strong>ir market share. This process – based on a growing attention to clients’ needs – takes place even
in full and mature markets.
Customer satisfaction is <strong>the</strong> tool which is used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
There is a sort <strong>of</strong> chart <strong>of</strong> indicators used to measure <strong>the</strong> immaterial activities linked to clients, which
are identified by input and output indicators. The first indicators do not completely represent <strong>the</strong>
abovementioned immaterial activities, since <strong>the</strong>y do not include all <strong>the</strong> efforts companies make to get
a critical group <strong>of</strong> clients. The second indicators point out <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> abovementioned immaterial
activities at advanced stages <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> value chain. For instance companies’ brand and reputation, which
certify that
a company has a wide competitive space;
a company has distinctive capacities;
<strong>the</strong> two components let a company grow and create value.
Brand value includes clients expectations, which is to say <strong>the</strong> maintenance <strong>of</strong> a constant level <strong>of</strong>
performance quality. Brand is important to clients in order to not only identify companies’ goods and
services but also to choose, evaluate and buy. It is also significant during <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> postpurchase
assistance.
Creating a relation with <strong>the</strong> company allows to generate a tight and permanent link with clients and to
get useful information to match <strong>the</strong>ir needs immediately. Businesses customize <strong>the</strong>ir products in order
to enhance clients’ satisfaction and loyalty (Rifkin 2001).
You can analyze relationships with clients through two logical processes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relation companyclient.
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