ABSTRACT. This paper conceptualizes multilevel resilience-creating efforts of business nets using digital technologies. Resilience is the capacity to absorb stress, recover, and adapt its core to post-disruption conditions. Several research contributions have addressed the role of digital enablement of business activities extending the single firm; digital technologies can support resilience-building across different organizational levels. However, the literature does not discuss the differences in perspectives offered by digital tools. Moreover, since firms depend on the resources and activities of other firms, resilience is a result of actions taken at multiple levels of an organization. As such, digital enablement of resilience must be considered at different levels: the firm, dyad, and network. Through examples from these three levels, we illustrate how digital technologies are integral to resilience, involving lead firms, collaborators, and wider network contexts with self-organizing properties. Thus, we pose the following research question: How do digital technologies enable resilience-building in different levels of business nets? We forward the notion of digitally enabled resilience and argue that digital technology has become essential to increase resilience in business networks. We show and argue that it is vital to consider the levels of the firm, dyad, and network when developing our understanding of how resilience can be improved. The discussion of how digital technologies enable resilience-building at different levels reveals that digitally enabled resilience relies on different but complementary efforts fused with trade-offs. Some involve the lead firm, others involve the collaborative efforts of the lead firm together with a supplier/customer, some rely on the supplier/customer firms without the direct involvement of the lead firm, and others involve how the lead firm and the non-lead firms relate to digital technology and resilience-enabling digital solutions provided by the wider network. We end the paper by providing future research directions.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, firms have faced numerous external challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of electricity, raw-material scarcity, inflation, and war. All these challenges have had a huge impact on the operations and performance of the firms. In order to survive and succeed, resilience has become a key factor. Resilience is related to overcoming crises and emerging stronger after crises. Therefore, it is important to understand how organizations can positively adjust or function during crises. Resilience in business networks is an under-explored area and particularly studies focusing on resilience from a broader network perspective comprising several types of actors such as customers, suppliers and competitors are scarce. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge on the dynamics of organizational resilience.

To fill the existing research gaps, the aim of the study is to increase understanding of resilience in small firms from the perspective of time and space. The research question is as follows: How can resilience be strengthened from a dynamic and multilevel perspective?

The empirical part of the paper is based on interviews with managers of micro-breweries.

ABSTRACT. The importance of supply chain resilience (SCRes) has been highlighted in recent times. However, the capabilities crucial to creating, leading, and managing resilient supply chains in the future are not well established. In this research, we studied this topic through workshops with Finnish industry experts on utopian and dystopian future scenarios. Resilient supply chains consist of resilient organizations, which is why we also include organizational resilience (OR) in our analysis. A particular interest is taken in dynamic capabilities, as being able to rapidly address changes in the business environment is a key component of SCRes.

The workshops were conducted in two stages: in the first stage, carried out during the summer of 2023, one workshop was carried out with a Finnish industrial cluster “HSEQ® Cluster” and the other with the Finnish Production Control Society. In these workshops, the participants were presented dystopian and utopian scenarios of the European supply chain landscape in 2025 and discussed what capabilities are needed in these scenarios. A multidimensional SCRes management framework was created based on the workshop discussions and previous scientific knowledge. In the second workshop stage in April 2024, the two expert societies were combined in a workshop, in which the framework was validated and elaborated based on the discussion.

The finalized SCRes framework consists of five levels, with leadership in organizations and supply chains forming the basis. This is followed by collaboration, communication, proactive business continuity management, and the development of an agile and change-ready organization. The importance of dynamic capabilities, both within organizations and their interfaces, was also highlighted.

ABSTRACT. This early-stage project started out with a series of empirical observations over the last decades of how high-end restaurants in Norway are created, by whom, and how they seem to contribute to placemaking, i.e., the emergence of spatially defined markets and business networks for restaurants, suppliers and to some extent the city or local community as a destination. Participation in the Bocuse d’Or chef competition is a defining part of these entrepreneurial chefs’ histories, later becoming team mentors and competition judges. A key driver to several of them is the ideal of sustainability in food production and consumption. Being at the cutting edge of the food and the destination industries, industries with substantial footprints on the planet, high-end restaurants and their chef entrepreneurs are increasingly aware of their potential influence on food trends and consumption.

These observations led us to ask three broad empirical questions: First, how do cooking contest ecosystems contribute to food entrepreneurship? Second, how do entrepreneurial chef-driven restaurants and their emerging collaborative business networks contribute to the making of place? Third, how do such localized business networks contribute to sustainability in the production, distribution and consumption of food?

Learning to cook has always been based on apprenticeship and learning-by-doing. It is common that young and ambitious chef novices travel around the world to work for shorter and longer periods of time in high-end restaurants. Later in their careers, many of them start businesses on the own. Adding to this, institutionalized knowledge ecosystems for haute cuisine have emerged to prepare young candidates for the most prestigious international cooking contests.

Surprisingly, Norway has had the most award-winning participants in the international and world-leading cooking contest of Bocuse d’Or over the last decades. Moreover, Norwegian chefs having performed well in these contests seem to form a pattern where they eventually start their own restaurants, some of which get awarded Michelin stars, and then gradually develop place-based business networks of more restaurants, suppliers and business services, often with a strong ideal of local and sustainable production and consumption of food. Over time, the cities of Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger, in addition to a few rural tourist destinations, have become places for multiple and highly networked high-end and mid-level restaurants, shaping the local market for restaurants, becoming a ‘food destination’, and contributing to developing local suppliers.

Let us illustrate the kind of pattern we have anecdotally observed, with the chef Sven Erik Renaa, who have contributed substantially to developing the city of Stavanger into a place for gourmet foods: After learning the basics at a hotel restaurant in his hometown Trondheim, Renaa moved to Oslo, to work in a series of acknowledged restaurants. Then his journey took him to New York and Park Avenue Café with famous chef and entrepreneur David Burke. Back in Oslo, in 2000 he became part of the team of the new restaurant Oro, which earned a Michelin star in 2001. The other chefs on the team were Terje Ness, who won the international Bocuse d’Or in 1999 and later started multiple businesses in Oslo, Björn Svensson, who later started 5-6 restaurants, all of them earning a Michelin star shortly after startup, and Lise Finckenhagen, who had background from Ferran Adria’s El Bulli and many other international restaurants, and was one of the first women to participate in the Bocuse d’Or competition, being on the Norwegian winning team together with Ness (1999). After Oro, Lise went on to become a leading TV chef and book author. The latter three were all young chefs in the legendary two-star Oslo restaurant Bagatelle in the 1990’ies.

Renaa moved to Stavanger in 2001, to work for several years in the competence center ‘the Culinary Institute’, before finally starting his own restaurant ‘Re-Naa’ in 2009 together with his wife Torill. The focus from the start was on sustainability and local produce on the south-west coast of Norway, with excellent seafood available, and the most productive farmland in Norway just outside the city. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 2016, and its second star in 2020. In parallel, the Renaa couple created several new businesses in Stavanger – a bistro, a bar, a combined bakery, chocolaterie and icecream factory, and several more. Over the years, Sven Erik has repeatedly trained new young chefs to win medals in Bocuse d’Or, both as employer, and as mentor and manager for ‘the Norwegian national team’. The number of young chefs having worked in Renaa’s restaurants before moving on to start their own is yet to be counted. One example is Ola Klepp, chef at Re-Naa 2016-2018, who together with his wife Elisabeth Kress started ‘k2’ in Stavanger in 2020, with the sustainability ideal “to make footprint as small as possible” (firm website). In 2023 they received a Michelin star, as well as the ‘Green Star’ for their outstanding sustainable practices. The impact to and inspiration for regional farming and seafood suppliers will also need to be mapped out.

Two institutional actors stand out in Renaa’s story: The Culinary Institute in Stavanger, and the Foundation Norwegian Gastronomy (FNG) (the official Norwegian partner for Bocuse d’Or). While both play important roles, the latter is of particular interest. FNG is a small and highly network-based organization, drawing on almost all Norwegian elite chefs, particularly those having participated in previous competitions, to act as mentors, trainers and judges in regional and national competitions. They also provide gastronomic and industry knowledge, as well as strong partnerships with major industry players, and may help partner candidates with actors and training infrastructures.

This study will consist of multiple case studies of the generative interactions between the expertise ecosystem, the entrepreneurial business networks and the emerging geographical/market place for high-end food experiences. The first data gathering is planned for April/May 2024, which will include exploratory interviews and observations of a prospering entrepreneurial ecosystem in Stavanger, Norway, including Renaa and colleagues. We will also seek to map the circulation and pathways of young chefs, as well as how these restaurants impact local suppliers.

This will enable developing a full working paper in time for the IMP conference track on “Place-based research on business networks and markets”. Later similar regional case studies will be conducted in the city of Trondheim, and potentially Oslo. Rural examples will also be considered.

We expect the study to enable analyses of the relationships between expert networks, entrepreneurial chefs and localized resources in the making of place, through creating markets and business networks for high-end and sustainable food production and consumption. From this, we aim to contribute to relevant debates on place in constructivist market studies, business networks, and to entrepreneurial ecosystems research.

ABSTRACT. The concept of "place" is often neglected within the IMP research. This paper builds the ontological perspective of place as practice (Cartel et al., 2022). Despite its significance, the role of place in industrial marketing (IMP) has been underexplored, particularly in relation to firm development initiatives. This study addresses this gap by examining the dynamic interplay between firms and place within a regional strategic network initiative (RSN). Drawing on observations and interviews, we investigate how firms interact within a specific place to leverage its resources for mutual benefit. By viewing place as a dynamic and heterogeneous resource, we aim to contribute to the understanding of firm activities and resource interdependencies.

Track: Place-based research on business networks and market

ABSTRACT. This paper delves into the strategic actions for strong sustainability within a regional waste network. Insights were derived based on five waste collection companies, revealing a predominant focus on actions aligned with weak sustainability. The drivers behind these actions were presented, emphasizing the interconnectedness of actors. Strategies for strong sustainability was presented with a particular emphasis on three core areas: promoting solutions within the circular economy, enhancing information flow, and learning mechanisms, and fostering collaborative strategies for enhanced recycling efficiency. These findings for inefficient waste management present valuable insights for stakeholders aiming to navigate towards a more sustainable future.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the recovery processes in business-to-business (B2B) relationships, focusing on the emotional experiences participants undergo throughout these processes. Our study is grounded in the premise that emotions, affects, and moods are inherent components of every B2B relationship involving individuals, and they significantly influence the course of the relationship. Emotions, seen here as brief and evaluative reactions to the current situation, along with bodily sensations, guide subsequent actions and decisions. Consequently, we reject the notion of entirely rational decision-making and argue that understanding developments in B2B relationships necessitates acknowledging their emotional dimension.

Recent B2B research (e.g., Chugh, Gould, Leach & Liu, 2023; Tuzovic, Mulcahy & Russell-Bennett, 2022) and, specifically, the IMP literature (e.g., Koporcic, Nietola & Nicholson, 2020) have increasingly focused on individuals representing their companies and making decisions in that capacity. This perspective underscores the importance of individuals, their decisions, and their human nature, including the emotional aspect, in shaping B2B relationship dynamics.

A noteworthy aspect of B2B relationship dynamics is relationship recovery, defined as "all the actions taken to continue a business relationship after a transgression that could possibly end in dissolution" (Fleming, Tähtinen & Kelliher, 2022, 934). While relationship recovery processes remain relatively understudied (with exceptions such as Fleming et al., 2022; Mora Cortez & Johnston, 2020; Salo, Tähtinen & Ulkuniemi, 2009), they offer the potential to unveil micro-processes within relationships. Consequently, they serve as an apt setting for a study that emphasizes individuals and their emotions within B2B relationships, especially since Tähtinen and Blois (2011) suggest that positive emotions in problematic relationships can aid in their recovery. Responding to Koporcic et al.'s (2020) call for more empirical research on the role of negative emotions in decision-making, we delve into the role of discrete emotions, both negative and positive, at each stage of the recovery processes. Despite negative feelings being associated with damaging relationships and reducing future prospects (Leonidou et al., 2018), we assert that both negative and positive emotions are natural elements in relationships and warrant joint examination. We pose a research questions; what emotional journeys the B2B relationships go through during recovery process.

To address the question, we re-used narrative data from Irish SMEs and applied the principles of abduction and narrative analysis (Kleres, 2011). The data comprise stories of problematic relationships teetering on the brink of dissolution, recounting events, actions taken, and changes over time. Importantly, the 25 stories were narrated without any prompting about the involved emotions, making their verbal expressions intrinsic parts of the recounted stories. Approaching the stories with the idea that "the nature of emotions is narrative, and conversely, that narratives are emotional" (Kleres, 2011, 185), we aim to unveil emotional narratives within B2B relationship recovery processes.

The findings reveal a diverse array of emotions, both negative and positive, triggered during B2B relationship recovery processes. The fundamental role of these emotions is evident in the seven different emotional journeys. Firstly, emotional narratives describing the recovery processes differ significantly, surpassing the categorization proposed by Fleming et al. (2022) for recovery outcomes. Secondly, even the most intense negative emotions experienced during the recovery process do not singularly dictate the subsequent course of the journey. Consequently, this paper stands among the pioneering efforts offering insights into the emotional narratives of B2B relationship recovery processes.

References:

Chugh, R., Gould, N., Leach, M. P., & Liu, A. H. (2023). B2B Buyers' emotions and regulatory focus in justice and switch back decisions. Industrial Marketing Management, 109, 73-89.

Fleming, D., Tähtinen, J. & F. Kelliher (2022) Can We Mend Fences? A Model of Recovery Processes of SME Business-to-Business Relationships. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 37(4) 932–943.

Kleres, J. (2011). Emotions and narrative analysis: A methodological approach. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 41(2), 182-202.

Koporcic, N., Nietola, M., & Nicholson, J. D. (2020). IMP: it’s time to get emotional! Understanding the role of negative emotions in dynamic decision-making processes. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 35(12), 2151-2163.

Leonidou, L. C., Aykol, B., Hadjimarcou, J., & Palihawadana, D. (2018). Betrayal in buyer–seller relationships: Exploring its causes, symptoms, forms, effects, and therapies. Psychology & Marketing, 35(5), 341–356.

Mora Cortez, R., & Johnston, W. J. (2020). How to recover B2B relationships after a failed online reverse auction. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 35(3), 551-563.

Salo, A., Tähtinen, J. and P. Ulkuniemi (2009) Twists and Turns of Triadic Relationship Recovery, Industrial Marketing Management, 38(6), 618–632.

Tuzovic, S., Mulcahy, R., & Russell-Bennett, R. (2022). A hostile tale of disclosure and betrayal: Business perceptions of offshoring services. Industrial Marketing Management, 102, 74-88.

Tähtinen, J. and K. Blois (2011) The Involvement and Influence of Emotions in Problematic Business Relationships, Industrial Marketing Management, 40(6) 907-918.

