This thesis studies how experiences influence the development of institutional knowledge within business relationships. It contributes to international business research by clarifying how experience develops the institutional knowledge of firms and what outcome such knowledge development has on firms’ internationalizations. The thesis identifies a need to distinguish between different types of experiences when investigating institutional knowledge development. In addition, the thesis compares different types of knowledge with institutional knowledge as to understand how firms learn to overcome cultural ignorance. The empirical setting consists of quantitative research of small- and medium sized firms. The findings show that market-specific experiences increases a firm’s institutional knowledge whereas experiences of multiple markets contribute to the firm’s perception of a greater need of institutional knowledge when conducting business with their specific partner. However, these experience effects are influenced by firms’ mode of operation (export vs. subsidiaries) in the international markets and mediated by cultural distance. Furthermore, the results show that despite the increased complexity that experiences of multiple markets lead to, such experiences increase a firm’s competence in foreign institutional environments. In addition, the findings show that firms lacking in ability to adapt their business also perceives a lack of knowledge about a country’s institutions and the customer.

Cross-cultural communication challenges arise for managers in international corporations on a daily basis, and in order to evaluate why these challenges occur we conducted a case study in collaboration with the fast-fashion corporation Gina Tricot. Our work challenges the influential theory that cultural proximity leads to less miscommunication within the business environment. By using Griffith’s model on a fashion-based corporation, our thesis demonstrates that geographical distance is not an aiding factor in superior communication within multinational corporations, however, the longevity of relationships have a more deciding impact.   Global expansion and the rapid development of technology contribute to faster communication possibilities across boarders, therefore the highly international, dynamic and quick communication based fast-fashion industry becomes an interesting object when studying cross-cultural communication. Moreover, this research will investigate which specific areas of business communication that creates the greatest challenges for international managers within the fast-fashion corporation Gina Tricot’s cross-cultural operations.   Our secondary sources are mainly based on previous models and guidelines for effective cross-cultural communication, with David Griffith’s model of “Communication Effectiveness” as a main resource. Furthermore, it enabled us to test how well Griffith’s model applies in the fast-fashion industry. Our primary data was obtained by a close collaboration with Gina Tricot in a case study fashion, by conducting personal interviews with retail and purchase managers. Trough our research and analysis we concluded that the core flaw with previous models is based in their rigidness and lack of flexibility to adapt to different circumstances. We base our conclusions on the notion that as human behaviours is dynamic and highly unpredictable, so is also culture and therefore even communication.

Food supply chains are dominated by multiple retailing companies with high market power. There is a raising concern about multiple retailers’ practicing in their relationships with suppliers. In some cases, multiple retailers may behave opportunistically against their suppliers. This could negatively impact suppliers’ operations, the whole chain’s competitiveness and in the long term even consumers’ welfare. Even though the issue is of high importance no studies have attempted to examine it empirically in the past. The aim of this study is to investigate potential multiple retailers’ opportunism in the supply chain in the Greek food sector. For this reason a conceptual model describing the creation of multiple retailers’ opportunism was developed. