The objective of this article is to describe the risk identification within a supply chain of an infrastructure construction project. This research is based on a case study of risk management within a supply chain in the infrastructure construction industry. Data have been collected from an international company emphasising the stage of risk identification. A particular view of risk management has been adopted. More specifically, a way to identify risk within the construction industry has been given. Technical and operational evidences have been revised and organised in order to take a first step in the direction of a systematic treatment. It has highlighted some crucial issues dealing with risk identification, while risk assessment and risk response provide an opportunity for further research. The article has underlined how risk management can be seen as the way to discover existing risks that are preventing firms from advancing their strategy. Main insights that emerged dealt with five categories: strategic objectives; critical success factors; environment and stakeholder influences; key performance indicators and principal risks; principal risk response strategies.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the ways that the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey communicate the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 private sector organizations based on revenue in each country. Findings – The research identified some interesting findings that showed that the small group of companies in Turkey that have a code may appear to be more “advanced” in ethics artifacts usage than Sweden. Such a conclusion is counter-intuitive as one would have expected a developed nation like Sweden to be more advanced in these measures than a developing nation such as Turkey. Culture may play a large role in the implementation of ethics artifacts in corporations and could be a major reason for this difference. Research limitations/implications – As this is such a new area of investigation in Turkey, the responses amount to only 32 companies that have a code. The small sample is indicative of the formative evolution toward having codes of ethics within companies operating within Turkey. Practical implications – This study enables those organizations that comprise corporate Turkey to view the current state of codes of ethics in Turkish companies and to compare these with the responses of a developed country of the European Union. Originality and value – A review of the literature indicates that this is the first time that such an international study specifically focused upon codes of ethics and the artifacts to inculcate the ethos of the code into every day corporate affairs has included Turkey as one of the participating countries.

This study tests a construct of Conscientious Corporate Brand (hereinafter called CCB) introduced by Rindell et al. (2011). It assesses the dimensions of environmental and climate change issues, and the internal and external corporate codes of ethics. Subsequently, it builds upon and validates previous research in the field of ethical branding. The study was performed in business-to-business relationships of large Turkish companies. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

This study examines a construct of relationship quality (RELQUAL) in Turkish business relationships, and appears to be the first of its kind in this region. The sample frame comprises the 500 largest companies in Turkey based upon revenue across multiple industries. The analysis yield support to the argument that continuity, trust, coordination, opportunism, commitment, formalisation, specific assets, dependence, satisfaction and cooperation are separate constructs that play an important role in creating relationship quality in Turkish business relationships. This study is of managerial and theoretical interest to executives and researchers since it provides a framework of constructs to be considered in corporate efforts in maintaining satisfactory levels of relationship quality, not only in Turkish business relationships, but it may also be applicable in other business relationships and countries. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to validate previous research in ethical branding by testing a conceptual framework on corporate branding using "the conscientious dimension".

Design/methodology/approach: This article tests a framework for conscientious corporate brands (CCBs) by investigating environmental and climate change issues as well as internal and external corporate codes of ethics as CCB dimensions. The empirical context is based upon South African business-to-business relationships.

Findings: The findings indicate that four distinctive conscientious corporate brand dimensions exist.

Research limitations/implications: This current study contributes to the better understanding of and more knowledge on conscientious corporate brand values. Opportunities for future research are provided as the study has explored new aspects of corporate branding.

Practical implications: This study offers managerial implications particularly for practitioners located in emerging markets such as South Africa.

Originality/value: This study validates the multidimensional nature of CCBs. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue that critically examines topics informing long-standing disputes concering the status of theory and practice in management studies. Contributions explore the character of the imputed relationship between theory and practice. The editorial introduction sets the discussion of topics in the context of institutional change influencing the production, circulation and consumption of knowledge products in the economy of relevance and reputation. It also presents an overview of the papers included in the special issue. The main themes addressed in the papers represent a call for change; a call to radicalize the approaches to understanding ways of knowing; a call to re-evaluate relations with practitioners; and a call to reimagine ways of representing knowledge to various constituencies, including fellow academic practitioners, management practitioners, students, and policy-makers and other opinion-formers. The key message is one of the importance of encouraging broad discussions concerning the direction and impact of flows of knowledge and the various products in which that knowledge is embedded. It calls for a more market-oriented approach to understanding the knowledge economy and the mediating role of various institutional players, including the academy, in the circulation, creation and destruction of knowledge products. That a more-market oriented approach to arrangements for the distribution of research resources in management studies calls for the development of more market-oriented institutions capable of shaping relationships of collaboration, involvement and accountability. Contributions expand the understanding of the problems and opportunities of imputing links to theory and practice.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate codes of ethics (CCE) that are put in place by companies in Taiwan and Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the use of CCE among the top companies in Taiwan and Turkey. It is a replication of a study performed in Australia, Canada and Sweden and a follow-up study.