ABSTRACT. Theoretical Background The main aim of this paper is to investigate the new strategies of Humanistic Management, which is based on participatory models of knowledge creation, including stakeholders in formulating the brand purpose. The new paradigm outlines a new way of doing business and a set of policies and decisions oriented towards collaboration, overcoming organizational hierarchies and improving the commitment of heterogeneous stakeholders. In this vein, companies will have to be increasingly equipped with the capabilities to manage both stakeholder claims and society’s expectations of responsibility, which are not always complementary (Freeman et al., 2007; Pirson, 2020). In the 20th century, a first definition of Humanistic Management was developed closely linked to human motivation. In the 1980s, Humanistic Management focused on organizational culture. In the third interpretation, Humanistic Management led to considering the organization as a community of people (Melè, 2016). The perspective of Humanistic Management reconsiders the role of the firm and the entrepreneur in society. Humanistic Management supports social entrepreneurship and social enterprise (Meija, 2019), including the development of benefit corporations and BCorp. From an external perspective, the new paradigm concerns the strengthening of relationships between people, communities, society and the environment (Laszlo, 2019). From an internal perspective, Humanistic Management relates to human resource management, occupational health and safety, working climate, gender equality and inclusion. The two pillars of Humanistic Management perspective have been identified in dignity and wellbeing (Hicks, 2018). In particular, Humanistic Management requires firms to develop innovative activities. Focusing on Industrial Network approach, the activity-perspective on business relationships “means that actors are understood by the activities they perform, while resources are understood as the resources that these activities require” (Prenkert, 2000, p. 2). We consider the activity system as “a model for analyzing purposive activities performed by subjects with certain intentions and roles, and who are socially related to a collective“ (Prenkert, 2000, p. 7).

Methodology Our research relates a multiple-case study (Yin, 2009), combining primary and secondary data. The collection of primary data relates to semi-structured interviews with key informants of firms belonging to the Italian Association of Centenary Companies. On the basis of the Industrial Network approach, our attention has concerned the Actors involved, the Resources provided, and the Activities developed (ARA model) in new Humanistic Management strategies. Going further into depth, the analysis identified the key activites developed by 2 Italian centenary companies.

Preliminary findings From the analysis of the two preliminary case studies it emerges that the history of Italian centenary companies is mainly characterized by tradition, culture and entrepreneurial passion. The companies analyzed, in fact, launched innovative products in their sectors while enhancing their stories through ad hoc initiatives and events, training projects for employees and external stakeholders (for example aimed at the new generations reached in schools). Furthermore, in order to enhance their history and brand heritage, the companies involved in this analysis opened corporate museums at their historic headquarters, creating multisensory spaces aimed at telling the story of the company, the family and revealing the genesis of the products. Finally, through extensive communication campaigns on both traditional media and digital channels with a focus on valorizing the corporate traditions, the Italian centenary companies tried to consolidate the notoriety of their brands.

Preliminary references Freeman, R. E., Martin, K., & Parmar, B. (2007), “Stakeholder capitalism”, Journal of Business Ethics,74(4), 303-314.

Johnsen T.E., Miemczyk J., & Howard M. (2017), “A systematic literature review of sustainable purchasing and supply research: theoretical perspectives and opportunities for IMP-based research”, Industrial Marketing Management, 61, 130-143.

Laszlo C. (2019), “Strengthening Humanistic Management”, Humanistic Management Journal, 4, 85-94.

Melé, D. (2016), “Understanding Humanistic Management”, Humanistic Management Journal, 1, 33–55.

Pirson, M. (2020). “A humanistic narrative for responsible management learning: An ontological perspective”, Journal of Business Ethics, 162, 775-793.

ABSTRACT. Previous studies suggest that there are positive effects of Additive Manufacturing (AM) on supply chain performance. This paper focuses on AM as a way to reduce the climate impact of transport activities in a firm’s supply network (Gadde et al., 2010). We analyse the effects in terms of supply network reconfigurations together with how supplier relationships and the coordination of production and transport activities may be affected (Dubois et al., 2004). The paper concludes that AM seems promising as a means to reduce transport emissions since the need for transport can be reduced together with less emitting transport modes, but points to the need to scrutinise interdependencies at the activity level.

The analysis of the potentials inherent in AM as a means to reduce freight emissions needs to address several levels of analysis: firms, business relationships and networks of connected relationships. Hence, for individual firms the issue relates to three strategic purchasing issues; the division of labour, the individual supplier relationships, and the network of supplier relationships (Gadde and Håkansson, 1994). However, we also suggest that other levels and units of analysis are needed to capture different aspects of supply chain reconfigurations and freight transport emissions; (1) supply chains as defined by products (e.g., components) subject to AM considerations and the connections with other supply chains of the firms involved (Dubois et al., 2004), together with the transport activities as focal activities in analysis of the interdependences with other activities in the supply network, and (2) different combinations of units of analysis are also needed going forward to make sense of how to approach transport activities as integrated in supply networks. For instance, by analysing transport activities in terms of how they are embedded in products.

References Dubois, A., Hulthén, K., Pedersen, A-C., 2004. Supply Chains and Interdependence: A Theoretical Analysis. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol. 10 (1), pp. 3-9.

Gadde, L-E., Håkansson, H., 1994. The changing role of purchasing: reconsidering three strategic issues. European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol. 1 (1), pp. 27-35.

Gadde, L.-E., Håkansson, H., Persson, G., 2010. Supply Network Strategies. Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

ABSTRACT. Despite conflicting accounts of diminishing brand loyalty, it remains a holy grail where marketers strive to entice, engage and retain customers for sustenance and growth of business(Ramachandran & Balasubramanian, 2020). The emergence of digital technology has transformed marketing significantly over the recent years. The confluence of digital technologies with marketing have been examined by numerous studies in the past. Technology is reshaping wide swaths of markets in digital environments and contributing to the rapidly evolving role of marketing in these markets(Agarwal, Dugas, Gao, & Kannan, 2019; Grewal, Hulland, Kopalle, & Karahanna, 2019; Sridhar & Fang, 2019; Yadav & Pavlou, 2019). Studies have also examined how recent technological advances such as augmented reality, virtual reality and haptic feedback are increasing the sensory richness of social media and how technology-enabled interactions between and among consumers and firms have continued to increase(Appel, Grewal, Hadi, & Stephen, 2020) However, marketers is still little understanding about the path to be taken to the holy grail and there appears a serious gap in the literature about theories or conceptual models on developing brand loyalty in a rapidly developing AI age. Drawing on academic research spanning twenty years (2004-2024), this systematic literature review examines how technology-enabled interactions between the consumers and firms are reshaping the brand loyalty formations; propose a conceptual model and identify future research directions.

ABSTRACT. This paper focuses on the knotty interdependencies between the physical market for renewable electricity (production and distribution) and the market for trading the renewable attributes of that electricity as virtual commodities. Public actors are key to constructing environmental markets (Callon, 2009) in enabling inter-organisational responses (Harrison et al., 2023) towards climate change. One such intervention is the EU regulatory framework for Guarantees of Origin (GOs) for renewable electricity, and the market that has evolved in response to it. GOs are one type of energy attribute certificate (EAC). The primary goal of the GO framework is to provide proof about the source of electricity to end users, thus enabling informed decisions. A second goal is to encourage further investments in renewable energy. However, despite its rapid growth, the GO market has ‘failed’ in the information asymmetry and additionality goals (Mulder & Zomer, 2016). This is because although GOs technically enable tracking a certificate to specific production resources, in practice they have been viewed as environmental commodities, differentiated by price, not origin. In this paper, we view the GO market as a contested space, underpinned by various actors’ differing market visions. Although prior studies underline the importance of market visions in initiating market shaping (Flaig & Ottosson, 2022; Storbacka et al., 2022), little is known about how alternate and possibly competing visions influence these efforts. In this paper, we contend that considering the multiplicity of market visions (Kjellberg et al., 2012) is crucial in understanding the development of markets designed for achieving sustainability goals. We link the market-shaping debate to the Interaction and Network Approach (INA) by outlining the interplays between competing market visions and the resource layer (Baraldi et al., 2023; Prenkert et al., 2022). We discuss: ‘how do competing market visions intend to (re)shape the interdependencies between the physical electricity market and the virtual GO certificate market?’.

ABSTRACT. Transitions toward more sustainable markets are considered one of the key megatrends in a contemporary business environment (Möller, Nenonen, and Storbacka 2020). In line with a branch of market studies that view markets as shapeable dynamic systems (Nenonen and Storbacka 2021; Sprong et al. 2021), scholars in the field of sustainability transitions research consistently acknowledge the importance of agential efforts in initiating, accelerating, and maintaining systemic change (Fischer and Newig 2016). Much attention in this field has been dedicated to intermediaries as actors, endowed with linking, coordinating, and translating functions that lead to establishing connections across networks (Kivimaa et al. 2019). Yet, despite the recognition of the roles of wider sets of actors beyond the buyer-seller dyad in the formation and transformation of markets, intermediaries have so far received limited attention in market shaping research and, specifically, in its emerging subdomain of sustainable market shaping (Storbacka et al. 2022). In this study, we explore the concept of an intermediary actor in sustainability transitions literature to gain an introductory perspective on the role of intermediaries in shaping markets toward sustainability. Applying sustainability transitions as a method theory, our study therefore aims to contribute to the market shaping literature as a domain theory by building an understanding of transition intermediaries as a discrete category of market-shaping actors. For this purpose, we discuss the market as the object of shaping efforts in the two research fields (Boon, Magnusson, and Hyysalo 2022; Nøjgaard and Bajde 2021), provide an overview of intermediary actor roles in sustainability transitions, and illustrate these roles in pertinence to sustainable market shaping, drawing on empirical studies from the transitions research. Our study is guided by the objective to categorize mechanisms, deployed by intermediaries in sustainability transitions to influence markets in pursuit of improved social and environmental outcomes.

ABSTRACT. 1. Introduction Healthcare systems worldwide face multifaceted, rising challenges in their efforts to deliver equitable access to affordable, efficient and effective care. Demand and unit costs are rising. To address such issues, market shaping strategies can ensure that the relationship between all the actors remains strong, while providing a more competitive, healthier market (Torvinen & Ulkuniemi, 2016). ‘Quasi-markets’ in the care sector are however notoriously difficult to manage (Carey et al., 2020). In the Netherlands, contracting for social care services was devolved in 2017 for adult services, and earlier for youth care, with the explicit aim of reducing costs. It is now centred on a complex set of interactions between three parties: 300+ municipalities (clients), service providers (commercial companies or non-profits) and the end-customers (service users). Yet, since devolution, costs have risen significantly (CBS, 2023). The Dutch Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sport has attributed this in part to the inefficiencies of the commonly-used Open House contracting arrangement, a framework agreement including all providers which meet threshold criteria (de Koster, 2019). Efforts to reduce the number of (typically very small) provider organizations and associated transaction costs risk promoting market consolidation and associated problems as encountered in other European countries (e.g., Corlet Walker et al., 2021). Furthermore, whilst the Ministry could in principle direct municipalities to contract in specific ways, this runs counter to established policy and political norms. An alternative route to shaping a dynamic, competitive and sustainable market lies in market shaping by municipalities. This is what is explored in the market shaping study reported here. As the landscape of healthcare continues to evolve, it is essential to anticipate and understand the potential implications of decision-making processes, and their emergent versus intentional implications. Acknowledging the goal of delivering public/societal value (Cluley et al., 2023; van Gestel et al., 2023), rather than competitive advantage, we focus on the notion of market stewarding and address: how can public buyers shape the social care services contracting market? , investigating three sub-questions: (a) Are sourcing strategies (e.g. municipalities pooling requirements at a region level) developed with the intention of market shaping? (b) What (if any) changes in sourcing strategies are driven by market shaping goals? (c) What are the implications of changes in sourcing strategies for market structure and market governance?

2. Literature review - Market shaping There has been a growing interest from scholars and professionals alike regarding market shaping strategies. Market shaping strategy refers to the agential efforts of firms, consumers, public actors, and various collectives to influence market formation and transformation (Nenonen & Storbacka, 2021). Seven theoretical perspectives have been used to examine market shaping ((1) institutional approaches, (2) resource-based theories, (3) practice theories, (4) social movement theories, (5) innovation research, (6) entrepreneurship, and (7) service-dominant logic (Nenonen & Storbacka, 2021). In the public sphere, in their regular purchasing processes, contracting authorities typically do not regard the market as influenceable, but rather as an intangible construction determined by suppliers’ competitive actions, that is, they have a “market taker” stance (Cox et al., 2005; Knight et al., 2015). Market shaping, on the other hand, advocates for a more proactive approach, and a shift towards “market maker” (Mazzucato, 2018). These strategies include creating alternative supply sources, shaping strategic sub-markets, fostering closer relationships with suppliers (Caldwell et al., 2005), consolidating procurement agencies (Phillips et al., 2007), engaging in buyer-buyer networking (Essig, 2000), and promoting innovation (Ulkuniemi et al., 2015; Uyarra & Flanagan, 2010). Carey et al. (2020) delineated an additional avenue, shedding light on empirical evidence to market “steering” efforts. This phenomenon encompasses an increase in the involvement of public entities in contracting and tendering processes with non-governmental organisations. In their approach to contracting, public buyers generate structural change in the supplier markets. Whether their decisions are just based on a local and near time purchasing perspective, or whether they also factor in longer-term market-level implications is the focus of this study. If the latter, then buyers can be said to be market-shaping, whether purposively or less intentionally.

3. Methodology This study has two main empirical strands. First, a comprehensive dataset of tendering activities by Dutch municipalities for social care is analysed to develop a detailed picture of contracting since responsibility was devolved from central government for social services for adults (7 services) and youth care (10 services, some highly specialist, others not). The data include contracting instruments and pooling (i.e. regional consortia) arrangements. This exceptional, longitudinal dataset provides a comprehensive national overview and allows us to ‘zoom in’ to the level of municipalities and consortia. Second, we plan interviews with municipality buyers and managers to assess the impact of the chosen contracting policies and methods on the local and national market. As well as providing insights on the dynamism of contracting practices and markets, the dataset is used to develop a suitable sample for municipalities to approach for interviews. There are two groups for interviews: those which have not changed and those which have changed their contracting practices since devolution. The semi-structured interviews (Magaldi & Berler, 2020) will elicit why (rationales and strategic intent) municipalities have (not) changed their contracting practices, and the anticipated and realised impacts of (not) changing. We will explore their understanding of how their decisions influence the competitiveness and dynamism of the provider market, and whether their contracting choices are made with the intention of influencing market health in the long term, locally and/or nationally.

