Business Relationships (business + relationships)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Sustained Monopolistic Business Relationships: An Interdisciplinarity Case

BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003
Andrew Humphries
Business-to-business relationships within sustained monopolies, such as those within UK defence procurement, have received scant attention by management researchers. This is unusual because under these market circumstances there appear to be few incentives to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes despite their strategic policy importance. This paper argues that an understanding of the monopolistic environment using a transaction cost economics theoretical framework and supply-chain management, relationship marketing and transaction cost economics concepts provides an innovative, interdisciplinarity approach to solving this problem as well as testing aspects of these disciplines empirically in a novel area. This paper describes the results from a substantial research project to test this hypothesis in the UK defence procurement situation. It reveals a number of key dynamics within the sustained monopolistic relationships surveyed and suggests considerable potential for further research. [source]


Working at Intimacy: Gay Men's Workplace Friendships

GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2008
Nick Rumens
Despite scholarly efforts to challenge the dualistic stereotype of men as rational and women as emotion experts, academics have paid little attention to the issues that arise when gay and lesbian sexualities are introduced into such debates. This article highlights the heterosexist content of much of the research on gender, emotion and organization, and argues the relevancy of investigating the largely neglected topic of intimacy and friendship in the work lives of gay men. Engaging with feminist, queer and sociological research that examines friendship in the lives of individuals who belong to sexual minority groups, I explore in this study the diversity in the way gay men find and work out intimacy in the context of workplace friendships with other gay men and with heterosexual men and women. The data for this article are drawn from in-depth interviews with ten gay men employed in one UK National Health Service Trust. Study findings problematize conceptualizations of friendships at work as being bereft of intimacy, of little value and clearly distinguishable from business relationships. Dichotomous modes of thinking about the impact of gender and sexuality on intimacy and friendship are also challenged. [source]


How ABN AMRO and other international banks are succeeding in Romania

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 1 2007
Roxana Wright
The dynamic financial environment of Central and Eastern Europe allows for a clear determination of "best practices" in the banking industry through analysis of common patterns in banking and finance. We explain the specific practices that have led to successful adaptation on the part of international banks like ABN AMRO in Romania and to Romanian financial markets. In general, we have found, through a series of case studies designed to assess best practices, that the best performing strategies are those which are based upon "distributed decision making," allowing for decisive action and rapid organizational learning at the local level. In order for rapid organizational learning to take place, efficient business relationships are critical to the firm's functioning. In addition, the firm must develop a substantial diversity in both its internal and external networks. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Relationship-based e-commerce: theory and evidence from China

INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008
Maris G. Martinsons
Abstract., Electronic commerce models and prescriptions from rule-based market economies like the United States have limited applicability in emerging markets. This paper adopts a strategic management perspective to examine the distinctive challenges facing e-commerce in China. A theory is developed to explain how the lack of dependable rules encourages guanxi and relationship-based commerce. It suggests that personal trust, contextual and informal information, and blurred boundaries between business and government have shaped e-commerce in mainland China. Case studies of online retailers in Beijing and Shanghai and a business-to-business (B2B) marketspace reveal how dynamic business relationships with complementary service providers and state agents can overcome institutional deficiencies. Short message service (SMS)-based mobile commerce (m-commerce) and other leapfrogging information technology (IT) applications could transform Chinese consumer behaviour and improve economic efficiency. The evidence from China helps to explain the influence of culture and institutions on different types of IT applications. Implications for e-commerce research and practice in China and other emerging markets are discussed. [source]


The experience of forming business relationships in tourism

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002
Mike Watkins
Abstract This study examines the formation of business relationships among tourism organisations. A phenomenographic study conducted with 25 managers drawn from regional tourism organisations in Queensland, Australia revealed three qualitatively different but interrelated ways of experiencing relationships: as competition, co-operation and collaboration. Differences among experiences were accounted for by the way managers defined the meanings of several dimensions common to each experience. The results suggest managers' experiences can be developmentally ordered on a continuum of relationships that demonstrate progressively more complex and inclusive approaches to forming relationships. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A Transaction Structure Approach to Assessing the Dynamics and Impacts of ,Business-to-Business' Electronic Commerce

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2002
Dr Richard Hawkins
This paper proposes some ways forward in stimulating and structuring interdisciplinary research on business-to-business electronic commerce. A ,commerce-centered' perspective is proposed that is grounded in concepts of commerce as a complex socio-economic institution. On this basis, a conceptual framework is developed for assessing the dynamics and impacts of electronic commerce in the value chains of products and services. The approach focuses on examining technical change in transaction structures, and how this relates to the evolution of electronically-mediated business relationships in the rapidly developing Internet environment. The approach is oriented towards critical research questions concerning the effects of electronic commerce on the ways various market participants exercise and/or respond to control over the organization and operation of value chains, and the implications for business, the public interest and policy. The practical research possibilities of the transaction structure approach are then discussed as oriented toward a comparative analytical framework. [source]


