The global marketplace has become highly integrated, and global competition is increasingly intense and dynamic. To be successful in this competitive and hostile environment, international firms must be able to foster and maintain successful cross-border inter-firm relationships. At the same time, service exports have remarkably emerged as a crucial component of international trade, underpinning the future growth and prosperity of national economies worldwide. Yet scholars and business practitioners alike have recognised the significant paucity of research on the performance of service exporters. Similarly, despite the recent growth in research interests in international relationship marketing, theoretical development in this area has failed to keep pace with the increase in both volume and magnitude of inter-organisational transactions across national borders. This study addressed the key research question of “What are the key factors driving the export performance of service firms?”, based on an integrated theoretical foundation comprising the resource-based view of the firm, transaction cost economics, and the relational exchange theory. The study took into account the potential role of: (1) organisational characteristics, (2) market characteristics, and (3) the governance mechanisms deployed by service firms in their management of cross-border relationships with their business clients. A multi-method research design was utilised for this research, including two main studies. An exploratory study was first conducted, involving 10 in-depth interviews with service exporters in South Australia. Drawing from the outcomes of the exploratory study and a review of the international services marketing and international relationship marketing literature, the researcher proposed a conceptual framework and a set of testable hypotheses. These hypotheses were then tested in the second research phase, in which the researcher conducted a self-administered mail survey, utilising both postal and online means. An effective response rate of 32.77%, or 254 usable responses, allowed the researcher to further analyse the data using the principles of structural equation modelling in AMOS. Thereby, the researcher identified 17 pairs of significant relationships between the variables. The research findings show that the performance of an export venture of a service firm is directly influenced by the size of the firm, their export experience, their managerial commitment, and the performance of the relationship with a major overseas client. Such relationship performance is determined by both contractual-based governance, including contractual complexity and contractual explicitness, and relational-based governance, a higher-order factor incorporating relationship trust, relationship commitment, information exchange, relationship flexibility and relationship harmony. In turn, these governance mechanisms are determined by various organisational and market characteristics. Whilst firm size, resource commitment, and assistance programs by home government influence the level of contractual complexity, contractual explicitness is determined by management commitment, competitive intensity, and the favourability of host government policies. Furthermore, relational-based governance is driven by the export experience of the firms, their managerial commitment, and the favourability of host government policies. The study contributes to advancing the scant international services marketing literature and draws further research attention to the international relationship marketing paradigm. With regards to international business practice, the study provides service exporters with an understanding on the potential role of organisational characteristics and market characteristics in their exporting success. Finally, a successful management of cross-border relationship management and governance mechanisms will also lead them to superior export performance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1379910 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2010

The global marketplace has become highly integrated, and global competition is increasingly intense and dynamic. To be successful in this competitive and hostile environment, international firms must be able to foster and maintain successful cross-border inter-firm relationships. At the same time, service exports have remarkably emerged as a crucial component of international trade, underpinning the future growth and prosperity of national economies worldwide. Yet scholars and business practitioners alike have recognised the significant paucity of research on the performance of service exporters. Similarly, despite the recent growth in research interests in international relationship marketing, theoretical development in this area has failed to keep pace with the increase in both volume and magnitude of inter-organisational transactions across national borders. This study addressed the key research question of “What are the key factors driving the export performance of service firms?”, based on an integrated theoretical foundation comprising the resource-based view of the firm, transaction cost economics, and the relational exchange theory. The study took into account the potential role of: (1) organisational characteristics, (2) market characteristics, and (3) the governance mechanisms deployed by service firms in their management of cross-border relationships with their business clients. A multi-method research design was utilised for this research, including two main studies. An exploratory study was first conducted, involving 10 in-depth interviews with service exporters in South Australia. Drawing from the outcomes of the exploratory study and a review of the international services marketing and international relationship marketing literature, the researcher proposed a conceptual framework and a set of testable hypotheses. These hypotheses were then tested in the second research phase, in which the researcher conducted a self-administered mail survey, utilising both postal and online means. An effective response rate of 32.77%, or 254 usable responses, allowed the researcher to further analyse the data using the principles of structural equation modelling in AMOS. Thereby, the researcher identified 17 pairs of significant relationships between the variables. The research findings show that the performance of an export venture of a service firm is directly influenced by the size of the firm, their export experience, their managerial commitment, and the performance of the relationship with a major overseas client. Such relationship performance is determined by both contractual-based governance, including contractual complexity and contractual explicitness, and relational-based governance, a higher-order factor incorporating relationship trust, relationship commitment, information exchange, relationship flexibility and relationship harmony. In turn, these governance mechanisms are determined by various organisational and market characteristics. Whilst firm size, resource commitment, and assistance programs by home government influence the level of contractual complexity, contractual explicitness is determined by management commitment, competitive intensity, and the favourability of host government policies. Furthermore, relational-based governance is driven by the export experience of the firms, their managerial commitment, and the favourability of host government policies. The study contributes to advancing the scant international services marketing literature and draws further research attention to the international relationship marketing paradigm. With regards to international business practice, the study provides service exporters with an understanding on the potential role of organisational characteristics and market characteristics in their exporting success. Finally, a successful management of cross-border relationship management and governance mechanisms will also lead them to superior export performance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1379910 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2010

The thesis evaluates present situation on the market with electricity in the East and the South-East of Europe. It is focused on the firm Coal Energy that operated and operates in the Czech Republic and abroad. It suggests eventual possible solutions in complicated market atmosphere nowadays.

Les litigants sollicitent les centres d’arbitrage pour diriger l’arbitrage dans toutes ses phases afin de donner une garantie supplémentaire qui assure la validité de la sentence arbitrale. Compte tenu du rôle important que les centres d’arbitrage jouent pendant l’instance arbitrale, les litigants mécontents de la sentence arbitrale ou du jugement annulant la sentence tentent d’engager la responsabilité du centre d’arbitrage dès lors qu’il a surveillé, dirigé et participé au rendu de la sentence.De plus en plus la responsabilité des centres d’arbitrage est mise en cause devant les juridictions étatiques différentes, les fonctions et les pouvoirs exercés par les centres d’arbitrage ainsi que le régime de responsabilité leur est applicable font l’objet d’une attention critique de la part de la doctrine dans plusieurs systèmes juridiques. On s’interroge sur l’origine des rapports qui lient les centres d’arbitrage aux autres acteurs de l’arbitrage, sur les obligations et les pouvoirs conférés aux centres d’arbitrage, et sur les fonctions exercées par les centres d’arbitrage pour établir enfin un régime de responsabilité homogène et pertinent à l’égard des fonctions exercées par les centres d’arbitrage qui a une vocation à s’appliquer dans la majorité des systèmes juridiques / Parties to arbitration seek arbitral institutions to administrate their arbitration in order to have an extra guarantee that ensures the validity of the arbitral award. Given the role that arbitral institutions play during the arbitral procedure, parties unsatisfied either by the arbitral award or the annulment of the award tend to claim the liability of arbitral institution for the awards it had supervised, administered and participated in.The more the allegations of liability raise against the arbitral institutions before courts, the more the issue of arbitral institutions’ functions, powers and liability becomes controversial in different jurisdictions. Therefore, the present study tends to clarify the origin of the relationship existing between arbitral institutions and other parties involved in the arbitration at issue, the duties and powers assigned to the arbitral institutions and the functions performed by the arbitral intuitions, which helps eventually in establishing a kind of liability that complies with the functions performed by the arbitral institutions and can be applied in many jurisdictions.