4. Expected results In our descriptive quantitative analysis of the dataset there are three distinct groups: (1) municipalities consistent in their contracting methods (2) municipalities transitioning contracting methods from Open House to Public Contracting (tendering used to evaluate and select a limited set of suppliers) (3) municipalities transitioning contracting methods from Public Contracting to Open House. In instances where municipalities changed contracting methods, interviewees are asked about motivations and (expected and actual) outcomes at both the local/regional and national level. This helps reveal buyers’ understanding of the national context and perceptions of their agency to influence provider markets. We will gain insights on their perceived role in shaping or altering the national market landscape, and whether their decisions were strategically grounded in purposeful market-shaping or would (just) align with strategic procurement objectives. Complementary questions will be put to interviewees representing municipalities which have not changed, with a particular focus on their reasons for (in)action. The first round of interview analysis is descriptive providing a rich overview of responses. Then, through pairwise comparison within the groups and inter-group analysis, and analytic coding, we will develop a nuanced picture of the dynamics governing buyer-supplier relationships within the context of contracting methods in municipalities, and the potential for market stewarding. Implications for policy and practice: we expect the findings will provide novel insights helping to connect local (in)action and national-level policy concerns and assumptions about market developments. Implications for research: this study contributes to market shaping literature and the management of quasi-markets. 

5. References Caldwell, N., Walker, H., Harland, C., Knight, L., Zheng, J., & Wakeley, T. (2005). Promoting competitive markets: The role of public procurement. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 11(5), 242–251. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2005.12.002 Carey, G., Malbon, E., Green, C., Reeders, D., & Marjolin, A. (2020). Quasi-market shaping, stewarding and steering in personalization: the need for practice-orientated empirical evidence. Policy Design and Practice, 3(1), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2019.1704985 CBS. (2023, July 7). Care expenditure up by 1.2 percent in 2022. https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2023/27/care-expenditure-up-by-1-2-percent-in-2022 Cluley, V., Parker, S., & Radnor, Z. (2023). Public value for all? Considering the parameters of public value co-creation. In Public Money & Management (Vol. 43, Issue 1, pp. 1–3). Taylor & Francis. Corlet Walker, C., Druckman, A., & Jackson, T. (2021). Careless finance: Operational and economic fragility in adult social care. Guildford: Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, 1–42. Cox, A., Chicksand, D., & Ireland, P. (2005). Overcoming demand management problems: the scope for improving reactive and proactive supply management in the UK health service. Journal of Public Procurement. de Koster, Y. (2019, June 15). Minister wil af van Open House in jeugdzorg. https://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/sociaal/minister-wil-geen-open-house-jeugdzorg Essig, M. (2000). Purchasing consortia as symbiotic relationships: developing the concept of “consortium sourcing.” European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 6(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-7012(99)00031-3 Knight, L., Pfeiffer, A., & Scott, J. (2015). Supply market uncertainty: Exploring consequences and responses within sustainability transitions. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 21(3), 167–177. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2015.04.002 Magaldi, D., & Berler, M. (2020). Semi-structured Interviews. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences (pp. 4825–4830). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_857 Mazzucato, M. (2018). The value of everything: Making and taking in the global economy. Hachette UK. Nenonen, S., & Storbacka, K. (2021). Market-shaping: navigating multiple theoretical perspectives. AMS Review, 11(3–4), 336–353. Phillips, W., Knight, L., Caldwell, N., & Warrington, J. (2007). Policy through procurement—The introduction of digital signal process (DSP) hearing aids into the English NHS. Health Policy, 80(1), 77–85. Torvinen, H., & Ulkuniemi, P. (2016). End-user engagement within innovative public procurement practices: A case study on public–private partnership procurement. Industrial Marketing Management, 58, 58–68. Ulkuniemi, P., Araujo, L., & Tähtinen, J. (2015). Purchasing as market-shaping: The case of component-based software engineering. Industrial Marketing Management, 44, 54–62. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2014.10.007 Uyarra, E., & Flanagan, K. (2010). Understanding the Innovation Impacts of Public Procurement. European Planning Studies, 18(1), 123–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310903343567 van Gestel, N., Kuiper, M., & Pegan, A. (2023). Strategies and transitions to public sector co-creation across Europe. Public Policy and Administration, 09520767231184523.

ABSTRACT. In this paper, we are looking for the answer to what the concept of strategy means in the IMP paradigm. Many well-known formulations of strategic management refer to strategy, its implementation or process (Porter, 1985; Mintzberg, 1994). Although there have been several studies directly addressing the relationship between the IMP approach and strategizing (Håkansson - Snehota, 1989; Ford et al., 1998; Gadde et al., 2003; Baraldi et al., 2007; Ford - Mouzas, 2008; Abrahamsen et al., 2016), but strategizing in the understanding of IMP has not yet resulted in uniform definitions like that of strategy in the strategic management approach. In this study, we examine how the concept of strategy can be interpreted in the interactive approach of the IMP as a unified concept. The classic egocentric approach to the concept of strategy cannot be applied in the IMP approach, as it does not consider the ontological foundations of interaction and interdependence on which the IMP interactional approach is based. Therefore, the focus of the interpretation of strategizing is not the individual, but being a dyadic interactive context, it arises in a given system of relationships, so it considers the business relationship as its unit of analysis. According to this, strategizing includes the relationships with other actors, the interactions within these relationships, as well as the network of relationships in which it participates, as well as the resources to which it has access. In our research, we conduct the examination of strategizing through the behavior of the actors of the network, the managers, or more precisely by studying their activities. During the analysis of strategizing, we also examine the role of network picturing used by the literature as the process that determines strategizing activities. Therefore, the paper interprets strategizing in a dyadic interactive context as follows: (1) as the micro-activities of managers involved in business relationships, (2) as the process of strategy, which is realized at the individual level of the model. After a short literature review, we set up a possible theoretical framework, which is used to describe strategizing through the network behavior of managers. Accordingly, we are empirically looking for the answer to the following research question: What strategic activities do the managers involved in business relationships carry out in the network? To answer this question, we conducted exploratory and descriptive research method among Hungarian managers. At the end of the study, we present the summary and conclusions of the theoretical and empirical research results.

References Abrahamsen, M. H. – Henneberg, S. C. – Huemer, L. – Naudé, P. (2016): Network picturing: An action research study of strategizing in business networks. Industrial Marketing Management. 59, 107-119. Baraldi, E. – Brennan, R. – Harrison, D. – Tunisini, A. – Zolkiewski, J. (2007): Strategic thinking and the IMP approach: A comparative analysis. Industrial Marketing Management. 36, 879-894. Ford, D. – Gadde, L. E. – Håkansson, H. – Lundgren, A. – Snehota, I. – Turnbull, P. W. (1998): Managing business relationships. Chichester. Wiley Gadde, L. E. – Huemer, L. – Håkansson, H. (2003): Strategizing in industrial networks. Industrial Marketing Management. 32. 357-364. Håkansson, H. – Snehota, I.(1989): No business is an island: The network concept of business strategy. Scandinavian Journal of Management. 4(3), 187-200. Mintzberg, H. (1994): The rise and fall of strategic planning. New York: Prentice Hall. Porter, M. E. (1985): Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Free Press

ABSTRACT. Companies are increasingly collaborating with nonprofit organizations that connect the resources of the companies to the needs of the beneficiaries and causes related to social sustainability. Recent research in business marketing has called for more research on the ways that firms can collaborate with market and non-market actors in addressing the grand challenges (Khan et al. 2023). Social sustainability is a quality of society that encourages durable circumstances for human well-being, particularly for the vulnerable people (Rachelle et al. 2016). Many businesses approach the partnerships with NGOs as philanthropic initiatives consisting of uncoordinated and onetime donations to worthy causes, resulting in CSR activities that are ineffective in generating social benefits in a long run (Jamali et al. 2011). Research on social partnerships (Crane and Seitanidi, 2013) has emphasized that to solve complex social challenges sustainably, we need wider collaboration such as social partnerships (Crane and Seitandi, 2013) which are triads formed between companies, nonprofit and governmental organizations. To combine the resources from organizations from different sectors, there is a need for a new kind approach to managing such relationships necessitating responsible and integrative leadership (Crosby and Bryson, 2010; Maak et al. 2016; Keränen et al. 2023). The purpose of the present study is to examine the emergence of social partnerships forming transformational cross-sector networks through responsible integrative leadership. Leadership is enabled though 1) individual experiences and 2) organizational practices embedded in ethical organizational behavior. Our research question is twofold: How social transformational networks can be constructed and used to generate social impact? and How responsible integrative leadership contributes to unique transformational cross sector collaboration networks for social impact? This study is carried out in Finland which represents Nordic welfare society with strong role of public sector. Traditionally the public sector has been carrying out social responsibilities to keep the equal welfare for the citizens. Companies have been responsible for their business activities with some socially beneficial activities. Third sector organizations (NGOs) working alongside the public to help people in need. The empirical research consists of qualitative expert interview data from a variety of organizations across the three sectors. Our study provides a contribution to existing literature on sustainability in inter-organizational relationships. References Crane, A. and Seitanadi, M.M. (2013). Social Partnerships and Responsible Business: what, why and how? In Seitanidi, M. M., and Crane, A. (Eds.). Social partnerships and responsible business: A research handbook. Routledge. Crosby, B. C., and Bryson, J. M. (2010). Integrative leadership and the creation and maintenance of cross-sector collaborations. The leadership quarterly, 21(2), 211-230. Jamali, D., Yianni, M. and Abdallah, H. (2011). Strategic partnerships, social capital and innovation: Accounting for social alliance innovation. Business Ethics: A European Review, 20(4), 375-391. Keränen, A., Malmi, K., Nätti, S. and Ulkuniemi, P. (2023). Developing identity of conscientious business-to-business organizations through integrative leadership. Industrial Marketing Management, 109, 188-203. Khan, M., de Aguinaga, S. G. and Drake, D. (2023). Accelerating Change: The Potential of Capital Market Actors in Addressing Modern Slavery. UNU-CPR Insight Briefing, New York: United Nations University. Maak, T., Pless, N. M. and Voegtlin, C. (2016). Business statesman or shareholder advocate? CEO responsible leadership styles and the micro‐foundations of political CSR. Journal of Management Studies, 53(3), 463-493. Rachelle H, Amekudzi-Kennedy A, Sarah B, Benya F. and Cliff D. (2016). Network priorities for social sustainability research and education: memorandum of the integrated network on social sustainability research group. Sustainability Science Practice Policy, 12(1):1-7.

ABSTRACT. Authors: Aniek Toet PhD Researcher on Multimodal Hubs a.s.toet@tudelft.nl Sicco Santema Professor of Network Design & Innoavtion s.c.santema@tudelft.nl Affiliation of both authors: Delft University of Technology

Abstract

Innovation decision-making is important in prioritizing ideas, challenges, and emerging technologies for practical solutions. Previous research by Page and John (2018) reflected on the value of employing a design approach for selecting innovations for development projects. Our research focuses on the case of a corporate innovation department (referred to as ID). ID operates in a network of internal and external parties. The portfolio management (PM) team of ID reviews and selects innovation initiatives biweekly to add to the portfolio, aiming to validate their feasibility, desirability, sustainability, and viability. This research aimed to explore the regeneration of innovation portfolio management in networks to facilitate early-stage decision-making on innovations. Specifically, we examine the effectiveness of the "Frame Creation" method (Dorst, 2015) in addressing this challenge. We chose Frame Creation for its ability to synthesize diverse stakeholder viewpoints and evaluate innovation project value within networks. It operates iteratively, with a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective, and prioritizes user-centricity. Our research adopted an action research approach, starting with Dorst's (2015) theoretical method and adapting it in multiple subsequent ID portfolio management sessions to create BLINK. We also chose this method and the action research approach to show to the IMP community the potential of this design method for research in business networks. A striking finding was that all participants in the sessions started from diverse assumptions, which after deliberation converted into a collective opinion, based on objective insights. During the sessions, it became evident that successful portfolio decision-making on innovations within the network depended on skills such as portfolio mindset, focus, and agility (in line with Kester et al., 2011). Additionally, we identified the relevance of three decision-making criteria outlined by Cooper et al. (2001), which emphasize strategic alignment with network goals, stakeholder inclusivity to maximize innovation project value, and maintaining balance within the portfolio. Our research produced "Blink," a rapid innovation portfolio decision-making process for ID and its business network, enabling portfolio managers to select innovation projects in 'one blink of an eye'.

ABSTRACT. This work-in-progress paper is a systematic literature review (SLR) that examines how business network literature has approached the resilience domain. SLR is used to create a comprehensive picture of discussion of resilience in interorganizational networks which can serve future empirical studies. The initial search returned 143 articles, and in the end, a total of 83 articles were analysed and categorised further. Based on this review, we suggest gaps for future research on resilience in business networks.

ABSTRACT. In the present situation, value creation is most often recognized as being networked activity, challenging management to widen out their focus from single entities to ecosystems (Adner, 2017; Jacobides et al., 2018). From an innovativeness perspective, multi-sided collaboration with varied actors with varied resources can indeed enhance possibilities to succeed and ensure needed resilience when circumstances are changing rapidly (Cennamo & Santaló, 2019).

While there is an increasing number of studies examining orchestration of different kinds of innovation networks and ecosystems (Hurmelinna-Laukkanen et al., 2022; Möller & Halinen, 2017; Reypens et al., 2021), and notable scholarly knowledge on ecosystem development (e.g., Granstrand & Holgersson, 2020), there are less studies that would explicitly explore what it means for orchestration that development of innovation, and innovation ecosystems entail discontinuities and other such dynamics. Hence, there is need for research that focuses on transformations of innovation ecosystems and examines how orchestration emerges through the changes and shifts in the nature of the ecosystems.

This conceptual paper advances existing knowledge on the orchestration for innovation ecosystem transformation, especially at the early stage of innovation development. We recognize the development path needed from science-driven ecosystem in the early, emerging state of innovation towards business-driven ecosystems aiming at creating dominant technological designs and finally commercializing innovation (Hurmelinna-Laukkanen et al., 2022). Orchestration capabilities needed clearly differ in different types of ecosystems along varied phases of a transformation. Hence, it can be expected that orchestration itself needs to transform together with the ecosystem evolution. Especially, it is important to recognize those orchestration capabilities (see Hurmelinna-Laukkanen & Nätti, 2018) that are crucial at transition points/zones from one ecosystem type to another. In our analysis, we identify and examine two distinctive cases where orchestration capabilities and ecosystem transformation are relevant: First, a situation where orchestration capabilities are used to deliberately generate a transition point, and second, a situation where orchestration capabilities are needed to efficiently respond to an organic transformation emerging in the innovation ecosystem.

Based on the present study, usable orchestration capabilities can be defined to provide an analytical tool to orchestrate for and/or through ecosystem transformation, especially at the time of notable transitions, and to understand orchestration in the portfolio of ecosystems.

