Olaf Plötner is Managing Director of esmt (European School of Management and Technology) customized solutions and a lecturer in accounting at Freie Universität Berlin. His research focuses on customer relationship management, business management, communication, and marketing strategy.

Robert Spekman is Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. He is an internationally recognized authority on B2B-marketing, supply chain / channels management, and strategic alliances.