Findings – The empirical findings show many similarities with top companies in Australia, Canada and Sweden, but more importantly identify key differences distinctly unique to each of the two countries under investigation. Statistical analysis suggests that the implementation, communication and benefits of CCE are paramount to Turkish companies operating in a domestic environment where the aspiration to participate globally and join the European Union is high, whereas in Taiwan it is low in favor of more traditional business practices (similar to the Chinese concept of guanxi) that focus on individual relationships in favor of formalized regulatory frameworks (such as CCE).

Originality/value – This study makes a complementary contribution to the accumulated knowledge in the area of CCE, particularly given the cultural and historical differences these countries possess in comparison to each other and those previously studied and documented in the literature.

This paper compares the results of a longitudinal study of ten years, conducted at five yearly intervals, from 1995 to 2005. The aim of the study was to examine the commitment to business ethics of the top 500 Australian companies. Primary data was obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 Australian companies. This paper examines those responses that indicated that their company possessed a code of ethics. The paper finds that business ethics has continued to evolve and that, in most cases, such evolution has been positive. It would seem that codes of ethics have moved beyond a regulatory requirement and are now considered an integral component of corporate culture and commercial practice in many of Australia's top companies.

Based on the Partnership Model of Corporate Ethics (Wood 2002), this longitudinal study examined the measures in place to communicate the ethos of the corporate codes of ethics to internal stakeholders in three countries: Australia, Canada and Sweden. This paper reports the comparative codification of ethics amongst the top companies in these countries over three time periods: 2001-2002, 2005-2006 and 2010-2011.

The health care industry plays an important role in the life of consumers since it impacts their personal well-being and those close to them. This industry involves ample customer contact resulting in service encounters that are often negative. The health care industry in South Africa is typified by large disparities between the public and private healthcare sectors. As in other industries, customer satisfaction, loyalty and consequently long-term survival of health care businesses are also influenced by customers experiencing a sense of perceived justice following a negative service encounter.This study uncovers the perceived justice experienced by patients in both public and private health care sectors in reaction to negative service encounters. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the three underlying dimensions of the perceived justice concept as theorised by other authors were uncovered. Respondents perceive significant differences between these dimensions. Furthermore, public health care patients perceive significantly lower levels of procedural and distributive justice than private health care patients. The study did not uncover any differences in relation to perceived justice among respondents based on demographic characteristics. Based on the results, marketers are able to design strategies to recover from service failures and increase the perceived justice patients experience.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a "fivefold bottom line" approach in implementing and reporting corporate efforts of sustainable business practices.

Design/methodology/approach: This viewpoint from industry is based on the content analysis of the South African retail chain Woolworths. The data are gathered and derived from the company's comprehensive annual and sustainability reports from 2008 to 2011 and the company's press releases for this period focusing on their efforts of implementing and reporting sustainable business practices.

Findings: A lesson learned from the presented "fivefold bottom line" approach to implement and report their corporate efforts of sustainable business practices is that it is adapted to fit and make sense in a specific market and society. The triple bottom line approach is usually derived from, or commonly based upon, a western perspective on the market and society in literature.

Research limitations/implications: The authors argues that insights from industry of implementing and reporting sustainable business practices based upon different corporate "bottom line" approaches are required in literature.

Practical implications: The authors propose that the "triple bottom line" approach may need to be commonly adapted to the country and cultural context in focus, which is not normally done, but templates are used.

Originality/value: Triple bottom line reporting tends to follow common approaches how it is done. There is rarely seen adapted or modified "bottom line" approaches to specific market and societal characteristics in literature. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Woolworths, a South African retail chain, evaluates and controls its sustainable business practices using economic, environmental and social indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

– A content analysis of Woolworths' comprehensive 2008‐2011 sustainability and annual reports examined how this retail chain evaluates and implements its sustainable business practices.

