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To date little empirical research has been undertaken into relationship atmosphere, yet the literature leads one to the conclusion that this is a key or central factor in developing the relationship between firms and in shaping the characteristics of that relationship over time.Given that the dimensions of atmosphere are only observable by the individual from a subjective standpoint, and that therefore emotion and subjective perception will inevitably intercede, this omission is startling to say the least.The aim of this study is to respond to this research gap and explore the nature and importance of perceptions of relationship atmosphere in business markets.In order for this exploration to be effective, a research methodology was designed to gather data, and three research questions were identified as having implications for the study of relationship atmosphere. The findings as reported in this thesis present a new view of relationship atmosphere and its role in inter-firm relationships. In view of the findings, a submariner analogy is presented to represent accordant and discordant perceptions of atmosphere in individual relationships. Additionally a revised interaction model is proposed to represent the new view of relationship atmosphere as a product of the perception of the individual parties to the relationship / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

To date little empirical research has been undertaken into relationship atmosphere, yet the literature leads one to the conclusion that this is a key or central factor in developing the relationship between firms and in shaping the characteristics of that relationship over time.Given that the dimensions of atmosphere are only observable by the individual from a subjective standpoint, and that therefore emotion and subjective perception will inevitably intercede, this omission is startling to say the least.The aim of this study is to respond to this research gap and explore the nature and importance of perceptions of relationship atmosphere in business markets.In order for this exploration to be effective, a research methodology was designed to gather data, and three research questions were identified as having implications for the study of relationship atmosphere. The findings as reported in this thesis present a new view of relationship atmosphere and its role in inter-firm relationships. In view of the findings, a submariner analogy is presented to represent accordant and discordant perceptions of atmosphere in individual relationships. Additionally a revised interaction model is proposed to represent the new view of relationship atmosphere as a product of the perception of the individual parties to the relationship / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis focuses on one key theme, which is to understand the construct of organizational networking behaviors in business-to-business markets. It is concerned with two main issues, which are built into the research program of three empirical studies. The first issue is concerned with a systematic understanding of organizational behaviors in response to the embeddedness and interconnectedness of the network of business relationships that every organization has to deal with. Study 1 of the research program explores the concept termed ‘organizational networking behaviors’. This study adopts an industrial network approach, the central tenet of which is that firms undertake a continuous process of interaction with their important partners in the embedding context of the business network. A multi-informant approach, using semi-structured interviews, was used to collect qualitative data from thirty-one executive managers (in fifteen manufacturing firms in the UK). This study identified information acquisition, opportunity enabling, strong-tie resource mobilization and weak-tie resource mobilization as four types of organizational networking behaviors, which are reflected by their respective sub-types. The resulting conceptualization of organizational networking forms the basis for the operationalization of the construct in Study 2. While Study 1 takes an exploratory qualitative approach, Study 2 deploys a confirmatory quantitative approach since it is necessary to confirm/refute the resulting conceptualization and its types from Study 1. A rigorous scale construction and validation process was followed in this study. The conceptualization of the measurement model was carefully considered based on its theoretical underpinning. A second-order formative measurement structure was conceptualized, which required the employment of a multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) model for the validation of such a measurement model. A dataset of 603 responses was collected and analyzed to confirm the structure of the four types of organizational networking behaviors, which is in line with the results of Study 1.The second issue that the thesis is concerned with is the influences of such organizational networking efforts, which are examined from a firm’s behavioral perspective. Study 3 examines how organizational networking behaviors serve as the driver of a firm’s customer-oriented, competitor-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors due to the sensing and seizing aspects of networking. It was also hypothesized that a firm’s customer-oriented, competitor-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors positively affect firm performance. The test of these hypotheses required survey data collection, which was done through an on-line questionnaire. A dataset of 354 responses was collected from UK managers, whose organizations operate in business-to-business markets in either the manufacturing or services sectors. The use of statistical modeling techniques is similar to that of Study 2. The research results indicate that a firm’s network-oriented behaviors positively impact on the development of customer-oriented and competitor-oriented behaviors. They also foster relationship coordination with its important business partners within the network. In addition, the effective management of the firm’s portfolio of relationships is found to mediate the positive impact of network-oriented behaviors on firm profitability.

Many companies have exploited the power of brand equity in B2C markets as a source of competitive advantage. The trend in B2B, however, seems to be slightly different where many decision makers still believe that branding is not relevant to their business as it is to B2C. This paper investigates the role of brand equity in B2B businesses and shows how long-term investment in brand equity can change the rules of the game radically in favor of those B2B companies who have invested in their brand with a "holistic" approach which conform the overall strategy of the company. Caterpillar Inc. has been chosen as the case study and the role of its brand equity in its superior performance over its competitor, Komatsu Ltd, is investigated. The qualitative part of the research analyses the brand associations and the roles that these associations together with other brand elements play for Caterpillar and its customers. The quantitative part investigates two particular areas of recovery from market difficulties and efficiency in market communications and proves the role of higher brand equity in superior performance in recovery from market difficulties and marketing communications efficiency. The results are then tested further on the second case study which compares Intel to AMD. The results also open up new lines for further research on the subject both in depth and breadth where suggestions are made for generalizability of the research as well as determining the role of brand equity in companies' performances more precisely.

Yes / In the field of business-to-business marketing, corporate ethical identity and corporate brand identity are crucial subjects for discussion. Business organizations function under social norms, and to establish an ethical identity, they must show corporate ethical responsibility, embrace ethical standards, and maintain open communication with suppliers. While an organization's reputation is impacted by the absence of an ethical identity, its financial success is unaffected. Extant literature has not thrown a spotlight on social and environmental performance which indicates that less focus has been given by academics than by practitioners. To fill the lacuna in the existing literature, this study examines the relationships between corporate ethical identity, corporate brand identity, social and environmental performance. The study uses a deductive research approach and develops hypotheses which are further tested using variance based structural equation modeling. The study offers a distinctive contribution to ethics theory and stakeholder theory by showing that developing an ethical identity requires more than just adhering to moral guidelines and upholding open communication. Companies must show that they are ethically responsible towards society. The study provides evidence of the influence corporate brand identity has on environmental and social performance. The findings can be useful in developing business-to-business marketing strategies.