Invading Customers and Business Governance: New Market Relations

The article illustrates how the traditional separation of market roles between customer and business is rapidly narrowing, thanks to a new distribution of power among the various actors and to the growing presence of brands and products in the creation of individual and social identity. The profile of the invading customer is traced in both the B2B and B2C markets, and is defined by the increasing pressure put on by customers to participate in the business decisions that regard them. Organizations find it very difficult to manage the new governance relations and try to raise defensive barriers against this type of invasion. The risk behind this behavior, however, is transforming an important opportunity for renewal and competitive advantages into a conflict. Some businesses are following different paths in order to manage invading customers in a positive way, but these paths still do not appear to be totally clear and well-defined.