Relationships in the purchasing of business to business professional services: The role of personal relationships

There has been a shift from transactional to relational exchange and relationship marketing both in the business to business and professional services contexts. This paper seeks to explore the manner in which personal relationships affect the process and outcomes of purchasing of professional business services. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the professional service providers as boundary spanners in the formation of personal relationships. These personal relationships constitute the underlying basis of long-term relationships between the purchasing and provider organizations in such complex service settings. The findings of this study demonstrate that the manner in which the boundary spanners cultivate relationships support the concept of relationship specific tasks. It extends this conception by use of the data to outline the chronological process over time Understanding the roles, function, and ultimately importance, of these relationships facilitates the identification and development of appropriate strategies to manage these relationships.     

Studying innovation processes in real-time: The promises and challenges of ethnography

This paper discusses the promises and challenges of innovation ethnographies. We depart from the notion that innovation processes are highly contingent, messy and non-linear and examine ways in which these processes have been studied. Our focus is on the challenges posed by the use of ethnographic methods to study innovation in-the-making. Our discussion is illustrated by an example culled from a longitudinal, real-time study of an innovation process in the food industry, inspired by actor-network theory (ANT) and its injunctions to focus on controversies and follow the actors. We conclude that although innovation ethnographies pose plenty of theoretical, methodological and practical challenges, they remain a promising and powerful method to map out the complex and tortuous paths of these processes.     

Purchasing professional services: A transaction cost view of the antecedents and consequences of purchasing formalization

Professional services represent an increasing share of expenditures in contemporary organizations. While these services are often of strategic importance, they are also perceived as being difficult to purchase and use, which creates challenges for the purchasing process. In order to address these challenges, organizations are increasingly engaging in systematic efforts to improve their ability to purchase professional services. These efforts focus on formalizing the purchasing process by introducing policies, guidelines, and other measures for the hiring of service suppliers. Based on a transaction cost economic framework, the current paper investigates the nature, antecedents and consequences of formalization initiatives in the purchasing of professional services. The results from a cross-sectional study of 76 large Swedish organizations show that the formalization of purchasing professional services takes two different forms: the formulation of policies and the establishment of preferred supplier agreements. The former is driven by company size, whereas the latter is driven by the frequency of purchase transactions. Only the establishment of policies, however, is found to be positively related to organizations' perceived ability to purchase professional services.     

The rising disparity in the price of healthful foods: 2004–2008

Nutrient-dense foods that are associated with better health outcomes tend to cost more per kilocalorie (kcal) than do refined grains, sweets and fats. The price disparity between healthful and less healthful foods appears to be growing.This study demonstrates a new method for linking longitudinal retail price data with objective, nutrient-based ratings of the nutritional quality of foods and beverages. Retail prices for 378 foods and beverages were obtained from major supermarket chains in the Seattle, WA for 2004–2008. Nutritional quality was based on energy density (kcal/g) and two measures of nutrient density, calculated using the Naturally Nutrient Rich (NNR) score and the Nutrient Rich Foods index (NRF_9.3). Food prices were expressed as $/100 g edible portion and as $/1000 kcal. Foods were stratified by quintiles of energy and nutrient density for analyses.Both measures of nutrient density were negatively associated with energy density and positively associated with cost per 1000 kcal. The mean cost of foods in the top quintile of nutrient density was $27.20/1000 kcal and the 4-year price increase was 29.2%. Foods in the bottom quintile cost a mean of $3.32/1000 kcal and the 4-year price increase was 16.1%.There is a growing price disparity between nutrient-dense foods and less nutritious options. Cost may pose a barrier to the adoption of healthier diets and so limit the impact of dietary guidance. Nutrient profiling methods provide objective criteria for tracking retail prices of foods in relation to their nutritional quality and for guiding food and nutrition policy.     

Trade in data services : The international context

This article explores the importance of data services within the service sector, and particularly with regard to international trade in services. International economic agreements have traditionally only dealt with trade in manufactured products and ignored the services, which now make up the largest economic sector. Some international organizations, encouraged particularly by the USA, are beginning to confront the problem of defining an open international framework covering foreign direct investment and trade in services. The national interests of different countries are explored, in the light of their existing data resources and their desire to build them up or be able to access foreign databases.     

Professional associations and their members: A study of the market for professional services when ability and size are independent

The members of a professional group are organized in an association which influences ability requirements and size in order to keep either the price, its own revenues or the members' incomes as high as possible. Ability is, contrary to earlier approaches, treated as a matter of education rather than selection. The members are free to set quantity and/or price in order to maximize income. The association incentive to influence size and ability is shown to depend on how demand elasticity changes with these variables. New types of misallocations such as ‘exclusive incompetence’ may emerge.     

Network information services: The emergence of an industry

The authors discuss the characteristics and benefits of network information services (NIS), which are developing into an important new industry likely to have profound effects on society. Many of the services and possible applications are described. Three scenarios are analysed, in which the future of the industry may be directed by technology, the market, and policy issues. It is concluded that consumers and small businesses are unlikely to be able to achieve sufficient economies through NIS by the end of the century to make much use of the services provided. Large and medium companies, however, will be served by a diversified, multi-network marketplace. The issue of equality of access to information will become of significant public concern.     