Findings

– The results indicate that such indicators play a significant role in evaluating and implementing various Woolworths' business practices aimed at sustainability. In addition, Woolworths' comprehensive governance system ensures that its sustainable business practices are implemented and targets achieved.

Research limitations/implications

– The case study demonstrates that businesses can remain profitable, while at the same time protecting the natural environment and striving for sustainable business practices.

Practical implications

– This example demonstrates how government influence, institutional mechanisms and senior management commitment to a project ultimately has gone some way to minimise barriers to the adoption of sustainable practices.

Originality/value

– The example provides not only a seed of knowledge for others in retailing, but also guidance to both practice in general and theory in the field of sustainable business practices. It demonstrates how an organization has taken strategic action, extended this beyond the firm's boundaries and into the supply chain. The case study illustrates how one organization can act as the change agent in the network. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Based upon a review of corporate performance, corporate financial performance and corporate social performance, we propose that the concept of "triple bottom line" (TBL) as "sustainable corporate performance" (SCP) should consist of three measurement elements, namely: (i) financial, (ii) social and (iii) environmental. TBL as SCP is proposed to be derived from the interface between them. We also propose that the content of each of these measurement elements may vary across contexts and over time. Furthermore, TBL as SCR should be interpreted to be a relative concept that is dynamic and iterative. Continuous monitoring needs to be performed, adapting the content of the measurement elements to changes that evolve across contexts and over time in the marketplace and society. TBL as SCP may be seen as a function of time and context.© 2010 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Purpose: This paper attempts to validate a conceptual model for conscientious corporate brands (CCB) by exploring environmental and climate change issues together with perceptions of the internal and external effectiveness of corporate codes of ethics as dimensions of CCBs. Design/methodology/approach: By surveying organizations, the paper attempts to extend and validate previous research in ethical branding by proposing an additional empirically grounded conceptual model of "the conscientious dimension" of corporate brands. Research limitations/implications: The CCB model was tested on a sample of small-, medium- and large-sized companies in Canada, which may indicate less generalizability to larger companies or in other countries and contextual settings. Practical implications: The CCB-framework provides insights into the relationship between the natural environment, climate change and corporate codes of ethics, which organizational managers might relate to their organization. Originality/value: This empirical study extends previous research by studying the willingness among business managers to support aspects of conscientious corporate brands (CCBs) in business-to-business relationships: when considering the impact of their brands on the natural environment and climate change, and when considering their corporate codes of ethics. Such findings imply that ethical conscientiousness is not just a rider to brand value; rather, it is an integral dimension in the manufacturer-supplier relationship. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This paper reports the findings of an investigation of whether trust and commitment influence satisfaction, and whether satisfaction then influences specific investments, opportunism, and formalisation. Using data collected in a survey of Canadian managers and executives, a model derived from marketing theory and previous empirical research was tested. The model includes both relationship marketing concepts and transaction cost theory concepts, an approach rarely encountered in existing studies. Satisfaction in an exchange relationship is formed by keeping promises in an iterative process, and serves as a safeguard against possible future risks (e.g., opportunism). Finally, we discuss the limitations of the study.

It is generally agreed that the relationship quality (RELQUAL) in business exchange situations is important. However, there does not appear to be a consensus on the conceptualisation and measurement of the many dimensions of this construct. This may be due to the difficulty in measuring many dimensions in one empirical study. This raises a concern regarding the understanding of the interaction among the various dimensions. Using data gathered in a survey of Canadian managers and executives the present study investigates how focal dimensions pertaining to RELQUAL inter-relate. A model consisting of the following ten dimensions derived from RELQUAL literature was tested: continuity, satisfaction, trust, commitment, opportunism, cooperation, coordination, formalisation, dependence, specific assets. All recommended guidelines for convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as construct reliability, were met. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

This paper investigates whether satisfaction, in B2B relationships, is a mediating construct between the antecedents, trust and commitment, and subsequent outcomes. Using data from a survey of Canadian managers and executives, the study tested a structural equation model, the trust, commitment, satisfaction (TCS) model, where the antecedent constructs, trust and commitment, are mediated by the satisfaction construct, which in turn influences coordination, cooperation and continuity or 'consequence' constructs. The tested model indicated an acceptable fit, validity and reliability. The analysis in the present study reinforces the argument that satisfaction plays a mediating role in creating enduring relationships in business contexts. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Purpose: "Business sustainability" refers to the total effort of a company - including its demand and supply chain networks - to reduce the impact on the Earth's life- and eco-systems. The objective of this paper is to describe a business sustainability model based upon a case study of a European manufacturer.

Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was applied describing the efforts of business sustainability in the demand and supply chain networks of a Norwegian office chair producer. It is based upon a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with top executives of the company as well as observations and content analyses of internal and external documents about the company's efforts of business sustainability.

Findings: The case study shows that business sustainability is not about doing just one thing, but that a multitude of simultaneous efforts (e.g. actors, resources and activities) should be in place. Furthermore, business sustainability is not only about a company's own business operations, but its whole demand and supply chain networks which need to be included and taken into consideration.

Research limitations/implications: The case study in focus is limited to just one company's effort of business sustainability and its demand and supply chain networks. It provides a business sustainability model that offers opportunities for further research.

Practical implications: Focusing on the corporate impact of the natural environment can be highly profitable. Business sustainability and by extension the carbon footprint of demand and supply chain networks is becoming a criterion in the decision-making process of customers across industries. Business sustainability is a concern to everybody in society as the indicatives of climate change and global warming become more evident and troublesome. No one can have missed the fact that the weather is becoming more extreme, causing damage around the globe.

Originality/value: The authors argue that research into business sustainability needs at this stage of development to be inductive rather than deductive - it may be an irreversible mistake to try to re-package existing theory into business sustainability, as climate change prediction and the poor condition of the Earth have not been fully understood or comprised in previous theory. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test a Triple Bottom Line (TBL)-construct as well as to describe the TBL-reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks. This study explores how linking these seemingly disparate pillars of sustainability may be facilitated through a TBL construct. The notion of sustainable business practices has been evolving and is increasingly understood to encompass considerations of economic viability, as well as environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach – The research is quantitative in nature, exploring and analysing how companies in different Norwegian industries implement and manage sustainable business practices based on TBL. The survey results are reported here.

Findings – The relevance of TBL to different aspects of sustainable business practices is outlined. The study generally supports the view that a heightened propensity for sustainable business practices ensures that organisations are better equipped for meeting the challenge of integrating TBL in companies and their business networks.

Research limitations/implications – The study tested a construct of TBL in the context of sustainable business practices. It may be incorporated in further research in relation to other constructs. Suggestions for further research are proposed.

Practical implications – Useful for practitioners to get insights into TBL-reasons for implementing business-sustainable practices in companies and their business networks. It may also be valuable to assess the general status of business-sustainable practices in a company and their business networks.

Originality/value – Linking two traditionally separate and encapsulated areas of research, namely, the area of business sustainable practices and the area of TBL. The current study has contributed to a TBL-construct in relation to other constructs in measurement and structural models. It has also contributed to provide insights of priority into the main reasons to implement the elements of TBL within companies and their business networks. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Online newspapers and their audience are explored in this paper. Based upon an online questionnaire at four Swedish newspapers with a sample of more than 3800 answers collected, the paper presents some users’ experiences of the online newspapers. The paper reports on the users regarding age, gender and location. Reading frequency and reading habits are explored as well. The findings show that almost two thirds of the respondents are men and almost 65% are in the ages between 21-40. Almost two thirds of the respondents do not read the online newspaper in any specific order, and more than 80% prefer the paper edition of the newspaper. Several findings regarding navigation purposes were found and the paper also discusses the navigation and search aspects of the news sites.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare and validate firms’ internal and external stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices across business settings. It aims to assess the validity and reliability of a stakeholder framework appearing in previous studies.

Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a questionnaire survey and a cross-industry sample consisting of the largest firms in corporate Sweden. Multivariate analysis tests the stakeholder framework. Each of the 294 key informants was initially identified and contacted by telephone, generating a response rate of 36.5 per cent.

Findings: The tested stakeholder framework appears valid and reliable across countries to assess the internal stakeholders of focal firms, as well as their up- and downstream, market and societal stakeholders. This study provides additional empirical support to categorize firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices.

