The dynamics of long-term business-to-business exchange relationships

A framework for business-to-business interaction is proposed that integrates approaches to bargaining from social psychology and economics to provide a conceptual paradigm emphasizing long-term exchange relationships rather than individual transactions. The authors propose a classification of negotiation behavior along two continuous dimensions and examine the mechanics of the dyadic negotiation process that translate negotiation behavior into long-term relationships. They suggest that exchange relationships are formed by achieving mutually beneficial outcomes from a series of exchange transactions and that there is a bi-directional link between negotiation behavior and exchange relationships mediated by negotiation outcomes. The framework also explores the determinants of negotiation behavior in dyadic negotiations between businesses in terms of organizational, individual, and “other party” influences. Propositions are developed, using both role theory and economic bargaining theory, to support the overall framework. Finally, the classification of negotiation behavior is revisited to examine the evolution of exchange relationships over time. She received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Her research interests include attitude and choice models, services marketing, customer satisfaction, and business-to-business relationships. She has published articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, and theJournal of Health Care Management, as well as various conference proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include organizational buying behavior, negotiation strategies, small group dynamics, and cross-cultural differences in buyer-seller interactions. His research has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of International Business Studies, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as numerous conference proceedings. She also holds an M.B.A. from the Uni- versity of Tennessee. Her research interests include consumer value determination, consumer satisfaction, and business-to-business relationships.     

Analysis of risk and risk-reduction strategies—A multiple product case

This study investigated both the amount of risk that consumers face in a new car purchase situation and the different types of strategies that they use to reduce that risk. The findings revealed that owners of different makes of cars perceive varying amounts of risk to be associated with the purchase of a new car. However, no significant differences in the overall amounts of risk associated with the different purchase situations were found. Also it was found that different strategies for reducing the risk were utilized by the different car ownership groups.     

Waves of migration: a new situation

An attempt is made to forecast migration trends affecting those countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. "The new migratory trends are characterized by at least three fundamentally important elements: the ouster of the newly arrived population from the social niche that it had recently occupied, emigration from overpopulated regions, and growing emigration beyond the borders of the former Union."     

Reflections on Private Water Supply: Agency and Equity Issues

In the second of the two articles, the authors reflect on and extend their earlier work by describing recent trends in water privatization, drawing important lessons from cases where privatization efforts have failed, offering suggestions about the way privatized firms can be successfully monitored, and addressing the popular argument that “fairness” demands that water be distributed by public firms at a zero (or heavily subsidized) price.     

Optimal Environmental Policy Differentials in Open Economies under Emissions Constraints

Is there a case for preferential treatment of the exposed sector in an economy when compliance to an aggregate emissions constraint induced by an international environmental agreement is mandatory? This question is being debated in many countries in the context of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. We address the issue in a general equilibrium framework and theoretically cover several market structures, including perfect competition, the large country case and oligopoly. We identify the conditions under which preferential treatment of the exposed sector is not warranted from the point of view of maximizing social welfare. In addition, we demonstrate that in the case of oligopoly, instituting a more stringent environmental policy on the exposed sector might be profit-enhancing for this sector. This finding lends theoretical support to a specific interpretation of the Porter hypothesis.     

Roads, Land Use, and Deforestation: A Spatial Model Applied to Belize

Rural roads promote economic development, but they also facilitatedeforestation. To explore this tradeoff, this article developsa spatially explicit model of land use and estimates probabilitiesof alternative land uses as a function of land characteristicsand distance to market using a multinomial logit specificationof this model. Controls are incorporated for the endogeneityof road placement. The model is applied to data for southern Belize, an area experiencingrapid expansion of both subsistence and commercial agriculture,using geographic information system (GIS) techniques to selectsample points at 1-kilometer intervals. Market access, landquality, and tenure status affect the probability of agriculturalland use synergistically, having differential effects on thelikelihood of commercial versus semisubsistence farming. Theresults suggest that road building in areas with agriculturallypoor soils and low population densities may be a "lose-lose"proposition, causing habitat fragmentation and providing loweconomic returns.     

Acknowledgement of external reviewers for 2000

Editorial Board

Acknowledgement of external reviewers for 2000     

Parallel machine replacement under horizon uncertainty

Construction projects usually get delayed for several time periods. When the planning horizon of a project is extended, projections for purchase and salvage of machinery within the planning horizon become inaccurate and less beneficial and often lead to unexpected costs. In this article, we formulate a parallel machine replacement (PMR) problem as a two-stage stochastic program with an uncertain planning horizon. We consider renting as an alternative to purchasing and maintaining the machinery. We show the application of the model through a case study in construction projects. Through numerical analysis, we derive managerial implications and show the value of the stochastic model.