Value Creation In Relationships Research Articles

The influence of network understanding on value creation in business relationships

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how companies’ understanding of the business network influences the creation of value in business-to-business relationships. The authors do this by analysing dimensions in actors’ “network pictures” and illustrating how value perception and network understanding influence actors’ mutual effort to create value. Approaching relationship value from the point of actors’ cognitive understanding of their business network has so far been largely overlooked in relationship value research.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies a qualitative case study methodology whereby dyadic data from a well-established business-to-business relationship is collected from 18 company representatives through personal interviews and group interviews supplemented by participant observations and company data.FindingsThe findings contribute with new insight into how companies’ understanding of their surrounding network influence (facilitates or limits) relationship value creation. The authors find that companies continuously reflect on changes in their networks and the related changes in partners’ value perceptions. Through value articulations, companies seek to explicitly express their value perception. Value reflections and value articulations create a dynamic process formed not only by the individual actor but also through their relationship and engagement in their network environment. This requires companies to develop their networking capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper presents findings, insights and contributions limited to a case study of a particular business relationship within an industrial setting. Although the findings and contributions are valid and in line with the criteria for rigorous qualitative research, the authors advocate and call for additional studies that investigate relationships value creation and address the interplay between actors’ network understanding and their actions and behaviour. One way to approach this would be to test the four propositions derived and presented as part of the present study.Practical implicationsThe findings imply that management needs to be aware not only of the value created and delivered to a specific partner but also of how the partner’s understanding of the wider network will influence the value delivering and capturing process.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature on relationship value creation by outlining a dynamic process where relationship partners reflect upon and articulate value. Such activities are influenced by the partners’ network understanding and form the basis of the mutual relationship value creation effort. The findings also contribute to the network pictures literature by emphasizing insights into the formation of value perceptions through actors’ understanding of their surrounding networks.

Exploring Customer Participation and Value

Emerging marketing perspectives show that customer participation creates new opportunities for value creation. A perspective in the marketing section should be highlighted, a new opportunity must be emphasized, and customer participation should be used as a means to define the relationship benefits through their participation. The goal of customer participation is to create a high-value service process by creating cooperation with customers. This study describes and develops hypothesis verification. In the context of professional financial services in Taiwan, this study explores the effect of customer participation on value creation and satisfaction from customer and employee perspectives. It also analyzes the effects of different customer capabilities and employees’ emotional intelligence. The source of data collection is a total of 383 customer questionnaires from domestic financial institutions of two types of bank (public and private) to verify (1) how customer participation affects customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction through relationship value creation, (2) how customer ability affects the relationship between value creation and satisfaction, and (3) how employees’ emotional intelligence affects the relationship between relationship value creation and job satisfaction. This study uses the structural equation model to verify the research hypothesis and obtains the following results through empirical research: 1. Customer participation affects customer satisfaction through relationship value creation. 2. Customer participation does not completely create positive employee relationship value, which may increase work pressure. 3. Interference results show that customer ability can promote customer satisfaction, whereas employee emotional intelligence does not necessarily affect the relationship between employee relationship value creation and job satisfaction. These results contribute to the banking industry. Customer participation can promote value creation by arranging customers and financial specialists to have an appropriate interactive relationship and professional services

Mediating Role of Social Capital and Firm Value Creation in Relationship Among Microcredit, Networking and MSME’s Performance in Pakistan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of Microfinance Services and Networking relationship on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Performance with the mediating role of Social capital. This study was a descriptive survey design. The target population was 584,572 MSMEs in the province, and owner-managers of MSMEs were the unit of analysis and were targeted for information because they are likely to be the decision-makers in these businesses and are actively involved in their day to day operations. 356 MSME owner-managers were sampled. Data were obtained through adapted construct and measured from a five-point Likert scale, and interview schedules were used to collect data from the field. Qualitative data analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study found that there was a positive effect on MSME performance by Microcredit and Networking with the mediating effect of Social capital.