Technological and geographic heterogeneity in broadband markets: The challenge for regulation

When the telecommunications industry was liberalised in Europe and North America in the 1980s and 1990s, it inherited a legacy of monopoly providers whose footprint was national or multi-regional in its character. The regulatory framework, particularly that adopted in EU member states, reflected this pattern of relatively homogeneous deployment achieved, in part, by decades of cross-subsidised pricing and universal service goals. Perhaps because of this legacy, telecommunications regulators have often adopted the presumption that relevant markets are national in character, unless proven otherwise Although geographically-variegated regulatory remedies have been permitted (even in the face of allegedly national relevant markets) and adopted in many member states, many regulators have never done so, and overly cautious thresholds for permitting geographically based forbearance suggest a continued bias towards presuming national markets and remedies. We find that this presumption of uniformity and the tendency to aggregate geographic markets together is not supported by first principles of antitrust analysis, although there may have been strong practical reasons to apply this presumption in the past circumstances of the telecommunications and broadband industries.On the ground, however, there has arguably never been as much heterogeneity across geographies and across technological solutions that provide effective ultra-fast broadband speeds. Both technological (i.e., product market) and geographic heterogeneity are likely to increase with the advent of mobile 5G networks. With their deployment, a cautious regulatory stance towards geographic variation and a cautious regulatory stance towards inter-technology or inter-modal competition may result in regulation that could exceed what is required to ensure effective competition and could instead distort the incentives to enter of facilities-based actors. This may also result in higher-cost and inefficient investment. A more geographically varied and technologically agnostic regulatory framework may satisfy the principle of proportionate and focused regulation—with the possibility that the locus of regulation shifts from the access network to bottleneck facilities such as fibre, ducts and poles.This discussion is especially germane when one considers the highly speculative nature of forecasts and projections about future demand, and the competing claims of proponents of 5G and fibre. While there is some scepticism about the performance of mobile networks, we note that pure mobile and fixed 5G services may have synergies in deployment, and that the idea of competing with residential broadband services is a core strategy of very influential large-scale industry actors. In terms of a future research agenda, regulatory decisions could benefit from much more research into the relationship between domestic and global bandwidth constraints and their influence on development of software and application, as well as much more quantitative research by academics on the drivers of bandwidth demand. The risks associated with promoting investment that results in large-scale wasted resources should also be central to the regulatory agenda.     

The shaping of inventory systems in health services: A stakeholder analysis

Although many studies have addressed the diagnosing and redesign of inventory systems in an industrial setting, the field of operations management seems to lack a thorough understanding of the process of shaping inventory systems in a health care setting. In this article, a contribution is made to fill this gap by exploring the process of reshaping a hospital inventory system of medicines by means of an exploratory case study. In doing so, we concentrate on the question how the outcomes of this process are affected by the different stakeholders involved. Our case study indicates that decisions made during this reshaping process are heavily influenced by the dynamics of the relationships and interactions between the stakeholders involved in the project. Based on our case study there are also some strong indications especially in a health care setting, the existence of multiple stakeholders having a multi-goal focus regarding the inventory system can have a strong influence on the outcomes of inventory projects. For project managers it is important to be aware of these characteristics and circumstances in order to help health service organisations to develop and use inventory systems more effectively.     

Knowledge management and innovation strategy: The challenge for latecomers in emerging economies

The success of latecomer firms from the emerging economies challenges the conventional wisdom on entry timing and resource-based competence. Building on research on institutions in emerging economies and the resource-based perspective in strategic management, we propose a model to explain how resource poor latecomer firms in emerging economies catch up with the multinational incumbents. We classify latecomers based on their strategic learning intent as either emulators or blind imitators. The strategic learning intent depends on a firm’s complementary assets and its absorptive capacity. Firms that choose emulation develop flexible routines, while firms that choose blind imitation end up with rigid routines. Over time, when there is a need for resource renewal, firms that have flexible routines are better positioned to respond. We take the Chinese mobile phone industry as an exemplar to illustrate the core issues in latecomer catching up of emerging economy firms.

Antecedents and consequences of commitment in marketing research services: The client's perspective

Commitment is one of the most frequently studied variables in business-to-business relationships and several researchers propose it is the main antecedent of customer loyalty. However, while marketing relationships researchers agree on the importance of the construct, differences remain in its conceptualization and operationalization. This study examines commitment from the customer's perspective, consisting of three components: calculative, affective and normative. Relationships were tested between the three dimensions of commitment and social bonds, trust and satisfaction in the context of professional business services providers and their clients. The results of the model that was tested in Central and Eastern European companies show that affective commitment is the only one of the three components that significantly influences customer loyalty. Trust and social bonds have no significant relation either to normative or to calculative commitment while a relation of overall satisfaction with normative and calculative commitment is negative. The theoretical and managerial implications for the model to assist in the development of appropriate strategies to achieve affective commitment and loyalty in business relationships are discussed.     

