Associate Professor Sho Yuki (Faculty of Commerce) was given the Outstanding Research Paper Award at the Japan Society of Marketing and Distribution's 61st National Research Conference held in May 2011.

This award was presented for the most outstanding research paper among papers published last year in the Japan Society of Marketing and Distribution's academic journal, Journal of Marketing & Distribution.

The awarded research paper, "The Management of New Customer Development and Relationships with Existing Key Customers in Marketing Channels" (Journal of Marketing & Distribution 12.4, 2010) was based on research that focused on the balance between strengthening efforts to develop new customers and strengthening relationships with existing markets.

The originality of Professor Yuki's thesis was especially noted. He raised objections to the general claim of marketing channels research that asserts that manufacturers which confront market fluctuations should deepen their relationships with existing markets in order to avoid uncertainties.

His research showed that the tendency of manufacturers to accept or avoid uncertainties depends on their business results and that this is what leads to changes in the balance between the development of new markets and the strengthening of relationships.