The Role of Retail Equity, Value and Relational Benefits in Building B2B Relationships in Retailing

The present paper aims to examine if variables widely studied in B2C contribute to building strong relationships in B2B markets. Moreover, it analyzes the existence of differences across retailers related to percentage of purchases from the main supplier. Through a personal survey to retail store managers regarding their relationships with their main suppliers, a structural equation model is estimated through PLS to test the hypothesized relations between retail equity, value, relational benefits, trust, and commitment. A multi-group analysis is performed to test the moderating role of the percentage of purchases from the main supplier. Three types of relational benefits identified have unequal influence on relationship value. In particular, special treatment benefits and social benefits, together with retail equity, emerge as the main drivers of value in the relationship between retailers and their main suppliers. The percentage of purchases from the main supplier plays a moderating role in some of these relations. This research provides evidence in the sense that, in the relations held by retailers with their main suppliers, retail equity contributes to relationship value creation. Relational benefits are relevant in building B2B relations since special treatment and social benefits have a positive influence on value that is positively related to trust and commitment. To build strong relations with their customers, suppliers of retailers should mainly concentrate their efforts on building brand equity and providing evidence of the existence of special treatment benefits beyond the service delivered, in view of its ultimate influence on customer trust and commitment.

Examining relationship value in cross-border business relationships: A comparison between correlational and configurational approaches

Value creation is the raison d'etre of a business relationship. Yet a relatively small number of studies investigate the role of relationship value in interfirm relationships in general and in cross-border business relationships in particular. This work synthesizes and extends existing research to present a conceptual model that identifies the key antecedents and outcomes of relationship value in international channel relationships. The study uses both a correlational (partial least squares-structural equation modeling) and a configurational (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) approach to test the model relationships. Comparing the findings of both approaches provides insights into the asymmetric versus symmetric relationships among the observations. The study results reveal the important roles of psychic distance, relational norms, and relationship learning in relationship value creation and the implications of relationship value in terms of relationship quality and performance.

RELACIONAMENTO MÉDICOS-INDÚSTRIA FARMACÊUTICA: DE ONDE VEM SEU VALOR?

Esse artigo quantitativo identifica critérios globais que médicos, enquanto clientes da indústria farmacêutica, percebem como capazes de criar valor de relacionamento com esta última, à luz das várias estratégias de fidelização utilizadas por ela. O uso da Modelagem de Equações Estruturais com base em Mínimos Quadrados Parciais indicou que as variáveis latentes benefícios pessoais e benefícios estratégicos foram os elementos de maior impacto nesse valor. A variável latente benefícios do produto mostrou o menor coeficiente de impacto positivo, enquanto a variável latente sacrifícios do relacionamento mostrou impacto negativo sobre o valor do relacionamento.

The nature and role of different types of commitment in inter-firm relationship cooperation

Purpose – This paper aims to consider the nature and role of commitment in delivering value in customer–supplier relationships by developing and testing a model of relationship cooperativeness. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected using an extended version of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP2) Group’s instrument. Pre-qualified managers largely self-completed the survey. Model associations were tested via regression and causal path analysis. Findings – Various aspects of commitment play differing roles in relationship development. The role of commitment was less than expected; the exception is value-based commitment which is strongly associated with value creation, conflict management, trust and cooperation. Research limitations/implications – Findings provide explanations for some inconsistencies in previous findings including reported relationships between trust, cooperation and commitment. The composition of the commitment construct(s) strongly influences relationship processes. Practical implications – There are various kinds of commitment to build and multiple pathways to levering this into more effective relationships. In addition, an important part of these findings is strong indications that illustrate what the nature of ineffective commitment-building paths is likely to be. This is extremely important for managers in guiding deployment of relationship management resources and developing relationship management practice. Social implications – The regulation of close business-to-business relationships remains an important issue, and the ways in which commitment can be appropriately extended are an important part of this. Originality/value – This work focuses on the components of commitment in ways that previous work has not. The centrality of commitment in relationship value creation – beyond increased sales and revenue and predictability – is highlighted, and there is considerable extension to the understanding of the nature of this process.