Research limitations/implications: This study validates previous findings in terms of Swedish firms’ considerations of internal and external stakeholders in sustainable business practices in relation to one similar country (Norway) and one different country (Spain). The study also shows how the three countries perceive the focal company and societal stakeholders differently. Practical implications: The tested framework sheds light on focal firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices and elucidates the extent to which firms’ account for their internal and external stakeholders in sustainable business practices.

Originality/value: This study contributes to the development of valid and reliable stakeholder theory across contexts and through time. In particular, it contributes to the development of a valid and reliable framework to categorize firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: The objective is to re-visit and up-date a seminal framework of marketing schools.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors provide a conceptual description and positioning of old, modern and recent marketing schools.

Findings: Recent developments in marketing - such as services marketing, industrial marketing and relationship marketing - do not fit into the seminal framework of marketing schools.

Research limitations/implications: The authors have limited the discussion to the human practice of marketing and the academic discipline of marketing. In addition, the authors' focus is on marketing as part of business.

Practical implications: The up-dated framework of marketing schools may assist practitioners to understand the current status of marketing by connecting to the past, and the future by revealing unexplored areas of the marketing discipline.

Originality/value: The up-dated framework of marketing schools builds on and extends the seminal framework in question to incorporate the recent developments in marketing. In extension, it reveals a white spot in the research of the marketing discipline - a field of further research that may focus on a combination of economic and relational dimensions of marketing. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The triple bottom line (TBL) is still commonly explored in research without joint consideration of economic, social and environmental elements of business sustainability (BS). The purpose of this paper is to re-test and validate a BS framework based on the TBL approach.This study is based on a questionnaire survey consisting of the largestfirms in corporate Sweden. A total of 107 usable questionnaires were ultimately received, for a response rate of 36.5 percent. The findings validate and extend a framework of a TBL-dominant logic for BS. A total of 19 dimensions indicating satisfactory validity and reliability of the BS framework were identified. The BS framework offers relevant insights to monitor and assess a TBL-dominant logic for BS. It also provides opportunities for further research. Managers can use the BS framework as a tool to map firm priorities in connection with BS. Each dimension of the BS framework offers insights into how to monitor and assess firms’ efforts in the TBL.This study contributes to validate and extend the TBL-dominant logic for BS. The BS framework also offers a timely and relevant contribution to both scholars and practitioners engaging in business sustainability. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.

This study examines the use of codes of ethics artefacts among top companies in Taiwan. This research reports on the responses of those top Taiwanese companies that possessed a code of ethics. The empirical findings are compared to the findings of previous research. Top Taiwanese companies appear not to be drastically different from top companies in other countries in terms of the areas examined. Several similarities have been revealed. This study provides valuable insights into a previously unexplored corporate territory in terms of codes of ethics artefacts. Furthermore, it provides a seed and guidance for further research in other corporate cultures worldwide. Two parts of interest to business practices may be distinguished in terms of corporate codes of ethics artefacts, namely a regulatory one and one that supports staff. It also provides a valuable point of reference to previous research of corporate codes of ethics artefacts. Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

This paper describes and compares Taiwanese and Turkish corporate perceptions of their commitment to ethics. Major differences in perceptions were found indicating that companies in Turkey appear to be more committed to ethics than in Taiwan. The findings are of interest to business practitioners as they provide insight into the implementation and supporting measures required to enhance the perceived corporate commitment to ethics. The empirical and interpretive findings make a valuable contribution to the literature and serve as point of reference in the field that will benefit future researchers working in business ethics. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The research objective is to test whether satisfaction in business relationships may constitute a mediating construct between trust and commitment on the one hand, and coordination, cooperation and continuity expectancy on the other. The structural relationships are summarised in an AMP-model (i.e., antecedents, mediator and postcedents), the sample at that time consisted of attitudes among leading executives in small and medium-sized companies in Taiwan. The tested structural relationships of the AMP-model complement previous theory and research of antecedents and postcedents in relation to satisfaction in business relationships. One contribution is that the empirical findings indicate that satisfaction in studied buyer-supplier relationships may be seen as a mediating construct between antecedents (such as trust and commitment) and postcedents (such as coordination, cooperation and continuity). Research limitations and suggestions for further research are provided. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

