Christopher J. Medlin

A collaborative interest model of relational coordination and empirical results

Abstract The complexity of business markets, resulting from different levels of organization and the ways social constructs combine across levels, means no clear theory of relational coordination has been developed. The relationship and network framework of the industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) group provides a means of handling this complexity. This paper proposes a collaborative interest model (CIM) of relational coordination, which partially overcomes these problems by examining the coordination process within a context that accounts for levels of organization. This conceptualization of coordination processes resulting from firm intentions to achieve relationship performance presents a new way to empirically examine relational coordination. An empirical test of the model using structural equation methodology shows relational coordination (i.e., commitment and trust) explains relationship performance better than market coordination mechanisms.

A Dyadic Research Program: The Interaction Possibility Space Model

ABSTRACT Different forms of interaction between firms are at the heart of a relationship and network perspective of business-to-business markets. This paper presents a dyadic research program based upon an Interaction Possibility Space, defined by the interactions between firms using potentially different coordination modes. That firms may have different perspectives of their preferred coordination mode opens two areas of research. First, how does interaction proceed when both parties have similar views of coordination modes? Second, how does interaction proceed when parties have dissimilar views of their coordination modes? Such research necessarily requires dyadic studies and furthermore, for quantitative research, requires the development of clusterwise regression methodologies capable of examining dyadic data.

Determinants of export success in professional business services: a qualitative study

Despite their crucial contributions to the prosperity of national economies worldwide, there is limited knowledge on the international operations of professional service firms (PSFs). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents of export success of PSFs, taking into account both firm characteristics and market characteristics. Research findings indicated that management attitude, resource commitment, and international experience and reputation significantly enhanced their export performance. However, the firms appeared to disagree on the role of firm size in fostering their success. Additionally, the performance of professional service exporters was also determined by competition intensity and actions by the host governments. Finally, export promotion efforts, in the form of export assistance by home government and support from industry-based associations, also played a significant role.

Value appropriation in business exchange – literature review and future research opportunities

Purpose – Value appropriation is a central, yet neglected aspect in business exchange research. The purpose of the paper is to generate an overview of research on active value appropriation in business exchange and provide the foundation for further research into value appropriation, as well as some initial guidance for managers. Design/methodology/approach – Literatures investigating value appropriation were identified by the means of a systematic review of the overall management literature. Findings – The authors provide an overview and comparison of the literatures and find that they apply diverse understandings of the value appropriation process and emphasize different mechanisms and outcomes of value appropriation. Research limitations/implications – Based on the literature comparison and discussion, in combination with inspiration from alternative business exchange literature, the authors propose four areas with high potential for future research into value appropriation: network position effects, a...

Peter Drucker's ontology: understanding business relationships and networks

Purpose – The paper aims to consider the underlying premises of Peter Druckers managerial writing and focuses on three main aspects: humans and relations, an evolutionary perspective and a pragmatic perspective. These ontological views are taken to a new level and applied to explore the world of networked firms.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a conceptual contribution based on a literature study by the author.Findings – An examination of Druckers ontology shows how his world perspective led him to an understanding of managers and organisations. The three elements of his ontology discussed are applied to research in business networks.Research limitations/implications – The paper argues for research on human perspectives of business relationships and networks, particularly of issues such as time, timing, partner integration, relational and network embeddedness, network sensing, network horizons, and network identity.Practical implications – Druckers ontological view enabled him to make pronoun...

Branding as a dynamic capability: Strategic advantage from integrating meanings with identification

A new theoretical framework is developed to scrutinize the strategic advantage for branding. The theoretical framework applies both at the firm level, for the marketing of individual brands and corporate brands, and also to branding where a marketing agent plays a facilitating role within a community or industry. The framework presents branding as a dynamic capability held by a marketing agent within a market network. Two interrelated processes are involved: (i) managing brand identity and (ii) facilitating integration with the social processes that co-create brand meanings for buyers, sellers, and other actors. The social complexity of this dynamic capability makes the brand difficult to imitate and so provides a strong strategic advantage for the marketing organization. An agenda for future research is developed and the article concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.

Deconstructing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Concept

With innovation and entrepreneurship lauded as important contributors to economic futures, there is a pressing need to unravel the complexities of entrepreneurial ecosystems as a context for cultivating new businesses initiatives. This chapter reports on the deconstruction and analysis of the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept, through a hermeneutic reflection catalysed by a symposium of international scholars. We apply the theoretical fields of business networks and systems theory within our reflective method. This reflective comparison reveals parallels and divergences as well as consistencies and contrasts between these two fields and the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The analysis revealed that the concepts of place and dynamics are specific to entrepreneurial ecosystems and so provide a path for guiding research and policy investigations.

An Exploratory study into the effect of Culture on Cooperative Alliances

In an exploratory study involving both sides of cross national dyads, two propositions were examined relating to the notion that culture would influence the concept of ‘ideal’ relationship and that initial differences would be reduced over the duration of the alliance. Both propositions received support and there was further evidence that other factors, such as gender, could also influence the perceptions of ‘ideal’ relationship.

Use of Science and Technology in Business: Exploring the Impact of Using Activity for Systems, Organizations, and People, by Håkan Håkansson, Alexandra Waluszewski, Frans Prenkert, and Enrico Baraldi: Bingley, UK: Emerald, 2009

This edited book focuses on how the “user perspective” shapes the introduction of technology into economic systems, firm networks, and buyer–seller relationships. The book is premised on the thought that the user perspective is important in introducing scientific innovations into a business situation. This may appear an obvious idea, but the user perspective, as shown by the case studies in this book, is much more complex than first thought would suggest. The second premise is that new technology is always introduced into a context of existing and structured resources. The user knows this structure, in part, and so a double perspective of user and technology producer or sponsor is required to understand successful technology adoption. There are chapters in this book that every technologist should read, simply to appreciate the many factors in existing structure that shape technology. For readers not familiar with the “interaction and network framework” of the Industrial and Marketing (IMP) Group (Håkansson 1982; Håkansson and Snehota 1995; Naudé and Turnbull 1998), this book presents a range of examples of how a focus on resources, activities, and interaction between business entities, from systems to single users, are implicated in technology commercialization. The research presented in this book displays particular strengths of the actors/resources/activities (ARA) model (Håkansson and Johanson 1992; Håkansson and Snehota 1995): the ability to document change and the complex inter-relations between actors within institutional entities that enable and/or foreclose change, including the acceptance of new technology.