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was applied in order to confirm the conceptual model. In-depth interviews with practitioners preliminarily confirmed the model and gave valuable contextual specific information. A large scale survey in a sample of 398 food suppliers gave significant results concerning multiple retailers’ opportunistic behaviors. Structural Equation Modeling was applied for data analysis. The study confirmed the developed model and showed that in some cases retailers may adopt opportunistic practices. Goal incompatibility between the exchange partners and suppliers’ dependence on their big customers are the most important factors creating opportunism. In addition, the study found that small suppliers and suppliers who compete with own brand products face higher levels of opportunism. Excessive payments to retailers, agreement violations and negotiation pressures are the three emerged underlying dimensions of retailers’ opportunism. The findings of the study can be used by suppliers for mitigating retailers’ opportunistic behavior and also for increasing their awareness concerning the requirements of such a relationship. In addition, retailers could obtain significant insights for the suppliers’ perceptions concerning their relationships. / Οι μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης έχουν αποκτήσει μεγάλη δύναμη και κυριαρχούν στις εφοδιαστικές αλυσίδες στον κλάδο τροφίμων. Αυτό έχει δημιουργήσει μία αυξανόμενη ανησυχία σχετικά με τις πρακτικές που ακολουθούν οι μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης στις σχέσεις τους με τους προμηθευτές. Κάποιες φορές οι επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης συμπεριφέρονται οπορτουνιστικά απέναντι στους προμηθευτές τους. Το γεγονός αυτό μπορεί να επηρεάσει αρνητικά την λειτουργία των προμηθευτών, την ανταγωνιστικότητα όλης της εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας και μακροπρόθεσμα την ευημερία του καταναλωτή. Αν και το συγκεκριμένο ερευνητικό αντικείμενο είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντικό δεν έχουν πραγματοποιηθεί εμπειρικές μελέτες που εστιάζουν σε αυτό. Στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης είναι να διερευνήσει τον πιθανό οπορτουνισμό των επιχειρήσεων λιανικής πώλησης στην εφοδιαστική αλυσίδα στον κλάδο τροφίμων στην Ελλάδα. Για το σκοπό αυτό αναπτύχθηκε ένα ερευνητικό μοντέλο που περιγράφει την δημιουργία οπορτουνισμού από την πλευρά των μεγάλων επιχειρήσεων λιανικής πώλησης. Για την εξέταση και επιβεβαίωση του ερευνητικού μοντέλου χρησιμοποιήθηκε ένας συνδυασμός ποιοτικών και ποσοτικών ερευνητικών μεθόδων. Αρχικά διεξήχθησαν συνεντεύξεις σε βάθος με στελέχη επιχειρήσεων τροφίμων οι οποίες επιβεβαίωσαν το μοντέλο σε πρώτη φάση και έδωσαν σημαντικές πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις σχέσεις προμηθευτών-επιχειρήσεων λιανικής πώλησης στην Ελληνική αγορά. Επιπλέον, πραγματοποιήθηκε μεγάλης κλίμακας έρευνα δημοσκόπησης σε 398 προμηθευτές τροφίμων από την οποία προέκυψαν σημαντικά αποτελέσματα σχετικά με την οπορτουνιστική συμπεριφορά των επιχειρήσεων λιανικής πώλησης. Τα δεδομένα της έρευνας δημοσκόπησης αναλύθηκαν με τη χρήση Μοντέλου Δομικών Εξισώσεων. Η μελέτη επιβεβαίωσε το ερευνητικό μοντέλο που αναπτύχθηκε και έδειξε ότι σε μερικές περιπτώσεις οι επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης μπορεί να υιοθετήσουν οπορτουνιστικές πρακτικές. Η ασυμφωνία στόχων μεταξύ των συνεργατών και η μεγάλη εξάρτηση των προμηθευτών από τις επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης είναι οι πιο σημαντικοί παράγοντες δημιουργίας οπορτουνισμού. Επιπλέον, τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι οι μικρότεροι προμηθευτές και οι προμηθευτές που ανταγωνίζονται προϊόντα ιδιωτικής ετικέτας αντιμετωπίζουν υψηλότερα επίπεδα οπορτουνισμού. Υπερβολικές πληρωμές προς τις επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης, παραβίαση μέρους των συμφωνιών και διαπραγματευτικές πιέσεις είναι οι βασικές διαστάσεις των εξεταζόμενων πρακτικών. Τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν από τους προμηθευτές ώστε να αμβλύνουν την οπορτουνιστική συμπεριφορά των επιχειρήσεων λιανικής πώλησης αλλά και για να αυξήσουν την γνώση των προμηθευτών σχετικά με τις απαιτήσεις που παρουσιάζουν οι εμπορικές σχέσεις με μεγάλους πελάτες. Τα ευρήματα της μελέτης είναι ιδιαιτέρως χρήσιμα και για τις επιχειρήσεις λιανικής πώλησης οι οποίες μπορούν να αποκτήσουν σημαντικές πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις αντιλήψεις των προμηθευτών για τις εμπορικές σχέσεις τους.