REFERENCES: Adner, R. (2017). Ecosystem as structure: An actionable construct for strategy. Journal of management, 43(1), 39-58. Cennamo, C., & Santaló, J. (2019). Generativity tension and value creation in platform ecosystems. Organization science, 30(3), 617-641. Granstrand, O., & Holgersson, M. (2020). Innovation ecosystems: A conceptual review and a new definition. Technovation, 90, 102098. Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, P., Möller, K., & Nätti, S. (2022). Orchestrating innovation networks: Alignment and orchestration profile approach. Journal of Business Research, 140, 170-188. Hurmelinna-Laukkanen, P., & Nätti, S. (2018). Orchestrator types, roles and capabilities–A framework for innovation networks. Industrial Marketing Management, 74, 65-78. Jacobides, M. G., Cennamo, C., & Gawer, A. (2018). Towards a theory of ecosystems. Strategic management journal, 39(8), 2255-2276. Möller, K. & Halinen, A. (2017). Managing business and innovation networks—From strategic nets to business fields and ecosystems. Industrial Marketing Management, 67, 5-22. Reypens, C., Lievens, A., & Blazevic, V. (2021). Hybrid Orchestration in Multi-stakeholder Innovation Networks: Practices of mobilizing multiple, diverse stakeholders across organizational boundaries. Organization Studies, 42(1), 61-83

ABSTRACT. Never waste a good crisis Towards a new categorization of resilience in business networks Key words: resilience, fragility, antifragility, robustness, adoption, transformation 1. introduction The aim of our research is to discover adaptations in business networks to the impact(s) of shocks and risks. We used the COVID-19 pandemic as an proxi. We found that networks not only resile in the sense of ‘bouncing back’ to the old situation, but also used the crisis to change the business model or at least the way of working, and ‘bounce forward’. As bouncing back and forward are fundamentally different strategies, we further research the concept of resilience. Inspired by Taleb’s work on antifragility (2012), we conducted a scoping review (Nieuwborg et al., 2023) which dissects resilience into four strategies: fragility, robustness, adaptation, and transformation.

2. research set up In our research, we worked with the following research question: how can resilience be categorized to further operationalize ‘resilience’ in business relationships and networks? We used a scoping review approach based upon the work of (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005) with the ambition to identify gaps in literature of resillience. We used three databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science and PubMed (added because of Covid). Search terms used were “antifragile” or “antifragility” in combination with “resilience”. Afterwards we used snowballing to find more papers in the context of disruptions, organizations and networks.

3. findings In our research we found five main lenses on resilience: Martin-Breen & Anderies (2011), Taleb (2012), Ramezani & Camarinha-Matos (2020), Hillmann & Guenther's (2021) and Munoz et al. (2022). Together they resulted in a new categorization of resilience (see figure 1), that we use to further research networks, encountering a crisis. Figure 1: four categories of resilience in business networks Further research will focus on uncovering the value of the transformative trait and how it can be the basis for an actionable and long-term coping strategy for relationships and networks in turbulent (VUCA) times.

special track on resilience in business networks References Arksey, H., & O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616 Hillmann, J., & Guenther, E. (2021). Organizational Resilience: A Valuable Construct for Management Research? International Journal of Management Reviews, 23(1), 7–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12239 Martin-Breen, & Anderies. (2011). Resilience: A Literature Review. Bellagio Initiative. Munoz, A., Billsberry, J., & Ambrosini, V. (2022). Resilience, robustness, and antifragility: Towards an appreciation of distinct organizational responses to adversity. In INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS (Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 181–187). WILEY. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12289 Nieuwborg, A., Hiemstra-van Mastrigt, S., Melles, M., Zekveld, J., & Santema, S. (2023). A Categorization of Resilience: A Scoping Review. Administrative Sciences, 13(4), 95. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13040095 Ramezani, J., & Camarinha-Matos, L. M. (2020). Approaches for resilience and antifragility in collaborative business ecosystems. In TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE (Vol. 151). ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119846 Taleb, N. N. (2012). Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder (1st ed). Random House.

ABSTRACT. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is often referred to as an 'umbrella concept,' evolving towards more abstract expressions (Homer & Gill, 2022; Colantonio, 2009). Okoye (2009, 623) argues that CSR is a contested concept requiring flexibility but emphasizes the necessity for a "common reference point." However, this study reveals missing common reference points and significant conceptual confusion among three key user groups—scholars, associations (including public services and governments), and micro companies. This is particularly concerning as effective communication and a shared understanding of the language used should ideally exist, especially between scholars and micro companies, to aid elaborations on the latter group. Recent calls for more research on CSR in small companies underscore the importance of clarifying conceptual differences to avoid misguided knowledge (Chiesa & Pszychodzen, 2020; Homer & Gill, 2022).

The use of the CSR as term in practice and particularly within micro companies and in managerial language is a neglected area. According to the recent Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, all large or listed companies in the EU must report their social and environmental responsibility actions. The legislation does not yet directly concern microenterprises or SMEs. However, if SMEs wish to collaborate with large companies, they need to provide their economic, social, and governance (ESG) reporting to the partners. In addition, the EU Taxonomy regulation wishes to increase investments in sustainable activities. Although concerning only large listed companies and financial institutions, the regulation has an impact also on small companies through the availability and expenses of financing either directly or through the supply chains of larger companies.

This study aims to bridge the gap in language and understanding between scholars and micro companies, shedding light on how micro entrepreneurs comprehend social sustainability and implement social responsibility practices. Micro-entrepreneurs are often overlooked in B2B marketing research. By aligning conceptual understanding, this study aims to enhance researchers' comprehension of responsibility work in micro company settings, promoting research collaboration with entrepreneurs.

The research strategy is abductive, driven by the observation that micro-entrepreneurs, though interested in CSR, lacked clarity on its meaning and expression. The study employs the Conceptual Alignment Method (CAM) (Tähtinen and Havila, 2019; Tähtinen & Suomi, 2022) to analyze data from existing research reviews, definitions of national and global associations, and insights from micro entrepreneurs. We analyze interviews conducted with 22 participants in a sustainability training for micro-companies, seeking maximal variation in their values, business motives, sustainability management positioning, and regional representation.

The results highlight a stark contrast between the scholarly and micro-entrepreneurial perspectives on CSR. The scholarly view tends to be abstract, emphasizing companies over managers as responsible actors, and focusing on the overall impact of reactive actions. In contrast, micro-entrepreneurs demonstrate concrete, specified, and proactive views on CSR, considering it in a more tangible and practical manner.

This study contributes to the discussion of how to find a common ground in collaborative research, where researchers would be working with the owners, managers and employees of micro, small and medium sized companies (see e.g. Kieser & Leiner; 2012). One of the advices offered to enhance collaborative research, is to build long-term relationships with managers (Di Benedetto, Lindgreen, Storgaard & Clarke, 2019). We see that the first step in building long-term relationships is building a joint understanding of the key concepts and terms that the collaborative study will be using.

References: Chiesa, P.J. & Pszychodzen, W. (2020) Social sustainability in supply chains: a review. Social Responsibility Journal, 16 (8) 1125-1148.

Colantonio, A. (2009) Social sustainability: a review and critique of traditional versus emerging themes and assessment methods. In Horner, M., Price, A., Bebbington, J. and Emmanuel, R., (eds.) SUE-Mot Conference 2009: Second International Conference on Whole Life Urban Sustainability and its Assessment: conference proceedings. Loughborough: Loughborough University, pp. 865-885.

Di Benedetto, C. A., Lindgreen, A., Storgaard, M., & Clarke, A. H. (2019). How to collaborate really well with practitioners, Industrial Marketing Management, 82, 1-8.

Homer, S. T., & Gill, C. M. H. D. (2022). How corporate social responsibility is described in keywords: An analysis of 144 CSR definitions across seven decades, Global Business Review, online first, 1-22.

Kieser, A., & Leiner, L. (2012). Collaborate with practitioners: But beware of collaborative research. Journal of Management Inquiry, 21(1), 14-28.

Okoye, A. (2009) Theorising Corporate Social Responsibility as an Essentially Contested Concept: Is a Definition Necessary?, Journal of Business Ethics, 89:613–627.

Tähtinen, J. & Havila, V: (2019) Conceptually Confused, but on a Field Level? A Method for Conceptual Analysis and its Application, Marketing Theory, 19(4) 533–557.

Tähtinen, J. & Suomi, K. (2022) A Conceptual Analysis of Labels Referring to Brand Co-Creation. In: Research Handbook on Brand Co-creation: Theory, Practice, and Ethical implications, Eds. Stefan Markovic, Richard Gyrd-Jones, Sylvia von Wallpach & Adam Lindgreen, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2-31.

ABSTRACT. Abstract

Over the last decades, the space industry has been growing in terms of interest and investments by both firms and governments, becoming strategic in the light of its political, economic and technological implications (OECD, 2023a; Robinson, Mazzucato, 2019). Scientific and technological developments have allowed to explore new trajectories supporting space missions and new telecommunications infrastructure, so much so that the global revenue from the space economy amounted to 469.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 (Statista, 2023). Following this strong growth, the market structure has progressively changed involving both private customers and international and national government agencies acting through their public procurement systems. In parallel, the business sector has been pursuing novel opportunities related to new space-related products and services, with the active participation of both key large players and startup firms willing to grow rapidly in this sector (OECD, 2023b), often belonging to technological clusters (Silvestri et al., 2022) or acting in international innovation networks (Song et al., 2024). One emerging distinctive phenomenon is the increasing interest and involvement of companies operating in various traditional manufacturing and service sectors, which plan or already implement diversification processes in the space sector, whose technological needs concern a wide range of products and solutions from a wide variety of industries. Notwithstanding the increasing interest by management and business scholars on innovation and networks in the space industry (Ferreira et al., 2016; Pizzurno and Alberti, 2015), the involvement of “traditional” sectors’ firms in the space value chain and networks has not been explored in depth, so far. We argue that a better comprehension of this specific process is needed for two reasons: i) the space industry could represent a valuable playing ground for innovation, learning and business growth for traditional companies, often struggling in their historical markets; ii) becoming a player in the space industry might require substantial change in the overall business model, which represent a complex and challenging task. The focus of this study is on the transition process of actors (professionals, firms) operating in more traditional sectors to become a key player in the space industry with the support of other actors such as institutions and investors. Concurrently, we aim at depicting the evolution of the sector itself through the analysis of its networked nature involving both private and public actors and mobilizing different kind of technological and organisational resources leading to substantial change in their business models. Notably, we seek to answer to the following research questions: RQ1. To what extent and how business networks and relationships have shaped the access, development and assembly of technological and organisational resources valuable to become a business player in the space industry? RQ2. To what extent and how the transition toward the space industry has implied a change in the business model?

In the light of the explorative nature of the research questions, the paper adopts a qualitative approach based on a multiple-case study analysis (Yin, 2009). Notably, we will analyse and compare two case studies of companies pursuing the following two trajectories, being exemplary of current patterns in the transition towards the space industry: 1) the setup of a new company – a startup – in the space industry by founders with a background in different and more traditional sectors; 2) the adoption of a diversification strategy by a scaleup that founded its core business in other industry. As the focus is on gaining an in-depth understanding of micro-processes within business networks and relationships with an emphasis on resource access and development, the analysis is based on the IMP approach (Håkansson et al., 2009) and specifically on the Actors, Resources and Activities (ARA) framework (Håkansson and Snehota, 1995) as our conceptual guide in the empirical analysis. Our attention is focused on the identification of the main resources shared and combined through business relationships, considering the implications of business model innovation and change to enter and to grow in space industry. With regard to the research methodology, the collection of data is based on combining primary and secondary data. The collection of primary data concerns semi-structured interviews with key informants of selected space tech companies, such as founders and CEOs. The primary data we collected from semi-structured interviews were triangulated with secondary data, i.e., documentation provided by key informants and reports from various sources, such as Statista, and space tech- specialized websites. We expect this research to provide a novel contribution in terms of i) an empirical analysis of resource mobilization in business networks in the space industry; ii) a conceptual development with regard to the ARA framework within transition processes related to diversification in new sectors.

References

Ferreira, F. N. H., Cova, B., Spencer, R., & Proença, J. F. (2016). A dynamics-based approach to solutions typology: A case from the aerospace industry. Industrial Marketing Management, 58, 114-122. Håkansson, H., Ford, D., Gadde, L.E., Snehota, I. and Waluszewski, A. (2009), Business in Networks, J Wiley, Chichester. Håkansson, H. and Snehota, I. (1995), Developing Relationships in Business Networks, Routledge, London Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2023a), The Space Economy in Figures: Responding to Global Challenges, Report. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2023b), Harnessing the “New Space” for Sustainable Growth of the Space Economy, Report. Alberti, F. G., & Pizzurno, E. (2015). Knowledge exchanges in innovation networks: evidences from an Italian aerospace cluster. Competitiveness review, 25(3), 258-287. Robinson, D. K., & Mazzucato, M. (2019). The evolution of mission-oriented policies: Exploring changing market creating policies in the US and European space sector. Research Policy, 48(4), 936-948. Silvestri, R., Bocconcelli, R., Carloni, E., & Pagano, A. (2022). Interorganizational R&D projects in clustering contexts: A resource interaction perspective. Journal of Business Research, 148, 343-355. Song, Y., Gnyawali, D., & Qian, L. (2024). From early curiosity to space wide web: The emergence of the small satellite innovation ecosystem. Research Policy, 53(2), 104932. Statista (2023). Space industry worldwide, available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5049/space-exploration/#topicHeader__wrapper (accessed 29 January 2024)

ABSTRACT. From a legal perspective, a contractual relationship and legal bonds between a buyer and a supplier in the public procurement context are established when the contract is signed. Consequently, a relationship ceases to exist when the contract is terminated. However, from a relationship management perspective, even though the legal bonds cease to exist, the relational and social bonds among the organizations and among their employees have longer lifespans than one single contract period. Furthermore, buyer-supplier relationships undergo a number of different phases during which the intensity of the interaction varies. Relying on literature of public procurement and research on buyer-supplier relationship dynamics, which is mainly conducted in B2B context, this paper exemplifies how a relationship between a buyer and supplier(s) may develop during a public procurement process. The aim is to develop a detailed procurement process model that considers the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships. Taking a comprehensive look at the procurement process and its various phases provides researchers with new research perspectives to buyer-supplier relationships and their dynamics in public procurement contexts. For practitioners, being aware of the possibilities of buyer-supplier interaction during the procurement process may open up new collaboration opportunities, and thereby potential for developing public services.

ABSTRACT. Sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems rely on both agency and network structural dynamics, with entrepreneurial leadership playing a central role. This study investigates how entrepreneurial leaders drive sustainable innovation, foster collaboration, and shape collective identities within these ecosystems. A proposed framework for ecosystem organizing and sensemaking sheds light on how ecological shifts, enactment, selection, and retention shape leadership and network dynamics. It delves into the iterative nature of sensemaking, wherein actors adapt and innovate in response to systemic changes leveraging prior knowledge and network positioning. By contributing to our comprehension of how entrepreneurial agency interfaces with ecosystem structure, this paper provides insights into leadership's pivotal role in sensemaking processes and lays a theoretical groundwork for future research. Drawing on longitudinal case study data of a cluster and its members, it is structured to offer a comprehensive analysis, integrating theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and empirical findings, with implications for theory, practice, and policy.

