THREE SOLITUDES IN CONTRACT: LAW, DATA, AND THEORY

This note discusses and contrasts the different perspectives that the law, empirical labor economics and contract theory bring to the study of the employment relationship. Understanding the reasons for these different perspectives should give rise to a better understanding of the employment relationship and more effective labor market policy.     

The Relationships among Theatrical Components,Experiential Value,Relationship Quality,and Relationship Marketing Outcomes

Both marketing practitioners and academic researchers have traditionally recognized the major influence that relationship quality (RQ) has on relationship marketing outcomes. Differing from previous studies, this study proposes a more integrated model by including theatrical components and experiential value in the “RQ-relationship marketing outcomes” paradigm. The structural relationships among the variables are examined by adopting a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach in the context of a theme park. The results confirm the existence of the path “theatrical components → experiential value → RQ → relationship marketing outcomes”.     

Expectations of Working Relationships in International Buyer–Seller Relationships: Development of a Relationship Continuum Scale

This study is an attempt to develop a scale to measure expectations of buyer–seller working relationships on a cross-cultural basis in the hospitality industry. The focus is on North American and Asian hotel salespeople. The scale development drew from previous research in guanxi relationships, purchasing, and selling strategies. While the results did not support a reliable unidimensional scale that could distinguish between transactional and collaborative working relationships, the methodology did create a framework for further scale development.     

Trust over time in exchange relationships: Meta‐analysis and theory

A common premise in prior research is that trust increases over time in relationships. Through a meta‐analysis of 39 studies, we find that the bivariate correlation between trust and relationship duration (1) is on average positive and small, and (2) varies significantly across studies indicating the presence of unobserved moderators. We therefore build a theoretical framework to specify four different mechanisms—initial bias correction, change in relationship value, identification, and trust‐based selection—that may affect the development of trust. We then argue that the relative strength of these mechanisms should influence whether trust increases, remains constant, or decreases over time. © 2013 The Authors. Strategic Management Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa

This article reviews the past and potential future roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as responses to population growth in the process of land use intensification and livelihood transformation. The farm size distribution and the existence of an inverse relationship (IR) between farm size and land productivity in SSA and the implications of this relationship for efficiency and equity are investigated. More secure property rights and removal of restrictions on land markets have the potential to create both efficiency and equity benefits, but there are high risks of elite capture of large land areas with inefficient and inequitable outcomes. This situation is the case not only in land-abundant areas but also in urban and peri-urban areas where increasingly larger proportions of people will make their living. Increasing population pressure in densely populated rural areas contributes to more rapid rural–urban migration, and creating alternative livelihood opportunities for the migrating youth population is essential to achieving economic development with social stability.     

Diverging expectations in buyer-seller relationships: Institutional contexts and relationship norms

Many firms assume that outsourcing partnerships may allow them to strengthen their overall competitiveness. Lured by its intuitive appeal, several enter into such partnerships, only to realize that they represent a marginal rather than a magical solution to their quest for increasing market performance. An important reason for this is the diverging beliefs and expectations held by both parties in the buyer-seller dyad. The purpose of this contribution is to develop a framework for understanding the divergences in expectations and relationship norms in cross-cultural business relationships among SMEs. We discuss four relational expectations derived from the B2B literature on relational norms for addressing these divergences: Quality, frequency and scope of communication, role specifications and coordination of work nature of planning horizons, and trustworthiness and link these to relationship performance. We explore the proposed impact of diverging relationship norms on relationship expectations using data from an ongoing field study of Danish buyers and Chinese suppliers. We link these diverging expectations to the business practices of Danish buyers and Chinese and their institutional contexts. In the concluding part of the paper, we discuss our findings and outline implications for management and academia.     

Twists and turns of triadic business relationship recovery

This study focuses on triadic business relationship recovery processes through a single case study. We address the question of what kind of process takes place when a business relationship on the verge of ending is recovered and what roles a third actor can play in the process. As a result, we model a process through which a triadic business relationship is recovered and attraction, trust, and commitment are restored.     

论物流客户关系网络管理

从物流客户关系网络管理的产生入手,对基于网络的物流客户细分和物流客户关系网络管理的关键技术网络数据挖掘在物流客户关系网络管理中作用及功能进行分析,在此基础上建构物流客户关系网络管理系统。     

管理学视角下知行难易关系之辨

＂知＂和＂行＂是一对重要的哲学范畴,知行难易关系众说纷纭。文中根据现代管理学权变理论和沟通原理,重新解读傅说＂知易行难＂说、程颐＂行难知亦难＂说、孙中山＂知难行易＂说和胡适＂知难行亦不易＂说,并提出先贤们各不相同的知行难易学说,是基于沟通对象不同、方向不同、目的不同的主旨思想。     

Antecedents to supplier integration in the automotive industry: A multiple-case study of foreign subsidiaries in China

Supplier integration has become an important concept for improving supply chain performance. The aim of this paper is to identify factors that facilitate and inhibit supplier integration in the context of the Chinese automotive industry. An inductive approach based on grounded theory was chosen as the research methodology, where data was collected through 30 detailed case interviews with subsidiaries of foreign automotive companies operating in China. The results indicate that buyer-side leadership is an important antecedent for building motivation, trust, and commitment among suppliers and for shaping their mindsets. This, in turn, facilitates strategic alignment and enables suppliers to build collaborative capabilities, which are finally shown to be a key enabler for successful supplier integration.