Diversification strategies in network-based services: The case of mobile virtual network operators

This paper aims at discussing the entry process and competitive strategies of MVNOs in Italy and France. It illustrates the features of competition in a sector – the mobile telecom service industry – which is characterized by market saturation and demand heterogeneity. In doing so, it looks at the characteristics of the two countries in terms of competition and entry of new operators, at the motivations behind the entry of MVNOs, and at the performance of different companies. Results show that the most successful MVNOs are those characterized by the ability to find a perfect match between their core competencies (large network management, strong brand reputation) and the needs of specific segments of demand that had not been previously fulfilled. In this context, companies with ICT network management skills, whether coming from the telecom sector or from other network-based service industries such as postal operators, have been particularly successful in the market. From a policy perspective, despite the failure of some MVNOs, customers have benefited from the increased competition between MNOs and MVNOs in terms of range of service offerings and prices.     

The protection of interests: Organizational change in the Australian services canteens organization

Outlined in this paper is a series of events pertaining to changes to the Australian Services Canteens Organization (ASCO). The behaviors of the officers of the armed forces and of the rank and file, who were employed at ASCO, in reaction to these changes are the central focus. These two groups are contrasted in the actions they followed to protect their interests in the light of anticipated change. The theoretical analysis explores the values, interests, issue clarity, legitimate action and power of the groups.Professor Graham K. Kenny is with the Department of Management, San Diego State University. Professor Phillip Morgan is with the School of Marketing, New South Wales Institute of Technology and Professor Bob Hinings is with the Department of Organizational Analysis, University of Alberta.     

Risks and benefits of new communications services: The national perspective

New forms of data communications services influence the social, economic and strategic environment of a nation. The authors discuss new forms of data communications services from a Canadian perspective, and identify issues associated with the services and the new society they encourage. The relationships of new services to national sovereignty, employment, national trade balance, and regulation are discussed from a benefit-risk perspective. The authors conclude that a requirement exists for national planning and coordination mechanisms to assure that appropriate systems are in place to foster the orderly introduction, diffusion, and utilization of new forms of data communications.     

The rise of IT services clusters in India: A case of growth by replication

The Indian IT services sector has grown from small beginnings at the bottom of value creation to a major player in the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry. It commands a 55% share in the global market for IT services. India's IT sector value proposition in terms of low cost with large supply of high quality talent is compelling. As a result, India has become the premier choice not only for outsourcing IT services by the developed-world's multinational corporations (MNCs) but also for locating their own Global In-house Centers (GICs), which simultaneously compete and partner with local firms. This gave rise to six additional clusters beyond the earliest, largest and robust cluster, Bangalore. The paper provides a review of relevant literature; develops a conceptual framework for evaluation of clusters; and presents data and analysis with respect to relative size, growth, specialization, MNC presence and connectivity to local firms through expatriates and returning Indians, ,innovation; and discusses adequacy of ICT infrastructure for future growth. Although there are clear signs that the Indian IT sector has been moving towards a regime of providing high-end value added services, the sector's value proposition – lower cost combined with a large supply of high quality talent – remains the single most compelling reason for the rise and growth of multiple export clusters. Thus the sector's growth appears to be a case of growth by replication rather than innovation. The paper concludes that the Indian IT sector's value proposition in terms of lower cost combined with large supply of high quality talent remains the single most compelling reason for the rise and growth of multiple IT services export clusters. While the old adage, “people follow jobs” still holds for large part of the labor force, there is little doubt that the sprawling IT services clusters in India - with more to come from Tier II and Tier III cities – indicate, in fact, that “jobs follow talent." Both local firms and the MNCs, through their GICs, are pushing the boundaries of location farther and farther to continue to leverage cost advantage and available pools of talent.     

Telecommunications pricing and consumer expectations : The case of alternate operator services

Traditional discussions of telecommunications pricing utilize microeconomic models that are often timeless. In reality, static models of price-based decision making in telecommunications do not capture an important reality: that the price feedback is substantially delayed. Since consumers have no immediate feedback on which to base rational decisions, they must utilize their expectations of price. This article analyses the implications of this, using the alternate operator services as a discussion case. This analysis shows that few alternatives beyond price regulation exist to resolve the rampant complaints in this industry.     

Telecommunications development in Israel: The growth of public services and lessons from developing countries

The article begins with a discussion of the importance of the public services sector in the development of a modern economy, with specific reference to the organization and growth of public services in Israel. While the telecommunications sector is becoming increasingly important in national economies, it is often mismanaged in developing countries and its profits are used to subsidize other areas of the economy, particularly the postal services, which are run at a loss. The author analyses the various reasons for the lack of effective telecommunications policies in developing countries, and concludes with a series of recommendations for Israel which arise from that analysis.     

The value of formal planning for strategic decisions: Reply

In Armstrong (1982a), I examined alternative explanations to the empirical findings that supported the use of formal planning. In considering the possibility that researcher bias might lead to such results, I used Terpstra's (1981) evaluation scheme. Based on this test, poor methodology did not seem responsible for the conclusions on the value of formal planning.