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- Ljung, Anna
(författare)
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The Multinational Company and Society : A Study of Business Network Relationships in Latin America
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The role of society for the development of multinational companies’ (MNC) business has so far not attracted much scholarly attention in international marketing. Responding to recent calls for further research relating MNCs with society, the aim of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of the MNC relationship with society. Standing on the business network perspective, the theoretical view includes society in the network. Apart from business actors, the view incorporates public actors (such as governments) and civil society actors (such as Non-Governmental Organizations). Thus, contrary to earlier business network studies, the MNC relationships with non-business actors are explicitly handled as part of the business network in this thesis.For the fulfillment of the aim - understanding the MNC relationship with society - the study applies the four relationship elements knowledge, commitment, trust and legitimacy. In further developing the theoretical view, the results from the empirical and theoretical findings in the papers, along with others’ contributions in this field, have inspired the development of interdependence in relationships. Consequently, the main emphasis in the ‘Thesis Summary’ is put on a deeper theoretical discussion of the concept of interdependence. The interdependence framework maps different relationship types with business and non-business actors in business networks. The implications on the management of the different types of relationships are also further developed.The empirical study, which inspired the theoretical development, concerns a qualitative and abductive case study of a Swedish MNC’s relationships with actors from the business, public and civil society sectors in Argentina and Brazil. The study is based on 51 interviews, observations and documentation as its main data sources. It resulted in four papers, which were developed in the areas of crisis, subsidiary strategy, radical innovation and expansion to the rural ‘Base of the Pyramid’, all applying a relational perspective.The thesis has both empirical and theoretical contributions. The major empirical contribution concerns the behavior of MNCs in emerging economies in relation to society. The theoretical development contributes deeper exploration of business relationships and network perspectives in the context of society, adding a novel employment of the same.
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| 2. |
- Pourmand, Firouze, 1981-
(författare)
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How do Small Firms Manage their Political Environment? : - A Network Perspective
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To this point research on firms’ political behavior has contributed knowledge concerning large firms’ relationships and strategies with political actors and their surrounding environment. Less is known about small firms’ behavior towards political organizations. As a matter of fact, the fields of international marketing, international business and corporate political science have left the political behavior of small firms almost untouched. Therefore, extant literature assumes that small firms due to their resource constraints are passive receivers of political initiatives. About 99 percent of all firms within the European Union are small firms, and it is therefore questioned whether all these firms are passive receivers of political initiatives. The intention with this thesis is to challenge some assumptions regarding how small firms manage their relationships with political actors concerning EU related rules and regulations. Consequently, the study raises the overarching research question; how do small firms manage their political environment? Theoretically, the study takes a network perspective on business political interaction to examine both individual and/or collective political behavior of small firms. It develops a theoretical view constituted of knowledge, commitment and legitimacy. Methodologically, two sequential stages are followed: first an in-depth qualitative case study of three successful cases is presented and second, the in-depth understanding is broadened to a wider population of firms based on a quantitative survey. A central contribution of this thesis is to aid research on the political behavior of small firms. It is found that small firms, in contrast to prevailing assumptions, do possess political resources. They are not passive receivers of political initiatives. Instead, the findings show that small firms are active and can exercise influence. This, however, is shown to be dependent on the firm’s political commitment, political knowledge and competency and business-political legitimacy. It is also shown that small firms mobilize these critical resources not only directly, but also indirectly through various intermediating actors. Besides the theoretical contributions, these conclusions are important not just because of the managerial implications but also, and perhaps more importantly, for the policy implications that can be drawn from the study. Being exploratory and opening up the black box of small firm’s political behavior, the thesis ends with a number of future research directions.
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| 3. |
- Hansen, Therese
(författare)
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Internet or Traditional Stores : Identifying Influences on Consumers' Mobile Phone Purchases
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This explorative study aims to identify factors that can explain why some consumer purchases occur via Internet Stores while others take place in traditional stores. During the last few years' development of IT and Internet, the thoroughly explored research area of where consumers purchase has come to involve a new type of retail store, the Internet store. Even though there are other, perhaps more established, sales channels involving a distance between buyer and seller, for instance, mail-order and telephone, sales via the Internet have made researchers view consumers' choice of retail store with new eyes.Interviews, group discussions and a survey were used to capture both consumers' and firms' perspectives on the phenomenon under study. Theoretically, the study is built upon the interaction perspective with a focus on the consumer-retailer relationship. The business network perspective and the concept of connected actors were used to understand the context of the consumer-retailer relationship.The study has resulted in an analytical framework of internal and external influences on where consumers make purchases. Internal influences refer to concepts related to the consumer-retailer relationship: experiential knowledge, trust/distrust and commitment. These explain consumers' inclination to stay with their favourite store(s) instead of trying a new one, such as, an Internet store. External influences involve concepts referring to the context of the consumer-retailer relationship: information and commitment to brands. These influences may either strengthen or weaken a consumer's relationship with a retailer. If the relationship is weakened or dissolved the consumer may turn to a new retail store.
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| 4. |
- Leite, Emilene, 1976-
(författare)
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Complexity in the 'Extended' Business Network : A Study of Business, Social, and Political Relationships in Smart City Solutions
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis an 'extended' business network is investigated. The ‘extended’ view refers to the inclusion of socio-political actors in the firm’s business network. Building on a business network perspective, the thesis’ purpose is to understand how interactions between business, social, and political actors influence the development of smart city solutions. Based on the findings from the four articles included in the thesis, a complexity lens for further understanding of interaction with socio-political actors is presented. It argues that reaching success in the relationship entails finding a balance between economic and social needs.Through the analysis of two smart city projects developed in Brazil, this study investigates the influence of socio-political actors on firms’ cooperative and competitive behavior as well as their decisions relating to resource allocation. The findings illustrate that decisions to cooperate or compete are associated with centrality. The firm’s willingness to be a central actor, i.e., a project leader, places traditional buyer-supplier partners in competition. In addition to this, resource allocation is closely linked to customization. In cities demanding a high level of customization of the smart city solution, companies will be encouraged to allocate resources to exploitation, while in cities requiring a low level of customization, exploration will be chosen instead. But knowledge about how to allocate resources is closely linked to the centrality issue, since a central actor may enjoy better access to a large pool of resources and information. Consequently, the final outcome in relational terms can lead to win-lose rather than a win-win situation if rivalry for centrality between business partners intensifies over time.The study of such complex interaction contributes to the industrial marketing and business network literature by providing a practical perspective and showing how socio-political actors can be a source of competitive advantages for companies. In addition, this thesis suggests that managers need to cope with the complexity inherent in such type of relationships, primarily due the fact that interaction with socio-political actors has important competitive implications for firms. Ultimately, the thesis offers a framework for investigating complexity in actors’ interactions and resource heterogeneity that complements our understanding of intraorganizational relationships, opening opportunities for a new perspective and better comprehension of the influence of socio-political actors in firms’ business networks.
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