Managing tensions in coopetition

Tensions are natural in coopetitive business relationships that simultaneously involve cooperation and competition. The purpose of this study is to investigate how tensions are managed in coopetitive business relationships and examine the potential outcomes of the management of such tensions. The study will focus on various kinds of coopetitive relationships and how the management of the different tensions produces specific outcomes. The empirical study is based on comparative case study research on coopetitive business networks that features two different kinds of cases. The findings of the study contribute to coopetition research by identifying several new perspectives on tensions. Different levels of cooperation and competition in a coopetitive relationship as well as other underlying issues cannot alone determine tensions, but aspects such as the management of tensions are crucial. Most tensions are managed by using styles of competition and avoidance and result in mixed outcomes, which implies both positive and negative perceptions.     

Testing the conflict-performance assumption in business-to-business relationships

There is little empirical research published testing the interdependency between conflict in business-to-business relationships and commercial performance. The “conflict-performance assumption”—all other factors being equal, relationships where conflict is low will outperform relationships where conflict levels are higher—remains central in the marketing channels' literature despite insufficient and contradictory empirical evidence. There are several explanations for the lack of a clear relationship between conflict and performance. Rosenbloom [J. Mark. 37 (1973) 26] theorises that the relationship between conflict and channel performance follows an inverted U-shaped curve, where conflict is most productive at moderate levels and least productive at very low or high levels. Others have argued for a simpler, linear relationship between conflict and performance, usually negative in nature. Various theories about the conflict-performance relationship are empirically tested in a large marketing channel, using a number of dyadic and monadic measures of conflict (latent, perceived, and affective) and two objective measures of performance (effectiveness and efficiency). A linear model (performance declining as conflict increases) is adequate to explain the relationship between dyadic measures of both perceived and affective conflict and channel effectiveness. A threshold model is found to be superior to a linear model in explaining the relationship between dyadic measures of perceived and affective conflict and efficiency. Conflict increases slowly as efficiency falls until a threshold is reached when conflict escalates. Practical implications include that companies need to consider whether performance criteria affecting efficiency are as important to their business partners as those affecting effectiveness. If they are not, then business partners should be rewarded for meeting any such criteria that are more important to the one side of a relationship dyad than to the other.     

Does food security matter for transition in Arab countries?

Expectations are high that transition in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen will bring about more freedom, justice, and economic opportunities. However, experiences from other world regions show that countries in transition are at high risk of entering conflicts, which often come at large economic, social and political costs. In order to identify options on how conflict may be prevented in Arab transition countries, this paper assesses the key global drivers of conflicts based on a dataset from 1960 to 2010 and improved cross-country regression techniques. Results show that unlike in other studies where per capita incomes, inequality, and poor governance, among other factors, emerge as the major determinants of conflict, food security at macro and household-levels emerges as the main cause of conflicts in the Arab World. The high exposure of Arab countries to global food price variations proves to be an important source of vulnerability for a peaceful Arab transition. If history is also a guide to the future, improving food security is not only important for improving the lives of rural and urban people; it is also likely to be the key for a peaceful transition. The paper concludes with a set of policy options on how to improve food security at macro and household-levels, including safeguard mechanisms against excessive price volatility, export-led and pro-poor growth, the creation/expansion of social safety nets and targeted nutrition programs.     

Adapting within relationships to adapt to market-led change: Does relationship success lead to marketplace inertia?

The use of relationships is a key means of adapting to marketplace needs. Paradoxically deepening relational commitments lead to inertia through the institutionalisation of relationship norms, resulting in less marketplace adaptability over time. This article examines this paradox and identifies how firms manage the dual process of adapting within relationships, and to a changing external environment. Findings are based on 24 case studies of New Zealand wineries, supplemented by 20 network interviews. Relationships were used by the firms to adapt to the marketplace, and firms that formed deeper relationships placed themselves in a better competitive position vis-à-vis those that didn't, if they fit their relationship strategy to the demands of the environment. To avoid inertia firms needed to complement strong relational ties with weak market-based ties to gain insight into emerging trends. This informed decisions regarding further relational commitments, and helped strengthen their position within established networks.     

Exploring interorganizational conflict in complex projects

This article focuses on how the phenomenon of conflict between buyer and seller in complex projects can be approached from a theoretical and a methodological angle. Two paradigms for approaching conflict are discussed: conflict as a problem to be removed and conflict as a resource and tool for improvement. Constructs to be used include conflict events that indicate traces of conflict. It is further argued that the conflict events should be related to formal and informal governance mechanisms in order to understand how conflict can be used to strengthen the business relationship between the parties.     

The impact of e-business infusion on channel coordination, conflict and reseller performance

Manufacturer-reseller interactions are becoming more technology-enabled as channels of distribution increasingly utilize e-business tools on the Internet. This research examines the performance consequences for resellers as these technological advances are applied to distribution activities between channel members. Using a sample of 216 resellers of computer products, the research explores the impact of e-business tools in 2 areas of manufacturer-reseller interactions: supply tasks and demand tasks. The results suggest that e-business in supply tasks increases relationship coordination between manufacturer and reseller, whereas e-business in demand tasks increases coordination as well as conflict within the channel dyad. The increase of conflict constitutes a potential “dark side” of e-business in channel relationships that may provide an explanation for e-business implementation failures and negative returns on investment in technology.     