A construct of conscientious corporate brands (hereinafter called CCBs) is tested by examining the environmental and climate change issues, and the internal and external corporate codes of ethics as dimensions of CCBs. The objective is to validate research in ethical branding by testing 'the conscientious dimension' of a corporate brand. The study is based upon Taiwanese business-to-business relationships. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The objective of this paper is to test a measurement model of RELationship QUALity (RELQUAL) in Taiwanese business relationships. The sample consisted of leading executives in small and medium-sized companies (40-250 employees) in Taiwan. Principally, the respondents were general managers or division managers (e.g., within purchasing, logistics or production). The data, focusing on buyer-supplier relationships, was collected in 2008. A total of 168 questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 12%. The goodness-of-fit measures of the tested measurement model of RELQUAL were all found to be well within the recommended guidelines. The recommended guidelines for convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as construct reliability, were also met. It is concluded that the measurement properties of the RELQUAL applied in Taiwanese business relationships indicate acceptable validity and reliability. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Trust, commitment, and satisfaction are three important commonly identified constructs in establishing close manufacturer-supplier business relationships in competitive markets. There is, however, a lack of consensus on how these three constructs relate to one another. This study aims at testing whether satisfaction plays an important mediating role between commitment and trust, and whether satisfaction influences the three important outcomes in business relationships; namely: cooperation, coordination, and continuity. Data was collected from organizations that are part of the 500 largest companies in South Africa using computer-assisted telephone interviews. The findings support the proposed conceptual framework of the study, which show that trust and commitment are positively related to satisfaction; and that satisfaction is positively related to coordination, cooperation, and continuity. An important contribution is made by this study regarding the understanding of the nomo-logical network of quality constructs in manufacturer-supplier relationships. The results support the importance of developing trusting and committed relationships that increase satisfaction as precursors for ensuring coordination, cooperation, and continuity of business relationships.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a RELQUAL-construct and to test its impact on satisfaction in Norwegian business relationships.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is based upon a survey and random sample of small and medium-sized companies in Norway. Initially, respondents were contacted by phone and a total of 581 surveys were mailed. A total of 212 surveys were returned, a response rate of 36.5 percent.

Findings – Two principal findings are: business relationships characterized by commitment/continuity and coordination/cooperation indicate a higher degree of a company's perceived satisfaction of the supplier; and business relationships characterized by opportunism/distrust and dependence indicate a lower degree of a company's perceived satisfaction of the supplier.

Research limitations/implications – The RELQUAL-construct and its impact on satisfaction in business relationships appears to be accurate for those Norwegian business relationships studied, but only further work in examining other companies will verify its universal applicability if it is to be seen as a valid and reliable measurement for other companies' business relationships too. Suggestions for further research are provided.

Practical implications – This study is of managerial interest to executives since it provides a framework of dimensions to be considered in corporate efforts in maintaining satisfactory levels of relationship quality in business relationships.

Originality/value – The RELQUAL-construct makes a contribution to theory since it proposes a higher order-construct and measurement instrument for the benefit of other researchers and practitioners in the field. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to develop understanding of the interplay between the perceptions of power balance, relationship value, and relationship quality between retail distributors and their suppliers.

Methodology: The authors applied a phenomenological approach in both qualitative and quantitative data collections and analyses. Key informants in 27 of the dominant retail distributors within 5 Norwegian industries and 50 of their most important suppliers were interviewed.

Findings: The power balance seems to favor the retail distributors. Retail distributors and suppliers tell of somewhat different characteristics pertaining to "best" and "worst" relationships relating to economic-, capability-, and integration-based values as perceived between retail distributors and their suppliers.

Research limitations/implications: The empirical findings indicate the complexity in assessing relationship quality and show a rich basis for further research, thereby contributing to knowledge and insights in characterizing relationship quality when power is asymmetrically distributed between distributors and their suppliers. However, personal interviews may reveal answers at rational, cognitive, and even emotional levels, thus complicating subjective analysis.

Practical implications: The results of the study are important for both researchers and practitioners on both sides of retail distributor-supplier relationships.Originality/value: This study advances the work on what characterizes relationship quality in asymmetric power business relationships.

