Organising international supplier relations: An exploratory study of Western purchasing in China

This paper analyses Western purchasing in China in order to investigate the motives for sourcing, the specific requirements of the area and, in particular, the base and features of supplier relationships. It reports recent experiences of seven companies based in Finland, including two global companies, two units with foreign ownership and three Finnish SMEs. Prevalent in Chinese sourcing are long-term supplier relations, but no partnership relations have been established. The companies build their supplier relations gradually and they all emphasise a long-term viewpoint to Chinese sourcing. Commitment of the Chinese partner is a key challenge, overcoming of which would help companies to avoid and solve, e.g. quality problems. The study shows that, for the Western supply personnel, key competences and tools for bridging the psychic distance are social skills and interest in the Chinese culture.     

Learning Sustainability? Absorptive capacities as drivers of sustainability in MNCs’ purchasing

MNCs are expected to operate in a sustainable fashion. Implementation of sustainability requires the ability to acknowledge external (sustainability-related) knowledge, and to apply it in intra-company activities such as purchasing. We focus on absorptive capacities as potential drivers of sustainability, and investigate the effect that a purchasing function’s capacity to absorb and process knowledge has on social and environmental sustainability practices, and subsequently on economic performance in purchasing. We compare MNCs and non-MNCs using a structural equation model of a large set of survey data from four European countries and find that only realized absorptive capacities impact sustainability practices in purchasing and this impact is smaller in MNCs than in other companies. We suggest that companies respond to the demand for sustainability by strengthening their implementation capabilities: the potential to acquire and transform knowledge within a purchasing function is less relevant, and what matters is its application.     

From Dyadic Change to Changing Business Networks: An Analytical Framework

This paper investigates the dynamics of business networks. We distinguish between confined dyadic change and network change and show how change itself may be incremental or radical, using the punctuated equilibrium model of change. The concept of the critical event is introduced to highlight radical change. We propose an analytical framework where the ideas of mechanism, nature and forces of change are integrated. Two circles of network change (incremental and radical) are presented and transfers from one circle to the other are discussed. We believe this conceptual elaboration may have significant implications for future network dynamic research     

Strategic complexity and global expansion: An empirical study of newcomer Multinational Corporations from small economies

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of global expansion strategies of newcomer Multinational Corporations (MNCs) by focusing on Iceland, Israel and Ireland. We argue that newcomer MNCs from small open economies pursue complex global expansion strategies (CGES). We distinguish four different types of global expansion strategies, namely, horizontal, vertical, lateral integration, and risk diversification. Building upon the traditions of Caves and Dunning and applying a multinomial logistic approach, we model CGES as a function of firm and country specific factors. The empirical evidence suggests that newcomer MNCs move away from simplistic dualities in the formulation of their strategic choices towards more complex options as a means of maintaining and enhancing their global competitiveness.     

Network mobilizers and target firms: The case of saving the Baltic Sea

This paper examines why and how firms participate in issue networks that aim at solving contemporary complex problems. We build mainly on network and stakeholder literatures to understand mobilization from a relational perspective. Drawing on a single embedded case study of four initiatives to save the Baltic Sea, we build a multilevel model for firm participation in issue networks. Besides discovering diverse motivational factors, the model sheds light on the interaction between individual, organization, and network levels factors explaining mobilization. We argue that there is high theoretical, managerial, and societal relevance for studying the dynamics of issue networks—a topic which could be better incorporated in the research agenda of business network scholars.     

Disruption,dissolution and reconstruction: A dialectical view on inter-organizational relationship development

This paper contributes to research on inter-organizational relationship dynamics by applying a dialectical approach. We analyze a situation where the relationship parties have divergent understandings of business exchange, and use a longitudinal, in-depth single case study method to investigate their interaction process. The case study focuses on the relationship between a customer and a supplier in the ferrochrome industry, using the acquisition of the supplier as the trigger of the relationship change process. The paper contributes to studies on relationship dynamics by showing how dynamics of inter-organizational relationships may result from struggles when parties’ interests and goals do not align with existing relationship arrangements. In particular, we focus on the process of (re)construction of the relationship and its linkage to the structural properties of the relationship.     

Value-based network mobilization: A case study of modern environmental networkers

This article addresses current environmental issues by taking a network perspective to examine the initiatives to solve them. Previous investigations of network dynamics and mobilization concern the business context, but we broaden the analysis to the societal networks wherein business is embedded. Our aim is to investigate the early emergence of collective action around a common issue. We analyze the network mobilizers, who promote the issue and its solutions, and the mobilization mechanisms that they employ. We have conducted a case study that examines three initiatives to save the Baltic Sea, all involving business, governmental, and civil society actors. This rich case material leads us to formulate a conceptual model of value-based network mobilization. The mobilizing actors, values, and relationship sediments emerge as important factors in creating issue networks. Our key contribution is to show how the environmental issues bring new types of actors to networks and change the rules of the game. We propose that ‘modern environmental networkers’ should become more important in the future, and that business firms need to develop their skills in playing the new games with these new actors.     

Continental differences in purchasing strategies and tools

This article focuses on the similarities and differences between the continental purchasing strategies and tools of companies in Western Europe and North America. The main question examined here is the strategic priorities and tools that European and North American buyers use (at the category level) for direct purchases and how they differ. The analysis is based on an empirical study of 224 companies from 10 countries. The results suggest that Europeans emphasise a reduction in prices and total cost of ownership as strategic objectives, while North Americans place greater emphasis on compliance with social and ethical guidelines. Both groups place surprisingly little emphasis on environmental objectives. In terms of tools, North American buyers have higher utilisation of electronic tools in purchasing and in communicating with suppliers, while European buyers appear to more extensively use purchasing tools associated with rating and auditing suppliers. Overall, it appears that a majority of purchases take place in home countries and close-by regions. Accordingly, we argue that practices adopted there offer interesting insights for international purchasing of the companies.     

Tourism strategies and climate change: rhetoric at both strategic and grassroots levels about growth and sustainable development in Finland

This paper explores how global issues such as climate change are taken into account in tourism strategy texts and contrasts these findings with how the issue is seen at the grassroots level by local businesses. We analyse how both levels approach adaptation to climate change. Using Boltanski and Thévenot's six common “worlds” of justification model for debates on public issues, we analyse the rhetoric of national, regional, and local tourism strategies in Finland and then explore how the rhetoric is employed by interviewing 42 local tourism actors. The strategy analysis shows that strategic documents do not simply describe situations but are active in creating and shaping future development, and how different kinds of “orders of worth” are used, to establish acceptable “universal truths” to shape through consensus how tourism actors think about the sector's future. Results show that at a strategic level, climate change issues are dealt with in an abstract manner, concentrating on the viewpoints of markets and industry, while ecological justification is lacking, and lacks urgency. Operational instructions are not provided for the entrepreneurs. The actors’ interviews show that structural changes in the sector are demanded but both tourism growth and nature's survival are taken for granted.