ABSTRACT. The shift towards ecosystem thinking in B2B reflects a change in how organizations perceive and engage with their business environments. Among practitioners, the business ecosystems concept is becoming widely used to describe interaction and activities. Subsequently, the question how business ecosystems and business networks differ arises. Despite being a subject of research for several decades, the integration of ecosystem strategies into business marketing research has gained traction only recently. This paper aims to elucidate the distinctions and parallels between business ecosystems and networks, with the aim of reaching an initial conceptual clarity. Drawing on empirical data from 28 interviews with 35 B2B managers, we suggest that business ecosystems have slightly different connotations compared to business networks, and emphasize value-creation on a system-level rather than individual or dyadic, a clearly defined purpose or joint goal, nonhierarchical and diverse relationships with like-minded partners, and interdependence.

ABSTRACT. This paper contributes to literature on resource collaboration in innovation ecosystems (Pera et al., 2016). Yaghmaie and Vanhaverbeke (2020) define innovation ecosystems as a group of organizations that aim to jointly create and capture value from joint innovation activities. Previous literature has shown the significance of resource flows in value creation of innovation ecosystems (Bittencourt et al., 2021; Thomas et al. 2022). We apply the 4R Model (Baraldi et al., 2012) to analyze the processes of resource interaction in innovation ecosystems which fall under the strategic networks (Möller et al., 2020).

Innovation ecosystems have been considered inherently capable of creating shared value, but a deeper analysis of value creation is still scarce (Ketonen-Oksi & Valkokari, 2019; Arena et al., 2022). Collaboration is key to enhance resource interaction in innovation ecosystems, but sharing of resources, such as knowledge, for innovation is seen as risky (Arena et al., 2022). We pose the question of how resource interaction is enhanced in innovation ecosystems.

The research question is answered through a multi-case study of 15 innovation ecosystems operating in Finland, Sweden, and Belgium. The primary data was gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews (Lee & Aslam, 2017). They comprised 38 individual interviews, and three round table discussions, each in one ecosystem. We interviewed ecosystem leaders and managers, facilitators and coordinators, and ecosystem members from companies, universities and research institutes, and local government.

By focusing on the processes of resource interaction, the 4R model provides a way of investigating these complex processes. It depicts four types of interacting resources: products, facilities, organizational units, and inter-organizational relationships. The main advantage of this four-part classification is that it allows for a precise analysis of how two or more resources interact. This type of analysis aids in efforts to manage their utilization (Baraldi et al., 2012). While products and production facilities are tangible resources in resource integration, business units and business relationships contain skills, knowledge and interaction experience that affect the subsequent resource interaction through which development is advanced (Chou and Zolkiewski, 2012). We found that resource interaction can be enhanced through social, technical, and administrational bonds. Trust building and committing the actors of the innovation ecosystem to innovation are important means to enhance resources interaction among the participants. This can take place through neutral intermediaries for coordination and facilitation, common rules for internal and external communication, and providing incentives for active participation. Further digital tools for knowledge sharing and innovation platforms where the innovation can take place, enable resource interaction. Administration includes, e.g., provision and management of funding for innovation.

References: Arena, M., Azzone, G., & Piantoni, G. (2022). Uncovering value creation in innovation ecosystems: paths towards shared value. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(6), 432–451. Autio, E., & Thomas, L.D. (2020). Value co-creation in ecosystems: insights and research promise from three disciplinary perspectives. In: Handbook of digital innovation, eds. S. Nambisan, K. Lyytinen, & Y. Yoo, 107–132. Edward Elgar Publishing, Glos, UK. Baraldi, E., Gressetvold, E., & Harrison, D. (2012). Resource interaction in inter-organizational networks: Foundations, comparison, and a research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 65(2), 266–276. Bittencourt, B. A., dos Santos, D. A. G., & Mignoni, J. (2021). Resource orchestration in innovation ecosystems: a comparative study between innovation ecosystems at different stages of development. International Journal of Innovation, 9(1), 108–130. Ketonen-Oksi, S., & Valkokari, K. (2019). Innovation ecosystems as structures for value co-creation. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(2), 25–35. Pera, R., Occhiocupo, N., & Clarke, J. (2016). Motives and resources for value co-creation in a multi-stakeholder ecosystem: A managerial perspective. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4033–4041. Möller, K., Nenonen, S., & Storbacka, K. (2020). Networks, ecosystems, fields, market systems? Making sense of the business environment. Industrial Marketing Management, 90(Oct), 380–399. Thomas, L. D., Autio, E., & Gann, D. M. (2022). Processes of ecosystem emergence. Technovation, 115, 102441. Yaghmaie, P., & Vanhaverbeke, W. (2020). Identifying and describing constituents of innovation ecosystems: A systematic review of the literature. EuroMed Journal of Business, 15(3), 283–314.

ABSTRACT. Following the previous calls for understanding the role of orchestrators in innovation networks, the study aims to shed light on their role in knowledge development in innovation processes. The study gathers on Europe's heightened focus on the challenges of "Active Ageing" considering the projected increase in the elderly population by 2050, which unfolds new orchestrators in innovation networks. The study aims to shed light on their political, economic, and technological domains. A qualitative approach is adopted as the study is exploratory. The methodology is centred on using the industrial network approach to investigate the role of orchestrators in the innovation process. A comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted involvement of the intended network's actors across various settings of the innovation process is crucial for managing knowledge effectively, underscoring the pivotal role of the orchestrator in facilitating the exchange of knowledge between the actors. The study offers a distinctive approach to comprehending the intricacies of innovation processes by integrating the ARA model and the Developing-Producing-Using (DPU) under the industrial network approach. This integration unveils an original framework for understanding actors as orchestrators and their influence on knowledge as a resource throughout the innovation process.

ABSTRACT. Using unsupervised learning techniques to help organisations predict the behaviours of their customers and influence them in the future.

A paper submitted to the IMP2024 Conference – Special track: Digital and technological innovations reshaping business relationships and networks.

ABSTRACT

There is considerable interest in the impact of, and potential opportunities to use AI to advance B2B marketing. Similarly, segmentation is a critical aspect of marketing strategy and tactics in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing. Recent academic debate and interest has been expressed in relation to the development of theory and practice in B2B segmentation, which fundamentally sees segments as collections of similar needs and wants at an abstract level. This paper explores aspects of the above and describes a study that explores the use of AI and machine learning techniques in a marketing context to uncover customer segments based on differences in customer self-evaluation of underlying groups of beliefs. This paper argues that these groups of beliefs come together to form judgments on needs and wants, and behaviours related to those needs and wants. The study uses empirical data collected via a survey from children and young adults to identify unique stable segments underpinning evaluation and decision-making belief systems across age ranges, through use of a machine learning approach called Latent Class analysis. Results show a stable set of belief-determined segments can be identified that exist independently of age, gender, personality and family socioeconomic status. We discuss how these results relate directly to B2B marketing, particularly in a B2B2C context.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates closely at the function of business relationships in promoting social sustainability projects beyond businesses' specific network, analyzing the intersection of business success and social sustainability facilitated by new technologies. The research question explores how new relationships can enable social sustainability thanks to advanced technology beyond business boundaries, considering both present and future perspectives. We analyze the dynamics of relationships in the context of a medium/large ceramic company's social sustainability initiative using a detailed analysis based on single case study methodology. The findings of this study suggest that skilled relationship management can serve as a true catalyst for the development of sustainable practices, with a focus on the social aspect. In particular, the case of the company under consideration, which launched a cardiovascular surgery training program, serves as a real example of the ability of corporate relations to benefit society leveraging on new technologies. Furthermore, the topic contributes to the rich literature in industrial marketing and purchasing, allowing for a better understanding of how relationships may be a crucial driver in the development of sustainable business practices, with a particular emphasis on social welfare. This study, using a combination of theoretical insights and empirical findings, provides new perspectives and practical suggestions for the evolving field of business sustainability, contributing to academic debate and helping managerial decisions in addressing social sustainability challenges.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, market shaping research has enhanced knowledge of markets as dynamic systems rather than fixed entities. Markets are recognized as a space for corporate action, and they play a crucial role in driving societal transformation towards sustainability. Recognizing this, Ottosson and colleagues have developed a sustainable market shaping framework comprising three key processes: enabling exchange practices, proving the system, and constructing the narrative. However, the concept of sustainable market shaping lacks a precise definition, and the framework’s applicability is not universal across all sustainable markets. In addition, it presents all three processes as equally important. To address this, our research aims to refine and optimize the framework, clarifying its components and exploring variations in the relative importance of these processes across different market settings. Our research objectives are as follows: firstly, we aim to establish a clear definition of sustainable market shaping. Secondly, we seek to clarify the economic, environmental, and social aspects, including feasible trade-offs, of sustainable market shaping processes around the market’s exchange, system, and narrative. Thirdly, we intend to assess the differences in their relative importance within the sleeper train market and uncover the driving determinants behind their importance rating.

ABSTRACT. This study focuses on shared market-shaping intentions in business networks in the context of sustainability enhancement. Collective action between various market actors has been considered particularly important when the desired outcome of market shaping is enhanced sustainability (Keränen et al., 2023; Ottosson et al., 2020). Although successful collaborative market shaping is underpinned by shared intentions between the collaborative actors (Baker & Nenonen, 2020; Maciel & Fischer, 2020), due to retrospective research methods it remains unclear how such shared intentions develop over time (Hawa et al., 2020). We study the development of shared intentions as a network management issue and turn to literature on strategic nets, where purposefully created inter-organisational networks have been classified along a value-system continuum based on their goals and the determination of their underlying value-creating systems (Möller & Rajala, 2007). We employ a longitudinal real-time qualitative case study design to study a European cruise shipbuilding network in the midst of a sustainability transition. We focus on a business renewal net that has pursued sustainability enhancements to its products, processes, and ultimately markets via four consecutive publicly funded R&D projects since 2016 until 2025. Our preliminary results indicate that developing shared future-oriented market-shaping intentions in business networks is not a straightforward process when network collaborators face differing or conflicting interests and goals. Our analysis shows that the actors’ intentions varied from cynicism towards shared goals to actively pursuing them as understanding of sustainability evolved and as the consortium composition evolved. Theoretically, we aim to contribute to the literature on market shaping by empirically examining collaborative market shaping from a network management perspective with particular attention to network actors’ market-shaping intentions. Managerially, our results will support the development of collaborative market shaping strategy by highlighting the bottlenecks and pitfalls of shared intentionality.

ABSTRACT. Markets come and go. It is an arena for exchange, only shaped by the practices of its actors. From the local food market, consisting of small stands and actors performing exchanges every weekend. To the global commodity markets, where algorithmic exchanges are performed every second. While this performative view of markets is well established in the literature, we know little about how such practices evolve over time, as completely new markets emerge. An ethnographic field study sheds lights on this performative formation of such new markets, by showing how technology axioms are the basis for market signals, fostering to commitments and collective action. The paper illuminates the early formation of new industries, as the battle between unquestioned assumptions, so-called axioms, generates both local collective action and individual technological exploration.

ABSTRACT. The paper aims to ascertain when and how inter-organizational relationships facilitate sustainable entrepreneurship. Additionally, it seeks to explore the rationales behind deliberately constraining such relationships in the pursuit of sustainable ventures. This inquiry elucidates the contributions of inter-organizational relationships to sustainable entrepreneurship and evaluates potential adverse outcomes resulting from their deliberate restriction. To address this inquiry, the attention of the paper is directed toward examining the interplay between inter-organizational relationships and entrepreneurial personal traits. In the paper sustainable entrepreneurship is studied based on the example of vegan ventures and entrepreneurs running such ventures. The initial findings of a qualitative study conducted among owners of 17 vegan (vegetarian) restaurants in one city in Poland are presented. The paper has several contributions. By taking a complex approach, it contributes to the IMP research by adding the focus on the traits of individual entrepreneurs, and checking how this translates to inter-organizational relationships, including how the traits of individual entrepreneurs lead to limiting the use of inter-organizational relationships. It also adds to the traditional studies on entrepreneurship by adding more focus on inter-organizational relationships. In terms of managerial implications, the research promotes sustainable entrepreneurship. By understanding the personal traits of entrepreneurs that constrain the utilization of inter-organizational relationships, consequently impacting the operations of vegan enterprises adversely, it becomes feasible to propose tailored solutions accordingly.

ABSTRACT. This conceptual paper explores the paradigm shift in business networks towards strong sustainability, emphasizing preserving natural and social resources for future generations. We address the question of how organizations in networks can strategize and align their temporal orientations to drive a paradigm shift toward strong sustainability. A practice-theoretical approach is employed using the Actor-Resource-Activity (ARA) model and Schatzki’s theory on teleoaffective structure; the study explores strategic interactions within networks to shift from past-present focused activities to future-oriented strong sustainability. This approach underscores the role of temporality in strategizing, proposing a framework for shifting temporal orientations in networks. The paper demonstrates how temporal orientations evolve through network interactions and contributes to a network perspective on sustainability challenges.

ABSTRACT. CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles amounts to more than a quarter of the Green House Gas emissions from road transport in EU and many actors engaged in the transport of goods now strive to reduce their environmental footprint. Transport procurement practices are identified as an opportunity for improved sustainability of transport. Accommodating for the changes required when firms strive for more climate-friendly transport can be challenging though and given the risk of additional costs and deteriorated service levels, a change to more climate-friendly transport may negatively influence the firms involved in freight transport.

The ongoing study presented in this paper is based on the idea that for shippers to be able to reduce the climate impact of the transport services procured, they must be able to handle challenges regarding the change of internal processes as well as interdependence in relation to other actors in the supply chain. The study aims to produce concrete suggestions on how companies procuring transport can enable a greater impact from climate requirements and how shippers can incorporate climate-related demands into the procurement of transport services while maintaining, if not increasing, the company's competitiveness regarding final prices and good service to its customers.

The preliminary results from the analyses of interviews so far provide a framework involving a core category ‘Strategic Sustainability Integration,’ around which other categories such as ‘Economic Viability,’ ‘Operational Adaptation,’ ‘Stakeholder Collaboration,’ and ‘Policy Alignment’ were contextually mapped. The relationships between categories have been used to hypothesise about the interactions within the system, such as how ‘Economic Viability’ impacts ‘Operational Adaptation,’ or what the role of ‘Policy Alignment’ is in facilitating ‘Stakeholder Collaboration.’ Drawing on the outcomes from the axial coding, we develop a multidimensional model that encapsulates the economic, operational, collaborative, and policy-driven aspects pivotal in the sustainable transition within transport procurement.