Shifting Models of Welfare: Issues in Relocation from an Institution and the Organization of Community Living

JOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2006
Christine Bigby
Abstract, The closure of institutions and relocation of people with intellectual disabilities to community living has been the focus of many nations' intellectual disability policies in the past three decades. The author studied the relocation of 58 people from a large institution to 11 small group homes in several Australian communities. Organizational factors that contributed to a mismatch of expectations on such dimensions as individualized support and inclusion were examined. The author discusses these in a broader context of social policy developments, including the privatization and contracting-out of service provision that shifted the government's role to one of purchaser rather than provider of services; regulatory concerns in employment practices that impacted the flow of information about residents; and contract specifications that focused on individuals, leaving responsibility for tackling systemic issues uncertain. Recommendations that draw attention to the renewed emphasis on partnerships rather than business relationships and attend to broader community development strategies that have concurrently occurred in Australia are provided. [source]


Willingness to express emotion: The impact of relationship type, communal orientation, and their interaction

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 2 2005
Margaret S. Clark
This research examines the effects of relationship type (close vs. business), a personality variable (dispositional communal orientation), and the interaction of these two variables on individuals' willingness to express emotions to relationship partners. Results supported our predictions that (a) people are willing to express more emotion in relationships likely to be high in communal strength than in relationships likely to be low in communal strength, (b) individuals high in communal orientation are willing to express more emotion than those who are low in communal orientation, and (c) relationship type and communal orientation interact to influence willingness to express two emotions that reveal weakness and vulnerability (fear and anxiety). Specifically, communal orientation had little effect on willingness to express fear and anxiety in business relationships, whereas high relative to low communal orientation was associated with willingness to express more fear and anxiety within close relationships. [source]


A Review of the Federal Guidelines That Inform and Influence Relationships Between Physicians and Industry

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009
Robert H. Birkhahn MD
Abstract The effective delivery and continued advancement of health care is critically dependent on the relationship between physicians and industry. The private sector accounts for 60% of the funding for clinical research and more than 50% of the funding sources for physician education. The nature of the physician,industry relationship and the role of the physician as a gatekeeper for health care make this association vulnerable to abuse if certain safeguards are not observed. This article will review the current federal guidelines that affect the physician,industry relationship and highlight several illustrative cases to show how the potential for abuse can subvert this relationship. The recommendations and "safe harbors" that have been designed to guide business relationships in health care are discussed. [source]


Virtuelles Bauen und partnerschaftliche Geschäftsmodelle , eine innovative Verbindung

BAUTECHNIK, Issue 7 2006
Mike Gralla Univ.-Prof.
Durch eine frühe Zusammenarbeit von Bauherrn, Planern und Bauunternehmen können mit partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodellen wesentliche Nachteile von herkömmlichen Geschäftsbeziehungen im Bauwesen aufgelöst werden. Die enge Zusammenarbeit in einer frühen Phase eines Bauvorhabens ermöglicht eine fachübergreifende Optimierung hinsichtlich Planung, Bauausführung und Nutzung einer Immobilie. Hierbei sind die Methoden des virtuellen Bauens zweckmäßige Hilfsmittel, um die Koordination des Projekts und die Kommunikation zwischen den an einem Bauvorhaben beteiligten Partnern zu verbessern. Deshalb hat sich insbesondere bei partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodellen, die eine Preconstruction-Phase enthalten, die Verwendung von virtuellem Bauen als besonders wirksam erwiesen. Virtuelles Bauen unterstützt die Optimierung eines Bauwerks und hilft bei der anschaulichen Kommunikation von Optimierungsergebnissen durch die Visualisierung mit interaktiven Computermodellen. Virtual Design and Construction (ViCon) führt das virtuelle Bauen in die tägliche Planungs- und Baupraxis ein und ist eine Schlüsseltechnologie des Bauwesens. ViCon wird in der Praxis bei zahlreichen Projekten eingesetzt, die mit dem partnerschaftlichen Geschäftsmodell PreFair durchgeführt werden. In diesem Beitrag werden die Einsatzmöglichkeiten von ViCon an ausgewählten Beispielen dargestellt. Virtual construction and partnership-based business models , an innovative combination. When clients, design engineers and construction companies work together within the framework of partnership-based business models from an early stage, major disadvantages of traditional business relationships in the construction sector can be eliminated. Close cooperation in an early phase of a construction project makes for interdisciplinary optimization with regard to a property's design, construction and utilization. In this context, the methods of virtual construction are useful tools to improve communication between the parties involved in a construction project. Using virtual construction has therefore proved to be particularly effective when working with partnership-based business models that comprise a preconstruction phase. Virtual construction helps to optimize building structures and assists in graphically communicating optimization results by way of visualization with interactive computer models. Virtual Design and Construction (ViCon) introduces virtual construction in the daily design and construction work and is a key technology in the construction industry. In practice, ViCon is employed in numerous projects that are implemented based on the PreFair business model. Using selected examples, this article shows the range of ViCon's possible application. [source]