As product complexity increases and markets become more global, companies tend to collaborate with customers, suppliers and partners in business process activities previously carried out within a single firm. This is observed notably also in product development. Product development is an information and communication intense activity, and collaborative product development requires efficient communication between the participating firms, both during an ongoing project and afterwards when the product is in service. When more than one firm is involved, questions linked to business aspects regarding what information to share and how to communicate the information between the firms become important. With changing partners and competing supply chains this is a delicate management issue. The objective of this dissertation is to assess characteristics of communication in collaborative product development, in order to identify requirements for supporting IT tools. Empirically, the research was conducted in two parts. Part I was conducted in the aircraft industry, where a systems integrator firm’s relationship to its major suppliers was investigated. In Part II, collaborative product development between a buyer and several suppliers organized in networks was investigated. These studies were complemented with studies of IS/IT development and implementation projects. Theoretically, it is based on the literature on product development, supply chain management, and IT support for business relationships. Concerning the buyer-supplier dyad it was found that there was not one collaborative product development process in common between the firms, but rather coordination between the firms’ processes. Concerning the relationship between buyer and supplier network, it was found that one of the suppliers represents the network in a dyadic buyer-supplier relationship. Within the supplier network, the firms conducted interorganizational integrated product development, which means that the functions were represented by several firms. This implied that management practices must respect the special characteristic of small and medium-sized firms in collaboration. The investigation of information and communication in collaborative product development in dyads and networks led to a list of requirements on IOIS. The findings were concluded in a matrix that presents characteristics of product development in general, product development in dyads, and product development in supplier networks, and a mapping of the requirements on IOIS. Since the business relationship is the major difference between product development in-house and collaborative product development, it was considered appropriate to take a supply chain view on the requirements for an IOIS. It was found that support is needed both for the procurement and the product development process. Moreover, it was found that project management support can significantly improve the efficiency of the development process. Improvements of the effectiveness regard support for the product life cycle, and for the long-term relationship between the parties. It was concluded that an IOIS for collaborative product development should be based on standard technology and support standard formats, in order to make it possible for a firm to simultaneously manage its own systems and proprietary information, and exchange information with partners when needed. / LARP - Lean Aircraft Research Program / NISAM - Ny industriell samverkan

This study aims to explore the usage of the digital marketing to acquire and maintain business relationships, or more specifically, digital marketing in B2B start-ups within the Swedish market. Digital marketing is essential for businesses nowadays and has become a significant factor for business companies for improving and implementing their marketing strategies. Furthermore, business relationships have always taken an essential role among companies especially today due to the heightened level of digitalization. This case study attempts to answer two main research questions which this paper investigates on. To provide an exhaustive answer to the research questions: “How digital marketing contributes to acquiring business customers in B2B start-up context?” and “How digital marketing contributes to maintaining business customers in B2B start-up context?”, digital marketing approaches of eight respondents, theoretical implications and additional information will be examined in the upcoming chapters. The study concludes, that it was found that digital marketing is understood as an innovative and effective method for attracting, maintaining and building business relationships. However, the lack of resources is one fundamental reason why start-ups have difficulties in acquiring and maintaining business customers in practicing through digital marketing. Additionally, it was found that digital platforms and tools such as websites, industry specific platforms, and blogs provide the highest advantage for start-ups. Moreover, social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook were in most use for presenting content that is informative, educational and honest. Digital marketing strategies in acquiring and maintaining business relationships are indicated in the analyses which give sufficient details in answering the research questions. The paper will provide suggestions for doing further research in improving the current topic in digital marketing.