ABSTRACT. Nina Hasche, Leanne Johnstone and Gabriel Linton

Submission for special track: Business networks and biodiversity preservation

Abstract: The Anthropocene within which we now find ourselves in sees the stock of biological diversity (functional and genetic) in our planet’s ecosystems under enormous pressure. In such a context, biodiversity management (i.e. the strategic actions taken by organisations to balance ecological conservation with business operations) is paramount. At the core of biodiversity management is the concept of value, which is linked to the process of evaluation. To manage biodiversity, firms must assess what is (more) important to conserve through evaluating tradeoffs in relation to their operations and through interactions with other actors (e.g. citizens, communities, governments, environmentalists, businesses and their networks). Albeit, extant conceptualisations of value from a business perspective have been posed as conceptually and methodologically problematic when related to biodiversity.

This study aims to understand how value is conceptualised for biodiversity management by conducting a systematic literature review of empirical business research from a B2B lens. Through such an approach, we map out trends and provide a conceptual model that overviews how different understandings of value are addressed and aligned through network interactions. We define value in biodiversity management in terms of compliance-based means (e.g. institutional factors, organisational tools and social norms) and ultimate outcomes (e.g. economic, ecological, ideological and cultural value). We then relate the findings to extant conceptualisations of value from a B2B lens to put forward the ‘value for biodiversity management continuum’. This continuum emphasises value in context as paramount for biodiversity management, as well as extends prior conceptualisations of value-in-use to incorporate the less tangible aesthetical and subsistence use of ecosystem services as resources. Finally, we propose value in non-use as the ultimate preservation of ecosystems with non-human intervention as a highly unrealistic state.

ABSTRACT. Supply networks of certified products are central in reorganizing industries for biodiversity preservation. Biodiversity preservation is one of the multiple underlying issues of forest certification, which depends on a supply network to distribute certified products. The supply network creates chains of custody of tradable claims. Access to tradable claims becomes a prerequisite for exchanging with specific customers and as supply chain risk minimization. Hence, tradable claims may become indirectly valuable in interaction with counterparts and in the co-development with the physical resources they represent. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of information as a particular kind of resource from a combination of the resource interaction and transvection perspectives. To address this inquiry, I will use a single case study research design based on a chain of custody supply network of sawn wood organizations in central Sweden that exchange with tradable claims. The following research question will guide the research: How are tradable claims transformed and co-developed with the resources they represent? Preliminary findings show some of the restrictions and opportunities created in the interaction of tradable claims and the material they represent.

ABSTRACT. Biodiversity loss is a major societal challenge and all companies – irrespective of their size, sector, or location – are in some way dependent on nature and its ecosystem services. Simultaneously, business activities are recognized as one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss. Consequently, there is an increasing call for and interest in reporting about companies’ activities concerning biodiversity protection. In this study, we seek to investigate how companies address biodiversity in their business activities on the one hand and how they report about it on the other. Our key aim is to look at potential discrepancies between the reports and activities. We explored companies’ practices as comes to integrating biodiversity into their (sustainability) operations and/or strategies. Furthermore, we investigated to what extent companies interact with different stakeholders (e.g. environmental organizations) in their efforts to tackle biodiversity loss. The empirical study was conducted by interviewing six Finnish companies in different industries. It shows that while companies were taking (often small) steps in integrating biodiversity management into their strategies and practices, they did not want to report it prematurely; in other words, we did not find green washing in these cases.

ABSTRACT. Contemporary B2B marketing increasingly highlights customer experience (CX) as an important aspect of managing customer relationships. Customer experience management (CXM) is widely seen as a source of competitive advantage, and firms are heavily investing in it. Yet, the understanding of the role and nature of CXM in B2B contexts is limited, as existing experience research seldom considers organizational perspectives. This study aims at developing new understanding of CX(M) in the B2B context by delineating the nature of potential value propositions and CXM strategies for B2B markets. We conduct a conceptual analysis in which we integrate, synthesize, and apply the CX(M) literature to the B2B context. This study makes the following contributions. First, it defines CX and CXM in a B2B context and delineates CX from related constructs. Second, it develops an understanding of what collective and individual CX mean in B2B and how these concepts relate to one another. This results in the identification of three generic CX value propositions which manifest differently at the organizational and personal levels: (1) Relieving CX to facilitate efficiency for the organization and convenience for individuals; (2) Enabling CX to facilitate differentiation for the organization and empowerment for individuals; and (3) Enriching CX to facilitate association for the organization and relationships for individuals. Third, it advances four firm-level CXM archetypes based on the impact and scope of a firm’s CXM: (1) Champion, (2) Cherry Picker, (2) Minimalist, and (4) Fashionista. These archetypical CXM strategies suggest that firms may adopt a variety of CXM approaches depending on their positioning and competitive strategy and several contextual factors. The archetypes provide nuance to the current CXM literature that has seldom discussed alternative approaches for CXM, and takes the field a step closer to developing managerially actionable B2B CXM frameworks.

References: Becker, L., & Jaakkola, E. (2020). Customer experience: fundamental premises and implications for research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48, 630-648. Becker, L., Karpen, I. O., Kleinaltenkamp, M., Jaakkola, E., Helkkula, A., & Nuutinen, M. (2023). Actor experience: Bridging individual and collective-level theorizing. Journal of Business Research, 158, 113658. Bolton, R. N., McColl-Kennedy, J. R., Cheung, L., Gallan, A., Orsingher, C., Witell, L., & Zaki, M. (2018). Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital, physical and social realms. Journal of Service Management, 29(5), 776-808. Homburg, C., Jozić, D., & Kuehnl, C. (2017). Customer experience management: toward implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45, 377-401. Homburg, C., & Tischer, M. (2023). Customer journey management capability in business-to-business markets: Its bright and dark sides and overall impact on firm performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 51, 1046–1074. Kranzbühler, A. M., Kleijnen, M. H., Morgan, R. E., & Teerling, M. (2018). The multilevel nature of customer experience research: an integrative review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(2), 433-456. Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96. Purmonen, A., Jaakkola, E., & Terho, H. (2023). B2B customer journeys: Conceptualization and an integrative framework. Industrial Marketing Management, 113, 74-87. Witell, L., Kowalkowski, C., Perks, H., Raddats, C., Schwabe, M., Benedettini, O., & Burton, J. (2020). Characterizing customer experience management in business markets. Journal of Business Research, 116, 420-430. Zolkiewski, J., Story, V., Burton, J., Chan, P., Gomes, A., Hunter-Jones, P., ... & Robinson, W. (2017). Strategic B2B customer experience management: the importance of outcomes-based measures. Journal of Services Marketing, 31(2), 172-184.

ABSTRACT. The use of influential third-party customers in marketing, referred to here as influential marketing, is a critical aspect of innovation diffusion and adoption in business-to-business (B2B) markets. However, there is limited understanding of how sellers are able to use influential marketing effectively and scale the activities to diffuse their innovation to various segments of innovation adopters, particularly to later adopters. This is specifically relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in traditional knowledge-intensive industries.

Drawing upon B2B influential marketing as a focal literature with insights from innovation diffusion and adoption, this study aims to detail the tactics through which sellers target the distinct groups of adopters (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards). Employing a qualitative case study methodology, five SMEs from the Finnish health technology market were studied. Through 14 in-depth interviews with various stakeholders, thematic coding was applied to exhaust the characteristics and tactics of influential marketing targeting the various groups of innovation adopters.

The findings unveil distinct characteristics in the sellers’ view of the adopter groups, as well as tactics and barriers to influential marketing. The main findings suggests that the key gap in managerial knowledge exists in determining the efficacy of the use of innovators and early adopters in influential marketing as well as scaling the influential marketing activities to target the later adopter groups. This also addresses a gap in B2B influential marketing literature. Also, with recent innovation adoption papers claiming that an overestimation of the role of ‘expert influentials’ exists, the findings support more research on how influential marketing can involve ‘peer influentials’. The conclusions discuss further research on this topic and offer practical managerial implications.

ABSTRACT. The Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP) started during the 1970’s. The purpose was to enhance our understanding of business markets. A Business Network View (BNV) emerged were business markets came to be viewed to be composed of connected business relationships. The IMP and the BNV has traditionally been argued to be a critic against neoclassical economics. The dialectical historical narrative told is that IMP through the development of the BNV has distanced itself from atomistic neoclassical market models. However, historical processes can seldom only be described from one point of view. In this paper the emergence of the IMP and the BNV is viewed from evolutionary perspective. Thus, similarities rather than differences are emphasized. The purpose of the paper is by this to start to develop an evolutionary historical narrative of the IMP. In the paper particularly four different aspects are identified that seems to have been inherited form neoclassical economics. This includes a mechanistic world view, determinism, objectivism and reductionisms. The paper is ended by briefly discussing the implications of the findings and by pointing out some avenues for future research.

ABSTRACT. To tackle evolving challenges in healthcare, innovation facilitating networks are bringing together industry and public sector actors across borders (Shiffman et al. 2016). This dynamic brings together actors from diverse backgrounds and cultures presenting new opportunities and challenges for network coordination, evolution, and research (Picaud-Bello et al. 2022; Corsaro et al. 2012). Despite the growing prevalence of international innovation networks, there is still limited understanding on how participating organizations collaborate, share knowledge, and navigate the dynamics of knowledge flow in this evolving landscape (Nissen et al. 2014, Kohtamäki et al. 2023). This study aims to address this research gap by delving into the intricacies of knowledge sharing within an international innovation network over time. Recognizing the international nature, and the fusion of private and public entities, the study acknowledges the prevalence of contradictions (Aarikka-Steenroos et al. 2017; Corsaro et al. 2012) stemming from diverse goals within the collaboration. We pay particular attention to these emerging contradictions and acknowledge that they can serve as catalyst for change (Engeström, 2001). Our focus is on understanding the conditions under which these contradictions can evolve into potential benefits, paving the way for positive developments and advancements. We employ a qualitative inquiry to interpret a case study of a network of Nordic partners from renowned health institutions and testing hubs in healthcare. We examine interaction episodes from a longitudinal study encompassing eight-months of biweekly meeting observations gathered through an ethnography, including 12 interviews and a multitude of secondary data ranging from 2014 to 2024. Our focus is on retrospective, episode-based processes (Hermes & Mainela, 2023; Halinen, 2013), capturing members’ interactions and their diverse perspectives throughout critical events in the network’s development. The objective of the study is twofold: to explore the ways the international parties elaborate shared understandings with inherently different views, and second, to elucidate the mechanisms and factors influencing knowledge sharing within this international context, contributing valuable insights to the broader discourse on international innovation networks. The examined interaction episodes reveal insights into knowledge sharing initiatives, the emerging contradictions, and coordinating activities aimed at navigating these complexities. The research highlights the roles of critical relationships and challenges in innovation network research, stemming from the interaction of actors working towards one final goal but with different interests, and national backgrounds.

References Aarikka-Steenroos, L., Jaakkola, E., Harrison, D., & Mäkitalo-Keinonen, T. (2017). How to manage innovation processes in extensive networks: A longitudinal study. Industrial Marketing Management, 67, 88-105. Corsaro, D., Cantù, C., & Tunisini, A. (2012). Actors' heterogeneity in innovation networks. Industrial Marketing Management, 41(5), 780-789. Engeström, Y. (2001). Expansive Learning at Work: toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 20. Halinen, A., Törnroos, J., & Elo, M. (2013). Network process analysis: An event-based approach to study business network dynamics. Industrial marketing management, 42(8), 1213-1222. Hermes, J., & Mainela, T. (2022). Actor legitimation in emerging markets: A network-embedded process. Journal of World Business, 57(4), 101315. Kohtamäki, M., Rabetino, R., & Huikkola, T. (2023). Learning in strategic alliances: Reviewing the literature streams and crafting the agenda for future research. Industrial Marketing Management, 110, 68-84. Nissen, H. A., Evald, M. R., & Clarke, A. H. (2014). Knowledge sharing in heterogeneous teams through collaboration and cooperation: Exemplified through Public–Private-Innovation partnerships. Industrial Marketing Management, 43(3), 473-482. Picaud-Bello, K., Stevens, E., Cloutier, L. M., & Renard, L. (2022). Coordinating service ecosystems for innovation: The case of tourism destination innovation projects. Industrial Marketing Management, 106, 444-460. Shiffman, J., Peter Schmitz, H., Berlan, D., Smith, S. L., Quissell, K., Gneiting, U., & Pelletier, D. (2016). The emergence and effectiveness of global health networks: findings and future research. Health Policy and Planning, 31(suppl_1), i110-i123.

ABSTRACT. The health care sector has since long been facing financial challenges on a global basis. In financial studies, has become an established truth that contemporary health care has become both very sophisticated and costly (Denier, 2008). Porter (1999) argues that there is an “infinite capacity” in health care to always do more. Often coupled with a well debated idea that supply of services tends to generate its’ own demand, leading to the understanding that closing the gap between supply and demand in health care is unattainable and utopical (Butler, 1999). In addition, some scholars (Buchanan et al, 2000; Daniels, 1985; Denier, 2008) attribute the striking cost increases to advances in medical technology, exhibiting medicine’s inherent capacity to self-increase both on the supply and demand side.

Within EU, attention has been directed to health system challenges caused by a less sophisticated aspect: The ageing populations, which rapidly increases the burden of chronic diseases and age-related, care demanding, health conditions – causing running health care costs and health workforce shortages (the Lancet, 2003, European Commission, 2018). A major solution to these challenges is, as suggested by EU policy, the development and use of ‘Digital Health’ technologies. As described in the EU Commission/’Digital Single Market’ policy:

“Digital solutions for health and care can increase the well-being of millions of citizens and radically change the way health and care services are delivered to patients, if designed purposefully and implemented in a cost-effective way.”

The high expectation on Digital Health solutions is resting on a basic requirement: these have to improve the quality of the medical treatment and care; that is of the medical profession/patient interface. Put shortly, the use has to create value both in terms of the health professions medical judgement and patient satisfaction. Along with that, Digital Health solutions shall contribute to increased efficiency, decreased health costs, and furthermore, to the ‘reform of health systems and their transition’. Last but not least, the development and use of Digital Health solutions it is expected to provide new ‘business opportunities’; for new as well as established firms.

The policy expectations on Digital Health solutions are very much in line with the public discourse of making digitalisation synonymous with rationalization, efficiency and modernity (Wormbs, 2010; Lundblad, 2022). However, digitalization often depends on the interconnection of various socio-technical systems into networks of increasing complexity (Lundblad, 2022). This reminds us of Charles Perrows (1999) notion that the introduction of technology into systems will inevitably increase complexity, and to deal with this complexity increase we often introduce more technology; thereby creating a technology-complexity loop (Perrow, 1999). Hence, while advocates for increased use of Digital Health solutions argues that this is the main road to values such as increased medical and care quality, increased efficiency and reduced costs, others warn for that the technology-complex loop of digitalization will increase the need for resources, without replacing existing methods, technologies and regulations.

