Cooperatives’ market activities in the sphere of sales marketing. Comparative analysis on the example of dairy cooperatives from the Małopolskie and Świętokrzyskie voivodships

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the article is to identify activities creating value for the customer in the area of sales marketing and to compare them between the two neighboring voivodships, namely Świętokrzyskie and Małopolskie. Design/methodology/approach: Direct interviews using a questionnaire survey were conducted among representatives of cooperatives representing 41% of the population, which resulted from the willingness to participate in the survey. Findings: The analysis of the research results, taking into account two voivodships shows that although sales marketing activities have an impact on customer value, most of them are not carried out by all cooperatives. Moreover, in the case of other major markets, no action is taken. In most cases, the voivodship in which the cooperatives operate differentiates the undertaken activities. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of the research is the range. It results from the fact that only cooperatives from two voivodships, namely Świętokrzyskie and Małopolskie were researched here. In addition, the research results are limited to one organizational and legal form of enterprises, i.e. cooperatives. It seems reasonable that further research should be at least nationwide and cover various organizational and legal forms of enterprises. Practical implications: Analysis of the results allows enterprises’ management to be more aware of the need of analyzing activities in the field of marketing sales more often, as it affects the value to the customer. Such awareness allows them to take appropriate steps to increase the scope of taken actions, and thus affect the value for the customer to a greater extent than the competition. Originality/value: The comparison of market activities in the sphere of sales marketing of selected cooperatives from two different voivodships