Abstract The marketing view of a business relationship that follows the handover of a project reflects an era before services became common in the industry. At that time, business relationships were assumed to end after project handover, especially in commercial terms. Since then, services have become an integral part of project business, enabling the emergence of a post-project business relationship. It can be validly argued that the literature has not sufficiently recognized the changing practices of project-based companies. Obviously, a business exchange can outlive a project handover, but the consequences for buyer-seller interaction remain unexplored. This study describes and explains the underlying dynamics of buyer-seller interaction in project afterlife. Interaction is considered to be an inherently dynamic process that is dependent on a continuous yet variable exchange of services. The theoretical foundation of this study builds on the literature on interaction and networks as well as the literature on project marketing and management. The empirical part of the study is conducted as a combination of single and multiple qualitative case studies in five different project contexts: content management systems, windmills, mining, engineered wood solutions, and paper machines. Eighty-two personal interviews provide the primary data. This study comprises an overview and four individual papers that contribute to a process-based understanding of post-project interaction. The study primarily contributes to the project marketing research. First, the results indicate that buyer-seller interaction varies between three extreme orientations, making the development of a post-project business relationship inherently dynamic and challenging to manage. Second, the study expands theory regarding post-project interaction by describing four typical relationships in service-intensive projects. Third, the study extends the theoretical lens of project marketing and provides analytical tools to examine post-project interaction. Fourth, the study clarifies the role of key individuals in mediating change in post-project nets. Fifth, the study identifies several intergroup tensions that restrain interaction and proposes methods to overcome these tensions. / Tiivistelmä Markkinoinnin näkemys projektitoimituksen jälkeisestä liikesuhteesta perustuu pääosin aikaan ennen teollisuusyritysten palveluliiketoiminnan yleistymistä, jolloin liikesuhteen uskottiin päättyvän varsinkin taloudellisessa mielessä. Palveluliiketoiminta on kehittynyt osaksi projektiyritysten liiketoimintaa, mikä mahdollistaa liikesuhteen jatkumisen projektitoimituksen jälkeen. Voi perustellusti väittää, että alan kirjallisuus ei ole riittävästi tunnistanut yritysten muuttuneita käytäntöjä. Tästä syystä tarvitaan lisää tutkimusta palveluintensiivisten projektiyritysten liikesuhteista projektien jälkeisissä vaiheissa. Yritysten liikesuhteet muuttuvat dynaamisesti ja vaikka palveluvaihdanta on jatkuvaa, sen sisältö vaihtelee ajan kuluessa. Tämän tutkimuksen lähtökohta on kuvata ja selittää erilaisten yhteistoimintojen ja sidosten jatkumista yritysten välillä. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen tausta koostuu projektimarkkinoinnin ja projektijohtamisen kirjallisuudesta, joiden taustat ovat pääosin teollisten liikesuhteiden tutkimuksessa. Laadullisen tapaustutkimuksen empiirinen osio on toteutettu viidessä eri projektikontekstissa, joita ovat tuulivoima, kaivosala, paperikone, sisällönhallintajärjestelmä ja jalostettu puuteollisuus. Pääaineisto koostuu 82 haastattelusta. Tämä tutkimus koostuu johdanto-osiosta ja neljästä tutkimuspaperista, joiden tuloksena on prosessipohjainen viitekehys liikesuhteen kehityksestä. Tulokset ovat merkittäviä erityisesti projektimarkkinoinnin näkökulmasta, sillä ne osoittavat asiakkaan ja myyjän välisen vuorovaikutuksen vaihtelevan kolmen äärityypin välillä tehden liikesuhteen kehityksestä dynaamisen ja vaikeasti johdettavan. Tutkimus laajentaa näkemystä projektitoimituksen jälkeisestä vaihdannasta tunnistamalla neljä palveluvaihdantaan pohjautuvaa suhdetyyppiä. Lisäksi tutkimus kehittää työkaluja projektitoimitusten jälkeisten liikesuhteiden analyysiin ja laajentaa projektimarkkinoinnin teoreettista pohjaa. Tutkimus selventää myös avainhenkilöiden toimintaa projektitoimituksen jälkeisissä lähiverkoissa ja tunnistaa keinoja, joilla liikesuhdetta rasittavia henkilöiden välisiä jännitteitä voidaan välttää.