A recent stream of research, mainly carried out within social science, points to a rather high degree of disappointment with Digital Health solutions in the medical profession/patient setting (van Gemert-Pijnen et al, 2011). The common conclusion is that the development and embedding of Digital Health solutions is suffering from disregarded contextual interdependencies, with the result that the technologies have severe difficulties of contributing to medical, care, and cost-reduction improvements.

Still, there is an urgent need for innovations beneficial for medical treatment, care – and cost reduction. The main ambition of this conceptual paper is to outline an analytical framework for investigating what specific requirements that Digital Health solutions able to deliver such values are exposed to. The point of departure is a key observation made in the IMP research setting: the context can never be considered as given, and a key issue is how to define contextual aspects intervening in the value creation process (Håkansson and Snehota, 2023). We rely on the notion of the different economic logics that characterizes the related contexts where new products/processes are used, produced and developed (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2007, pp. 152-156). The complex web of interconnected resource interfaces that span across these settings, over time and space, represented by both private and public actors, has to deliver rather different value to these.

The paper argues that a conceptual framework able to outline what specific requirement that Digital Health solutions are exposed to, has to cover following aspects: a) What specific requirements are expressed by what representatives for the user setting, related to what established methods, technologies, procurement rules and regulations? b) What specific requirements are perceived and related to in the producing setting, with its production economy focused supplier systems? c) What specific requirements are related to in the development settings engagement in certain knowledge paths?

A first central interface is the medical profession/patient interface, with its basic demand in increased medical/care quality, and how this is related to interfaces representing regulations procurement, etc. A specific aspect is that representatives for the medical profession/patient interface can interact directly within potential business supplier in development of Digital Health solutions. As soon a solution reaches a commercial stage, the future of the interface is in the hand of representatives for public procurement and regulations. A second central interface is the public-private interface(s), which is the meeting between potentially different business values and health care values. This interface is often governed by a business deal that steers the monetary flows between the parties.

These two central interfaces, sporting fundamentally different values; in the using, producing and developing settings, are directly interlinked to each other. This puts forward some specific challenges when Digital Health solutions are supposed to deliver both increased medical/care quality and increased efficiency and reducers costs, which are rather different compared to similar processes in business-to-business contexts. In the latter setting, interfaces are characterized by business values, and intense development relations can smoothly can be transformed to customer-supplier relations – and vice versa. The conceptual framework discussion explores the public-private interfaces, and compare and contrast it with the development and embedding of new Digital solutions in a commercial business-to-business setting. That is, the paper presents an analytical framework that allows the investigation of how, which, and too whom value is being generated in the using, producing and developing settings of Digital Health solutions.

ABSTRACT. This study explores the role of social capital in facilitating shared value creation within industrial symbiosis, a form of collaborative sustainable business model. Drawing on a single-case study from a sustainable business ecosystem in Poland, the research illuminates theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that social capital impacts shared value creation and mitigates different types of tensions: value creation vs value capture, mutual value vs individual value, and gaining value vs loosing value. The results reveal that structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital are involved in balancing the tensions that can occur in sustainable business models. It also highlights how social capital not only mitigates different types of tensions but also supports the evolution of industrial symbiosis by fostering cooperation among multiple stakeholders. This study builds on recent advances in social capital theory and a relational view of inter-organizational relationships in collaborative networks with sustainable goals. It contributes to theoretical and practical understandings by exploring the dynamics of social capital within industrial symbiosis and its impact on shared value creation. It extends the discussion of social capital’s benefits, proposing its critical role in the strategic management of relationships within sustainable ecosystems. It provides practical insights into how tensions between members of an industrial symbiosis can be overcome to create shared value. Finally, by highlighting the important links between social capital, tensions in collaborative networks and the creation of shared value, this study contributes to further convergence between the fields of marketing, strategic management, and entrepreneurship.

Acknowledgments This research received financial support from the Marketing Department of the University of Lodz, Poland. We also wish to express our gratitude to William Nuttall of The Open University, UK, for his assistance with the English language.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this preliminary study is to investigate the relationship dynamics associated with the development of circular practices in the textile and composite industries. The primary goal is to compare the strategies used by these two industries to solve environmental issues and promote sustainability. In-depth interviews with company representatives, as well as a detailed analysis of documents and primary sources, will be used to better understand how circular practices influence the configuration of the company network and the dynamics of relationships between sector actors. The current setting is marked by a growing business interest in sustainability, driven by environmental concerns and shifting consumer tastes. This attention has resulted in a dramatic shift in market dynamics, with sustainability becoming an increasingly important factor in corporate decisions and consumer preferences. In this framework, circular practices emerge as critical techniques for addressing environmental issues and promoting long-term sustainability. The comparative analysis of the textile and composite sectors will show differences and similarities in circularity-promoting tactics. It will look into how these practices affect the structure and dynamics of the business network, as well as what this means for the overall sustainability of the industries under discussion. The findings of this study will provide useful insights into circular practices and sustainability, serving as a foundation for the creation of effective strategies to solve environmental concerns in the textile and composite sectors. This research will play an important role in guiding business and government decisions toward better environmental and social sustainability, as well as supporting balanced and responsible economic growth.

ABSTRACT. We contribute to the track ‘Business Ecosystems in Industrial Contexts’ by drawing on our case study research on so-called overarching servitization (Bluemink et al., 2023), in which we design interventions to enable an OEM (B2B company) to add end user-oriented service strategies to the innovation portfolio. Our research is based on an initial scoping review, reported in last year’s IMP conference and a design approach (with multiple case studies) to develop the interventions with and within practice. This research method used is action research, and we applied four Action Research Cycles. As for the findings, the first two action cycles led to the following insights: 1) End-user Service related insights: • Opening up the technology focus allows for service value propositions. • Shifting to end-user value focus fosters new service solution directions. • Multidisciplinary teams foster end-user-driven product-service solutions. 2) Futurizing related insights: • Involving people from other contexts generates a future orientation. • Envisioning capabilities are drivers for ideating servitization futures. • Developing digital platform knowledge drives the transition to servitization strategies. • Using strategic design techniques fosters overarching servitization strategies. In the third action cycle, an overarching servitization framework was created based on the strategic design approach of roadmapping (Simonse, 2018; Simonse et al., 2015) with end-user focus and futurizing interventions. This overarching servitization framework was called ‘the long now' because it brought the long-term future into the ‘now’ of the multidisciplinary participants of the third cycle. In the fourth cycle, the overarching servitization framework was finalized, and it proved to help technology-based innovation managers move their scope to the customer of their (b2B) customer. Further research aims to generalize the six-step framework to other industries and base it further in the servitization field.

ABSTRACT. We argue that IMP research has significant potential to contribute to circular economy research. Specifically, we believe that the three central concepts in IMP research—interconnectedness, embeddedness, and adaptations—can offer valuable insights for understanding business networks’ transition to a circular economy. We elaborate on these concepts and their origins within IMP to propose potential solutions for addressing key challenges of the circular economy transition within business networks.

ABSTRACT. ¨The conceptual paper examines the theoretical underpinnings and untapped potential of customer construct in public service management. Developing the role of service users from passive recipients to active co-creators of the services they receive, public service logic (PSL) has been justified by customer-centric premise of service logic (SL), derived from private service management (Osborne, 2018). While the focus of service logic in the interaction between the provider and the customer has been well-justified, the present paper seeks to extend the application of service marketing concepts to the public service theory.

With specific interest in adaptation of customer-dominant logic (CDL) placing the idiosyncratic customer logic as an even more dominant force in value creation within the service process (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2015), we ask how customer-dominant logic compares to and enhances our understanding of value creation in public services? Subthemes of the paper organized according to CDL framing include the compatibilities and controversies between the concepts of customer value and public value, value co-creation and service co-production, as well as value co-destruction in both realms.

The findings suggest that the ongoing discourse on public service logic aligning with CDL's customer logic, depicting how individual customers uniquely interpret and rationalize their service use, complementing the existing literature on PSL. In contrast to present PSL debates, CDL acknowledges value formation to take place more holistically both within and outside user co-creation in specific interaction points between provider and customer. Also defining the ultimate meaning of public customer in contrast to user and citizen labels grows specifically interesting in comparing the logics. We argue that besides private value as in what makes PSO valuable for the individual, the social constructionist perspective on customer value (Zeithaml et al., 2020) aligns with many elements of public value as in what makes PSO valuable for the society.

ABSTRACT. The Industrial Network Approach (INA) emphasises the significance of long-term business relationships characterized by complex interaction patterns. Understanding how companies are interconnected through such relationships is important for addressing sustainability challenges, for example how they can contribute to more efficient use of resources, such as products. The industrial context of this case study is the construction industry, which is characterised by short-term, transactional relationships. In contrast, addressing sustainability challenges requires increased coordination and collaboration between different counterparts. More efficient use of products requires a better understanding of end-users’ experience. While these aspects require increased levels of involvement between suppliers and customers, achieving high-involvement relationships that facilitate collaboration can be costly for both sides. Therefore, the paper aims to understand the role third parties in supplier-buyer relationships for increasing product utilisation and longevity in the use stage.

The case focuses on a business network involving a manufacturer of workwear, a service provider, and business customers from the construction industry. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with managers of the manufacturer, the service provider and three business customers. Additional unstructured interviews were carried out with end-users (i.e., the employees working on construction sites) of an additional business customer. Data was analysed through systematic combining. The findings highlight the importance of a third party for facilitating benefits of high-involvement relationships for the supplier and customers, without the associated higher costs compared to low involvement. The approach enables increasing product utilisation and longevity through the inclusion of more actors, such as end-users in purchasing decisions.

ABSTRACT. In this paper we investigate how a group of public agencies and projects sought to develop market agencement through the collaborative governance of market devices, in the context of the market for construction aggregates. Our comparison of two cases across two Nordic countries identify the introduction, elaboration, and enforcement of new market devices as a key mechanism for re-framing residual aggregates as calculable and tradable in the marketplace. This process involved combining and overlaying existing (and historically predominant) market devices for ensuring waste and pollution control, oriented around centralized indicators for allocating ‘pollution allowances’ and limits on ‘contaminated content’, with novel waste re-categorization devices, such as material classification, certification and declaration schemes demonstrating the productive properties and functionality of residual materials. Through prolonged fieldwork, we shadowed key market actors in their endeavour to shape the market for residual aggregates materials. Through detailed analysis of the framing process, we trace the calculative frames that classified extant (linear) practices as wasteful, while (re)framing circular practices as valuable and marketable. They achieved this, we argue, through the rapid and widespread acceptance of new calculative devices downgrading extant practices such as landfilling and excavating construction aggregates as wasteful and costly, while convincing public authorities of the benefits of facilitating the market exchange of residual aggregates. Through their establishment of effective collaborative governance arrangements, case actors gained significant market agencement. Ultimately, the new calculative device worked to re-frame discharge and surplus substances as calculable and marketable secondary aggregates (by)products, allowing for the economic and circular organizing of a previously non-economic and un-marketable residual material.

ABSTRACT. Abstract submitted to the IMP annual conference Oulu 2024 Special Track: Business Networks in Market Shaping Title: Theorizing in (re)search for sustainable markets - Representing markets as business networks

Abstract Our purpose is to investigate how cross-fertilization between two research streams: IMP related business network studies and practice based market studies (our acronym MPS) may contribute to understand shaping of sustainable markets to cope with a grand challenge such as climate change. We base our analysis on two propositions. First, to successfully cope with a grand challenge requires interaction between governance by the state and governance by the market. Second, innovation/transformation of technology, public policy and market practice are required and interdependent. During the last decade or so there seems to be less interaction between the IMP and MPS research communities as regards conference participation, joint authorships, joint research projects, cross- citations in research articles. Synergetic opportunities for theorizing risk being underexplored. IMP is based on findings in empirical studies of industrial marketing that the dominating micro-economic models are unfit both to represent industrial market practice and as guiding principles for industrial policy. (Mattsson & Johanson 2006; Håkansson et al. 2009). MPS, with an important base in IMP, argues that the market phenomenon as such needs to be studied in its own right (Araujo et al. 2010). Given the purpose of this paper we focus on literature on market shaping (Storbacka et al. 2020) We compare similarities and differences between IMP and MPS as regards conceptual frameworks and empirical studies. Both are based on critic against how markets are theorized in literature. Both study practice but with MPS based on methodological and theorizing consequences of a practice approach. MPS states that markets are performed by practices (Araujo et al. 2008). MPS distinguishes market practice categories (most explicitly in Kjellberg & Helgesson 2007) referring to exchange, representation and normalizing practices and to chains of translation to understand interdependencies between practice categories. IMP distinguishes three network layers in the ARA model (activities, resources, actors) that represent connectivity and critical issues in coping with business relationships within an organization, in a dyad, and in networks. MPS mostly frames the context of exchange as markets for products. In IMP markets are framed as networks with reference to interdependency across ARA layers with the aim to realize a function or a system. Both IMP and MPS consider and analyze framing issues of a material, spatial and temporality nature but differ depending on how markets are represented. The paper concludes with ideas about how conceptual elements of IMP and MPS can be applied to studies of shaping sustainable markets. Based on MPS performativity, translation and the three market practice categories are essential to consider. Based on the three layers in the ARA model market representation equips actors with resources, activities and relationships that actors performing the representation find relevant. Thus, markets become represented as networks. IMP theorizing on technological innovation as well as on exchange practice is based on decades of empirical studies essential for understanding sustainable markets. Both IMP and MPS consider policy actor influence, but MPS conceptually opens for inclusion of policy in the market normalizing practice, to consider theorizing controversies and translation between policy practice and market practice. Thus, returning to our initial propositions, abductive research based on IMP and MPS theorizing could contribute to useful knowledge about how to cope with grand challenges. References Araujo, L., Kjellberg, H., & Spencer, R. (2008) Market practices and forms: introduction to the special issue. Marketing Theory, 8 (1), 5-14. Araujo, L., Finch,J & Kjellberg (eds.) (2010) Reconnecting marketing to markets. Oxford University Press Håkansson, H., Ford, D., Gadde, L.E., Snehota, I. & Waluszewski, A. (2009) Business in networks, John Wiley & Sons. Kjellberg, H. & Helgesson, C.F. (2007) On the nature of markets and their practices. Marketing Theory , 7 (2), 137-162. Mattsson, L.G. & Johanson, J. (2006) Discovering market networks European Journal of Marketing 40, 259-274. Storbacka, K., Nenonen, S., Peters, L.D. & Brodie, R.J. 2022. Editorial Taking stock of shaping strategies: From firms driving markets for business performance to diverse actors shaping systems form sustainability. Industrial Marketing Management 107, A1-A10.