© 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Purpose: Thisstudyincludesrelationshipmarketingconcepts (i.e.trust,commitment,andsatisfaction) as precursors to transaction cost theory outcomes (i.e. specific investments, opportunism, and formalization) which are rarely, if ever, included together. Trust and commitment lead to satisfaction and satisfaction in turn leads transaction cost outcomes. The paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The random sample is 600 small- to medium-sized Norwegian manufacturers. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling was used to examine the responses from 212 key informants.

Findings: The strongest positive associations are from the relationship marketing portion of the model including trust satisfaction and commitment satisfaction. The highest negative association in the model is satisfaction opportunism. Contrary to predictions, satisfaction did not have a significant association with either specific investments or formalization.

Research limitations/implications: Both relationship marketing and transaction cost theory concepts are examined because it is likely that business success may be motivated by both theories. Limitations of the study are that it only includes small- and medium-sized companies in Norway. Second, it does not cover all business-to-business relationships (i.e. only manufacturer-supplier relationships are included). Finally, additional concepts should be included (i.e. dependence, cooperation, and control).

Practical implications: The results suggest that managers should work developing high levels of satisfaction in business relationships to dampen the likelihood that business partners will be opportunistic. In this regard, working on a relationship serves as a safeguard against possible future risks (e.g. opportunism).

Originality/value: This study is a seed for future research about the causes and outcomes of satisfaction in business relationships. 

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This study tests whether satisfaction plays an important role as mediator between trust and commitment, and coordination, cooperation and continuity expectance in manufacturer-supplier relationships in Norway. Management in a sample of the 500 largest manufacturer companies was approached by phone to identify key informants and surveys mailed to them. 193 usable questionnaires were received corresponding to a response rate of 38.6%. The results were analysed by structural equation modelling, using SPSS/AMOS 17.0 software. The findings support fairly well the conceptual model tested; trust relates positively to commitment and satisfaction; satisfaction, in turn, relates positively to coordination, cooperation and continuity expectance. However, commitment fails to show any significant relationship with satisfaction. This study makes an important contribution to management and future research about balancing the nomological network of quality constructs in manufacturer-supplier relationships. Results support the major impact trust may have on satisfactory relationships and the importance of satisfaction when establishing well-working governance mechanisms towards gaining enduring relationships.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the leadership tasks at the different hierarchical levels in the organisation in terms of the teleological approaches to complexity science. Design/methodology/approach: It is based upon a theoretical discussion linked to conceptual and managerial frameworks in conjunction with a conceptual analysis. Findings: The introduced conceptual and managerial frameworks provide a foundation to the understanding of organisational performance. They also strive to offer a foundation of understanding to management and leadership and how they complement each other. Research limitations/implications: It is not easy to empirically substantiate complexity in conceptual and managerial frameworks. The authors use teleological approaches of complexity science in an unorthodox way that need validation in a broader context offering opportunities for further research. Practical implications: We need to think differently about organisational performance and how we present and reflect on information that appears to be "linear" although it is not necessarily the case. Originality/value: The paper contributes to an alternative assessment organisational performance. It endeavours to reflect on the complexity of organisations and taking into account a pluralistic approach that synthesises a variety of perspectives, including a bottom-up approach to problem solving. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Purpose

– The objective of this paper is to describe a multi-layer matrix model of sustainable tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

– A conceptual discussion and illustration is provided.

Findings

– It incorporates multiple layers of a proposed process of sustainable tourism and areas of measurement interconnected through a series of gap and reconnection analyses.

Research limitations/implications

– Opportunities for further research are offered.

Practical implications

– The paper highlights the importance of linking planning and implementation to evaluation and control, but it also stresses the importance of reconnecting back to ongoing planning and implementation, in order to make necessary revisions in the process of sustainable tourism.

Originality/value

– One contribution is that sustainable tourism is not defined as a concept or construct, but as a process, since there are no achievements or progress in sustainable practices without a sequence of inter-connected and measureable doings in the context of markets and societies. Another contribution is that the process of sustainable tourism is continuous and iterative. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This paper contemplates the redefinition of the tourism planning and management concept based on sustainability, from the definition of planning within tourism, and the necessary components that serve to integrate the economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

The main novelty offered is the correlation stemming from the relationships between the components of the three dimensions and how they are interrelated, unable to consider the economic, social and of course environmental elements as isolated elements. The nexus, or essential component is the participation of the agents involved in the tourism process – not only the tourist-customer, but also the residents of the destination, both at an individual and collective level. Thus, it becomes necessary to create a model of collaboration in order to quantify, from a standpoint of sustainability, the progress reached among the agents present in the destination.

