Customer education in business-to-business contexts

Dorian-Laurențiu Florea, Deva Rangarajan, María Elena Raquel Nieto-Saucedo, Mesay Sata Shanka and Christian Nedu Osakwe
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Dorian-Laurențiu Florea: LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Deva Rangarajan: LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
María Elena Raquel Nieto-Saucedo: Universidad Anáhuac México
Mesay Sata Shanka: INSEEC Grande École
Christian Nedu Osakwe: University of Rabat

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Abstract: Current trends in business-to-business (B2B) services are increasingly bringing customer education (CEd) to the spotlight. Despite the growing recognition of the benefits of CEd, understanding how it is deployed in B2B firms remains a gap in academic literature. Our study addresses this gap by following a qualitative, empirical approach to investigate how CEd is managed across 29 B2B firms. The findings from our research suggest that CEd is a complex set of activities involving multiple stakeholders from both the customers as well as the B2B firm. Our research identified CEd as a process comprising three stages: (a) prepare for CEd, (b) deploy CEd, and (c) measure CEd. Basing ourselves on the findings from our research, we propose a conceptual framework of CEd in B2B contexts. Our findings contribute to the literature by offering a process-based view of CEd, clarifying the intra-organizational coordination it requires, and demonstrating how CEd unfolds across the customer journey. This research advances theoretical understanding of CEd as a cross-functional capability in B2B settings. We provide managerial recommendations and suggest areas for future research.

Date: 2025-07
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Published in Industrial Marketing Management, 2025, 128, pp.54-70. ⟨10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.006⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05364945

DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.006

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