ABSTRACT. Whereas previous research shows that the programmatic advertising market has been exploited to circulate disinformation, the role of digital advertising in funding disinformation remains understudied. So far, the literature on digital marketing has treated disinformation as an externality unrelated to marketing practice. Adopting the Constructive Market Studies (CMS) framework, especially Callon’s concept of framing and overflowing, this study examines how the increasing focus on engagement metrics and click monetization disentangles online traffic from its sources. This framing leads to three overflows: (1) flooding the Internet with inauthentic clicks through bots, (2) the emergence of synthetic content, and (3) nudging content creators to publish incendiary content. The paper argues that digital marketers should not overlook how their ads and budgets finance deceiving and inflammatory content and that due diligence is essential in digital marketing.

ABSTRACT. Business actors are challenged by demands for more sustainable solutions. In this paper we elaborate on how firms manage such change initiatives in interaction with relevant business partners. Theoretically we draw on notions on strategizing and mobilisation in business networks. Empirically, the study is grounded in the European retail context and specifically in the development of more sustainable packaging solutions. Retail currently faces significant challenges regarding distribution, resulting from an increase in e-commerce sales together with an increased number of last-mile logistics options and the use of so called omnichannels, i.e. the integration of multiple distribution channels. Based on a single case study we describe and analyse how a focal firm tries to mobilise its suppliers and customers to use a more sustainable packaging solution that would save packaging materials and make transport more efficient. However, while the new solution appears to benefit more sustainable operations, the mobilisation of key business partners turns out to be a challenge. As a result, the focal firm needs to handle a combination of packaging solutions including the old solution, and the new, more sustainable one. Hence, while mobilisation has become a strong theme in studies of network dynamics, we suggest that the counterparts’ strategizing in terms of either becoming mobilised or to avoid being mobilised also needs to be considered. Moreover, the case illustrates how the actions and reactions to the change initiative relate to the business actors’ resources and activities, and how these are used in relation to the actors’ other business relationships. One issue concern whether to use standardised or customised packaging solutions and how the perspectives on such decisions depend on prior investments.

ABSTRACT. This study explores how sustainability outcomes of an eco-innovation evolves within a network context. It focuses how and why the outcome of an eco-innovation differ depending on the network foci, i.e., whether it is, as most studies, the dyad (e.g., supplier-customer) or if it is beyond the dyad (in this study, a triadic setting). The study is based on theories on business networks where the unit of analysis is a dyad and a triad. The purpose of the study is to explore how to assess sustainability outcomes of eco-innovations from different network perspectives, juxtaposing dyadic and triadic perspectives.

The paper presents a model that provides an empirical contextualization illustrating actor perceptions regarding sustainability outcomes of the same sustainability initiative (an eco-innovation focused on energy efficiency in offices) is contingent upon the unit of analysis. The model presented in this paper functions as a strategic instrument for companies, offering insights into various conditions and helping them grasp how sustainability outcomes differ based on individual, dyadic, and triadic viewpoints. It offers a framework to understand why effects may diminish with increased interconnectedness and why technology alone may fall short. The results suggest that the outcome might get negatively affected when the number of involved actors grows (in this study; expands to a triad). The results offer implications for future studies of eco-innovations, and it echoes the need to expand the study perspective in business networks beyond the dyad when addressing sustainability challenges.

ABSTRACT. Markets have the ability, through prices, to inform actors facing limitations of knowledge, what is wasteful. Viewing the market as a discovery process that helps in dealing with the limits of human cognition and knowledge (Caldwell, 1997) could offer insights into how firms could address ‘grand challenges’, through activities that are participatory, inscribed with multiple voices, and distributed experimentations (Gehman et al., 2022, p. 259). Engaging with this idea of the market reveals how connections are core to economies and knowledge, and economic performance is dependent on knowledge gathered from close connections (Loasby, 2005). This idea is at the heart of the network view that understands firms as enmeshed in networks of complex interlocking interdependencies with each other (Ford & Mouzas, 2008; Ford & Håkansson, 2006; Mouzas, 2006; Gadde et al., 2003; Gnyawali & Madhavan, 2001; Axelsson, 1992). The interdependencies are key to dealing with uncertainty, a paradoxical context, as it is not just a pervasive problem but also a necessary condition for human intelligence, initiative, and imagination (Loasby, 2011). In the context of dealing with uncertainty related to knowledge about waste, the interdependencies of business, society, and the planet (Edwards et al., 2021; Valentinov et al., 2021; Wasieleski et al., 2021) come into play. It is, therefore, not unusual that ideas of degrowth and circular economy (CE) have begun appearing together in literature advocating for societal transformations towards sustainability (see Savini, 2023; Lambert, 2020). Degrowth, defined as ‘…a planned reduction of energy use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human well-being’ (Hickel, 2021, pp 1105) highlights the interconnections at a meta or macro level. The CE, an economic system based on business models that replace the concept of ‘end-of-life’ with reduction, reusing, recycling, and recovering of materials in production, distribution, and consumption activities (Kirchherr at al., 2017), highlights the connections on a more practical, namely firms and individual levels. Both concepts share a common lineage in the field of ecological economics (Lambert, 2020; Bonaiuti, 2018; Korhonen et al., 2018) and appear to address challenges related to resources and waste, the result of a linear networks of production-consumption-disposal ecosystems (Savini, 2023; Sarkis et al., 2022; Schröder et al., 2019) and together they reveal a wider spectrum of interdependencies. This increases the levels of uncertainty but also invites a more informed approach towards the challenges emerging from the current networked systems that are at the heart of societal existence. Within the business network approach, CE has been studied both from the perspective of supplier value (e.g. Ranta, Keränen & Aarikka-Stenroos, 2020), and customer value (e.g. Sairanen, et al., 2024), however, in this study we bring forward a novel perspective by focusing on micro and meso levels, and networked systems. Moreover, several studies on sustainability and CE within the business network approach focus on waste management (e.g. Dora et al., 2021), whereas this study takes the perspective of imaginaries of degrowth that precedes any process or activity related to waste management. Additionally, by juxtaposing the two concepts of degrowth and CE, we intend to instigate and highlight discussions on weak and strong sustainability (Sanini, 2023; Beltramello & Bootz, 2021; Chaminade, 2020; Temis & Tainter, 2020; Schröder et al., 2019). For instance, CE is critiqued for largely preserving assumptions of growth in current production and consumption systems even while offering imaginaries of a society that is able to reduce waste and create products using discarded materials, whereas degrowth strikes at the heart of these very assumptions of growth (Savini, 2023; Sarkis et al., 2022). Even so, CE embodies elements of degrowth by incorporating the narrative of ‘creative destruction’ indicating structural changes by shrinking certain parts of the economy while expanding others (Schröder et al., 2019, pp. 191). Further, by drawing on the idea of ‘creative destruction’ closely aligned to evolutionary change through innovation (Bloch & Metcalfe, 2018), the potential for CE as the harbinger of degrowth, and degrowth as an imaginary for strong circularity requires further investigation. We conduct this investigation through the concept of waste by uncovering how CE in drawing attention to waste reveals the consequences of not knowing about or understanding waste (Alexander & O’Hare, 2023). We argue that such ignorance prevents strong circularity from emerging, and that degrowth could offer imaginaries for understanding and knowing about the networked interdependencies of waste. In doing so, it could offer pathways for strong circularity to emerge. The aim of this study is to fill the gaps in prior knowledge by exploring how degrowth as an imaginary can be used for strong circularity. The research questions are as follows: a) How can we understand the networked interdependencies of waste b) What does this reveal about degrowth as an imaginary for developing strong circularity? The empirical part of the study is based on qualitative case study research of a waste management company that is actively planning the creative destruction of its current business model to explore how the idea of CE can kindle the innovative thinking required for engaging with degrowth as an imaginary for incorporating strong circularity . The findings of the study contributes to prior research on CE in business networks by adding a perspective of strong circularity through interconnectedness of various actors. Moreover, our study adds insights to existing research on sustainability, and particularly CE, by bringing forward degrowth as a critical imaginary for uncovering networked interdependencies of waste while also offering the opportunity to discover new network configurations.

References

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ABSTRACT. Turbulent times : Triadic analysis of switching a business partner

Previous research has taken many different viewpoints to the phenomenon of switching a business partner to another. For example switching costs (Blut, Heiner, Backhaus, Rudd, and Marck 2016), circumstances in which a buyer should switch to a new supplier (Pfeiffer 2010) and process of switching have been researched (Bygballe 2017). From the viewpoint of business relationship’s dynamics switching a business partner to another actually involves two different processes, taking place more or less simultaneously; ending one business relationship and initiating another one. Although both of these processes are likely to cause network effects reflecting to the wider network (see for example Halinen, Tähtinen 2002; Salo, Tähtinen, Ulkuniemi 2009) the previous literature appears to take only dyadic perspective on the phenomenon.

This paper examines the phenomenon of switching a business partner by using a triadic perspective. This allows demonstrating network flows and the role of indirect relationships in more detailed manner than larger entities with multiple actors (Smith and Laage-Hellman, 1992, p. 40). Three actors is also the smallest possible network and thus can offer sufficient tool for analysing interconnectedness of business relationships (Ritter 2000). The study uses triadic analysis as a tool in order to explore the dynamics of business relationships on as detailed level as possible, to identify possible network effects, and to understand the complexity of the phenomenon. The aim of the paper is to find out, what kind of dynamics take place when an actor is switched to another. And what kinds of effects does the switch have on triadic business relationships’ atmosphere (i.e. trust, commitment and attraction) (see Tähtinen and Vaaland 2006; Salo et al 2009).

In their article of business relationship’s ending Tähtinen and Halinen (2002, 183) use the term switching describing endings, where an actor (the supplier or the buyer) is replaced by another alternative and a relationship is formed with this new actor. Their description emphasizes that switching is not a mutual decision and is thus made by one actor alone. More recently Tähtinen and Havila (2018) have pointed out, that the term switching is not clearly defined in the context of industrial business relationships at the moment and they call for better definition for the concept of switching. This paper refers with the term switching to situations where an actor ends a business relationship with an actor (supplier or buyer) with the intention to replace this actor and to initiate a new business relationship with a new actor.

Switching is not done mutually, but by an actor alone. Or, in the context of business triads, switch is possibly made by coalition of two actors that decide mutually to switch the third actor and replace it with a new actor. Switching a customer or a buyer rarely happens overnight, thus it can be seen as a process. As the process of switching involves two different processes taking place more or less simultaneously; ending one business relationship and initiating another one, this paper draws from both business relationship’s initiation and ending literature. In addition, sociological research on triad relationships and previous research of business triads and networks dynamics are used as theoretical background.

Research methodology and data gathering

This is a qualitative research, using explorative, in-depth single-case study as a method. The starting point is perception of interesting course of events in a business to business relationship, that the author was able to connect with her pre-understanding of switching a business partner -literature. This means, that the study is built in an abductive manner (see Peirce, 1998, p. 226–241), starting from perceiving empirical phenomena and building a “pre-understanding” of the research topic. In abductive research approach the data is analysed by combining theoretical and empirical insights which “leads to new insight about existing phenomena by examining these from a new perspective” (Kovács and Spens, 2005, 138). Abductive reasoning emphasizes connection of theory and empirical observations. In order to understand the phenomenon, it is important that researcher is able to gather rich data while also paying attention to existing theories around the topic.

The case study reveals an interesting and dynamic course of events. An actor of a business triad has recently been switched to another. In a triad of actors A-B-C the actor C was switched to new actor D. Author started to follow the case with interest, as it appeared to offer rich data and possibility of examining the dynamics that take place within a triad where two of the actors are “old ones” and one is a new one. Next step was to contact the actors of a new triad in order to get access for gaining research data. Research data has been gathered by interviews that were conducted with several respondents, representing all three actors of the new triad, one actor at a time. The research uses also contracts and other documents as additional sources of data.

References: Blut, M., Heiner, E., Backhaus, C., Rudd, J. and Marck, M. (2016), “Securing business-to-business relationships: The impact of switching costs”. Industrial Marketing Management 52 (2016) 82–90 Bygballe, L.E. (2017), “Toward a conceptualization of supplier-switching processes in business relationship”. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol 23, pp. 40–53. Halinen, A. and Tähtinen, J. (2002), “A process theory of relationship ending”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 163-180. Peirce, C.S. (1998), The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings, University Press, Bloomington, IN, pp. 226-241. Pfeiffer, T. (2010), “A dynamic model of supplier switching”, European Journal of Operational Research, 207 pp. 697–710 Ritter, T. (2000) “A Framework for Analyzing Interconnectedness of Relationships” Industrial Marketing Management 29, 317–326 Salo, A., Tähtinen, J. and Ulkuniemi, P. (2009), “Twists and turns of triadic business relationship recovery”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 618–632. Schreiner, A. (2015), “Triadic analysis of business relationship’s ending: A case study of a dyad and a third actor”, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 891–905. Smith, P. C. and Laage-Hellman, J. (1992), “Small group analysis in industrial networks”, in Axelsson, B. and Easton, G. (Eds.), Industrial Networks – A New Wave of Reality, Routledge. Tähtinen, J. and Halinen, A. (2002), ”Research on ending exchange relationships: a categorization, assessment and outlook”, Marketing theory, Vol. 2 No.2, pp. 165–188. Tähtinen, J. and Havila, V. (2018) “Conceptually confused, but on a field level? A method for conceptual analysis and its application”, Marketing Theory Vol. 19 No 2 Tähtinen, J. and Vaaland, T.I. (2006), "Business relationships facing the end: why restore them?", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 21 No 1, pp.14-23

ABSTRACT. This study delves into the critical role of market orientation (MO) in international entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of exporting. While previous research emphasizes the positive impact of MO on firm performance, this study examines its entrepreneurial implications, highlighting the overlooked dimensions of opportunity recognition and exploitation in an international business context. Focusing on the dual types of MO, proactive and responsive, and their distinct impacts, we unveil how these dimensions contribute to a firm’s performance through the influence of opportunity recognition and exploitation. Additionally, we explore the moderating influence of export assistance and environmental dynamism on these relationships, offering a comprehensive understanding of MO’s role in entrepreneurial outcomes in international markets.

ABSTRACT. Recently, various political, economic, social, and environmental events have compelled companies to cultivate resilience, adaptability to the continuous challenges and changes in the market. Alongside, the theme of sustainability, encompassing environmental, social, and economic dimensions, has gained prominence, prompting firms to seek resilience-building strategies. In this complex and dynamic context business relationships could sustain firms both in increasing the resilience of the companies and in achieving common sustainability goals. Previous researches have predominantly focused on business actors, overlooking social and political actors. Among these the Trade Associations could play a relevant role. This research aims to further investigate the role of Trade Associations (service provider, informant, representative and aggregator) in business networks considering the dynamic environment. Finally, in a network perspective, it will further evaluate how the TAs could support the SMEs in the achievement of their environmental-social-economic sustainable goals, in turn allowing their economical growth. An ethnographic approach will be used to better investigate the topic, collaborating with an important local TA.