Value antecedents in relationship between tourism companies

Purpose– In the context of relationship marketing, identifying the elements that contribute to creating value for companies has become essential for managing customer satisfaction and retention. The literature has focused on business-to-end consumer relationships and there are few contributions in the business-to-business context, especially in the tourism industry. The aim of this study is to analyze the process of relationship value creation between tourism companies from the more relevant antecedents proposed in the literature: relationship benefits, long-term orientation and attitude towards the main provider.Design/methodology/approach– A survey was conducted with 309 travel agency managers who assessed the relationship with their main provider. All constructs were measured with multiple-item scales adapted from the literature. The proposed relationships were tested with a causal model estimated by robust maximum likelihood algorithm showing adequate fix indices.Findings– The results show that attitude toward the service provider, long-term relationship and relational benefits – multi-dimensional construct formed by confidence, social and special treatment benefits – make a significant contribution to the value formation in the relationship with the main provider. Furthermore, relationship benefits exert the greatest effect on relationship value.Practical implications– Based on the authors findings, practical suggestions for developing and maintaining successful long-term relations between tourism companies are proposed. To avoid the characteristic disintermediation of the travel industry, both providers and client agencies must be aware of the importance of perceived relationship value. Interpersonal elements such as trust, affective ties and preferential treatment are important aspects in the creation of that value. Service differentiation strategies are also the key to improving supplier image and perceived value in relation to the competition. Finally, the appropriate combination of ICT investment and customized service can provide major opportunities for reinforcing relations between tourism companies.Originality/value– The paper provides empirical evidence of the impact of relationship benefits, attitude and long-term orientation on relationship value in the business-to-business tourism context.

The role of virtual trade fairs in relationship value creation

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide a framework for understanding the role and contributions of virtual trade fairs in developing relationships. Using a relationship communication model, the paper aims to explore the determinants of value creation through virtual trade fairs, emphasising the impact of advanced information and communication technologies on contemporary marketing.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a conceptual work which derives research propositions from an extended literature review.FindingsThe paper provides a rationale for factors that determine value creation through virtual trade fairs. The exhibitor firm's understanding of the importance of information, network orientation, capability of customer integration, and relationship attributes are proposed as influences on the effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly approaches to developing measures of effectiveness for virtual trade fairs and for developing integration and interdependencies with other communication instruments.Practical implicationsReferring to existing arguments about the pros and cons of virtual trade fairs, the paper provides a deeper understanding of the content and effectiveness of virtual trade fairs.Originality/valueThe paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of virtual trade fairs, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.

The Impact of Relational Variables on Value Creation in Buyer–Seller Business Relationships

Purpose: This research was aimed at attaining a deeper knowledge of how customer value creation can be improved in business markets. Although trust and commitment (as relational governance mechanisms) appear to have a positive effect on customer value creation, limited empirical evidence exists about the combined effect of the aforementioned variables on improving customer value creation. This article studies why trust and commitment are key precursors to improving customer value creation in commercial relationships among companies. Methodology: Following a review of the literature, we introduce and contrast a conceptual model on a sample of 181 manufacturing companies located in Spain by means of a structural equation system. Originality: The study of these causal relationships is relevant because it provides greater knowledge of the role played by the key relational variables of trust and commitment on improving customer value creation in business markets. These variables also have an important influence on the development and maintenance of a relationship in the long term and have been the focus of recent marketing research. Findings: The empirical results reveal that: (1) distributor commitment is a direct and positive antecedent of value creation in a relationship, understood from a functionalist perspective; (2) distributor trust, the other relational variable, has an indirect effect on value creation through the distributor's commitment; and (3) this research does not tie in with previous studies that found that direct value-creating functions have a multiple-component nature representing a second-order factor.

Toward a model of strategic outsourcing

Acknowledging efficiency motives, firms have increasingly turned to outsourcing in an effort to capture cost savings. Transaction cost theory (TCT) has been the dominant means of explaining outsourcing as an economizing approach whereby cost efficiencies are achieved by assigning transactions to different governance mechanisms. Recent research has used the resource-based view (RBV) to examine the role of specialized capabilities as a potential source of value creation in relationships between firms. Although research in supply chain management has expanded substantially, only limited applications of TCT and the RBV are available, especially in the field of operations management. We extend both perspectives to explain conditions leading to strategic outsourcing.

The impact of information technology deployment on trust, commitment and value creation in business relationships

To strengthen their position in today's highly‐competitive and fast‐paced business environment, supplier firms often engage in relationships with their customers. Recent advances in information technology offer new ways of managing inter‐organizational relationships. In this paper, a model conceptualizing the impact of information technology deployment on inter‐organizational buyer‐seller relationships is developed. Using an empirical study of 61 German firms engaged in customer‐supplier relationships, this paper also gives some empirical evidence for the developed framework. With regard to relationship management, intra‐ and inter‐organizational information technology deployment has different effects on relationship atmosphere and on the relationship's value creation. The findings give new insight into the role of information technology in value‐creation in business‐to‐business relationships. Managerial implications and future research questions in this area are also discussed.