Cooperation/coordination is related to positive interorganizational outcomes.  Because Sweden is more collectivist/feminine than the U.S. (Hofstede 2001), stronger effects in Swedish distributor cooperative/coordinative relationships are expected compared to the U.S.

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the importance of selected antecedents (i.e., cooperation, coordination, and relationship investments) in a commitment-trust vendor relationship model. Collaboration in organizations often is not effective in relationships between purchasers and vendors because cooperation, coordination and relationship investment are lacking. Research on these constructs is very limited in interorganizational research, so this study is unique, therefore, in examining antecedents in a trust-commitment relationship model. Following examination of both first and second order modeling approaches, findings show the influence of these antecedents on trust and commitment, and ultimately vendor relationship satisfaction. All three antecedents are positively related to the higher order management factors construct, and in turn to both trust and commitment, with the stronger relationship being to commitment. Commitment and trust are both positively related to relationship satisfaction. The direct relationship from trust to satisfaction is strongest, but there is evidence of partial mediation through the indirect relationship from trust to commitment and then to satisfaction.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study is to test the importance of activity-oriented precursors in a relationship model. This study supports the theoretical view that firms create trust and knowledge through activities and these activities make a commitment decision less risky (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009). The secondary purpose of this study is to collect and examine data from interorganizational relationships in both Sweden and the United States. By including data from two countries, results will be more generalizable. Results can also lead to several managerial implications.

Methodology/approach: This study focuses on a sample of distributors from both the United States and Sweden. One hundred sixty-one usable surveys were returned from the U.S. survey, for a response rate of 27%. One hundred twenty-four usable surveys were returned from the Swedish survey, for a response rate of 21%. The PLS-SEM method was used to examine the model’s constructs.

Findings: Similar to past research results show that trust and commitment have a direct positive influence on satisfaction, and that trust also has a direct positive influence on commitment. However, this study uniquely supports four out of six newly tested hypotheses. Both cooperation and relationship assets have a direct positive influence on commitment. Cooperation has a direct positive influence on trust and commitment. Relationship assets have a direct negative influence on trust but a direct positive influence on commitment. Surprisingly, two hypotheses were not supported: Coordination did not have a significant relationship with either trust or commitment.

Research implications: Managers who want to achieve a satisfactory relationship based on trust and commitment need to prioritize their attention toward cooperation. They should also be aware that participation in joint activities (i.e., coordination and relationship investments) does not guarantee higher levels of trust or commitment in the relationship. It is the quality of the joint activities and the how dependent firms are on each other and not just participation in joint activities that are likely to create higher levels of trust or commitment. The quality of coordination and manageable levels of dependence may counteract the higher costs associated with joint activities compared to the costs associated with cooperation. Managers may  be wise to not make major commitments to other firms unless high quality joint activities have created knowledge and trust between firms.

Originality/value/contribution: The model adds the joint activity-oriented antecedents associated with collaboration which is essential to a successful relationship. Because of the high failure rate of collaboration may be due to cooperation and coordination failures and because these two constructs are underspecified in interorganizational research, this study is unique in examining activity-oriented antecedents in a trust/commitment model of relationship satisfaction in a crosscultural context (i.e., with U.S. and Swedish samples). © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A basic premise of inter-organisational research, from a number of different theoretical perspectives, is that selected organisations should work in harmony rather than competition with each other in order to enhance business success. From this perspective, a review of the literature reveals that three related topics are co-operation, coordination, and specific assets. Yet these constructs have not been examined together in empirical research. This study examines the relationship between these focal constructs and two antecedents (trust and commitment) and one consequent (satisfaction). As predicted, commitment leads to co-operation, coordination, and specific assets. Yet, only co-operation and coordination leads to satisfaction with the relationship. Although trust leads to co-operation, trust has a negative relationship with specific assets, which in turn, leads to lower levels of satisfaction with the relationship.