促进就业:德国劳动力市场改革

自2003年始,德国推行了一系列劳动力市场改革措施。改革的取向,是放松劳动力市场管制从而增强就业灵活性。为此,德国政治家和经济学人做了大量社会动员工作。在理论上,强调向有关社会市场经济制度的基本思想回返,将就业安全性与灵活性相结合。在政策设计中,对劳动和社会保障管理系统实行去官僚化改造,变革社会救助和失业保险条例,激励失业者从事灵活就业。同时,辅之以对人力资本的大规模公共投资,并以就业目标为导向,在职业培训和中介领域引入竞争机制。在经济整体向好的形势下,德国改革取得了就业形式多样化和失业率下降的成果。这其中的理论和制度创新,值得中国决策者和公众借鉴。     

Reciprocity as a key stabilizing norm of interpersonal marketing relationships: Scale development and validation

This study outlines the development and validation of a measure of reciprocity. The definition used to develop the measure extends traditional quid pro quo interpretations to include behavior designed to stabilize relationships in times of exchange breakdown. This includes resisting and not returning harm and making reparation for harm done. Reciprocity is positioned as an important interpersonal norm of stable marketing relationships given recent findings that relationships develop most strongly at the individual level. It is suggested that reciprocity leads to personal well-being; thus providing an additional motivation, over and above economic incentives, to develop and maintain relationships. Results of the scale development tests indicated a valid, two dimensional measure which correlated with key relational variables such as trust, commitment, satisfaction, self-esteem and reduced conflict.     

Perceptual difference of dependence and its impact on conflict in marketing channels in China: An empirical study with two-sided data

Although many firms have adopted the relational exchange or relationship marketing philosophy for developing long-term inter-firm relationships in marketing channels, the issues pertaining to channel conflict still deserve further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible impact of perceptual difference of dependence between members in channel dyads on perceived channel conflict. By analyzing paired data collected from both sides of supplier-retailer dyads in China, we test two hypotheses about perceptual difference of dependence and its impact on conflict. We found that there was considerable perceptual difference of dependence between both sides of the dyads, and that the perceptual difference of dependence asymmetry between the two was positively associated with channel conflict perceived by the supplier side. Both researchers and practitioners should be aware of such differences when confronted with channel conflict issues, especially in international channel settings.     

德国石油储备的建设与管理

德国石油消费量大，但石油的自给率仅占2%，1965的德国政府就提出建立石油储备。德国石油储备呈多元化模式、石油储备的入体是官民结合的联盟储备，石油储备的布局比较均匀。目前德国不再提高并逐步缩小石油在一次能源消费量中比重，减少对石油的依赖。     

Managing in conflict: How actors distribute conflict in an industrial network

IMP researchers have examined conflict as a threat to established business relationships and commercial exchanges, drawing on theories and concepts developed in organization studies. We examine cases of conflict in relationships from the oil and gas industry's service sector, focusing on conflicts of interest and resources, and conflict as experienced by actors. Through a comparative case study design, we propose an explanation of how actors manage conflict and manage in conflict given that they tend to value and maintain relationships beyond episodes of exchange. We consider conflicts in relationships from a network perspective, showing that actors experienced these while adapting to changes in their business setting, modifying their roles in that network. By identifying conflict with the organizing forms of relationship and network, we show how actors formulate conflict through pursuing and combining a number of strategies, distributing the conflict across an enlarged network.     

德国可再生能源发电政策法规体系及其启示

德国具有可再生能源发电方面长期处于世界领先地位的优势,并形成了较为成熟的政策法规体系。分析了德国在促进可再生能源发电方面的政策法规体系及其主要内容以及对我国发展可再生能源发电的启示。     

Managers’ conflict management styles and employee attitudinal outcomes: The mediating role of trust

This study examines the mediating effects of trust on the relationships between manager’s conflict management styles (CMS) and employee attitudinal outcomes, as well as identifies the potential deviations in the areas of CMS and trust from the west in Chinese culture. One hundred sixty-nine employees in Guangzhou of China participated. As predicted, Integrating CMS of managers is found significantly correlated to trust and subordinates’ job satisfaction and turnover intention. Trust fully mediates the link between Integrating CMS and subordinates attitudinal outcomes. Results also support the expectations concerning the deviations on the impacts of the uncooperative CMS on subordinates under Chinese culture. Discussion and implications are presented.

利用单片机改造键盘接口

介绍的是对一种 2 0世纪 80年代由国外引进的数控车床的控制面板进行改造的方法。改造后的控制面板与原控制面板的控制效果完全相同 ,且操作方便 ,性能稳定 ,使用效果良好