Medan en stor mängd forskning på affärsrelationer mellan företag har fokuserat på relationers utveckling efter ett avtalat samarbete, så har mindre forskning fokuserat på hur företagen först inleder och kommer fram till ett avtalat samarbete. Den forskning som finns på detta område har främst fokuserat på antingen större eller nyetablerade företag, medan mindre, redan etablerade företag inte studerats i lika stor utsträckning. En utmaning i detta är att förstå hur tillit mellan företag bildas i ett inledande skede av affärsrelationen. Detta arbete studerar därför hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar bildandet av affärsrelationer i mindre företag. Genom intervjuer med fem verkställande direktörer har studien illustrerat hur tillitsbildande faktorer påverkar relationsbildningen hos mindre företag. Sociala band, referenser och kommunikation anses i studien som de viktigaste faktorerna för lyckade relationsbildningar. Arbetet avslutas med att diskutera praktiska tillämpningar och rekommendationer för framtida forskning. / While a large amount of research regarding business to business relationships has focused on the development of relationships after an agreement to cooperate, less research has focused on the initial stage leading up to this agreement. Further, most of the research on this topic has focused on either large companies or startups, while small, already established ventures has not been studied to a great extent. A central issue in business relationships is how trust is initially built between companies. Using a relationship stage model and interviews with five CEO: s the study examines how trust building factors affect the development of small, already established companies relationships in the initial stage. Social bonds, references and communication are regarded in the study as the most important trust building factors for successful relationship initiation. The study concludes by discussing practical implications and recommendations for future research.

Business relationships are crucial for succeeding in the market for companies. Therefore, start-ups must focus on establishing business relationships early on, since these naturally do not exist for new players. The purpose of this thesis is to understand how start-ups work in order to establish business relationships. This will be analysed through six key elements from literature that are necessary for start-ups to consider in relationship marketing for surviving in the market, namely trust, commitment, communication, mutual benefits, long-term perspective, and customer service. The thesis uses a case study design, focused on a start-up in the sustainable materials industry, hereafter named “The Case Company”. Semi-structured deep interviews were conducted with representatives at the company. Results show that The Case Company does actions that can fit into all of the six elements to some degree. One extra finding was identified which is prioritization. While the importance of communication was stressed by all interviewees, a lack of strategy in the medium of communication was evident. We argue that this could be due to prioritization. Moreover, a lack of customer service strategy was the other consequence of having to prioritize other areas of the business as our findings suggests. Further research could validate these findings.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to extend the knowledge on how Swedish companies canbecome more embedded in the Chinese market by building relationships with political actors. Research question: How do Swedish managers develop and maintain relations with politicalactors in China, and how do they perceive the outcomes from such relations? Method: Qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Results: The results of the study shows that managers initially use local middlemen orconsultancies to get in contact with political actions. Further, they participate in variousactivities to build upon and develop that relationship, something that is argued by therespondents to be more time-consuming and extensive than in western countries. The outcomeof having these relationships is that firm could gain a competitive edge and the managers tobecome more efficient in their role. Contribution: This study contributes with additional research to the Extended BusinessNetwork and relationship building with non-business actors in China from a Swedishmanagerial perspective.

This doctoral thesis investigates the evolution of trust in investment bank(er)-client relationship in mergers and acquisitions by focusing on deals over EUR 1 billion. As sub-areas of research interest, this work explores the reasons responsible for the decline of trust in the research context, and also enquires if trust can be regained. The author’s findings indicate that the investment bank(er)-client relationship cannot exist without trust. The bank(er)-client relationship begins with Performance trust in the introductory phase, evolves to a stronger Experiential Performance trust in the second phase, and reaches at its zenith in the third phase i.e. the last phase of trust evolution. The third phase is quintessentially marked by a situation in which a client is left with the choice of choosing either the investment banker or the bank. The former concludes the evolution of trust in form of Superior Interpersonal trust, while the latter marks the end of the phenomenon with Superior Company trust. Scams, dishonesty and irresponsible behaviour, lack of transparency predictability and performance, can result in termination of trust. The authors’ findings suggest that regaining trust is possible at an organisational level, but not at an interpersonal level.:Chapter I: Introduction Chapter II: The background and motivation 2.1 Trust in investment banks: An overview of the present scenario 2.2 The M&A business, investment banker-client relationship, and trust 2.3 The theoretical view on the research gap, and research questions Chapter III: Literature review 3.1 Defining trust as a concept 3.2 A platform to comprehend the phenomenon of trust 3.2.1 Trust through the lens of transaction cost theory 3.2.2 Trust freedom, and vulnerability – an ethical perspective 3.3 A theoretical framework to study the phenomenon of trust 3.4 Trust vs. time 3.4.1 Relationship life cycle 3.4.2 The model of trust & distrust in relationship building 3.5 Trust and network approach 3.6 Epilogue Chapter IV: Methodology 4.1 Prologue: The choice of qualitative research as a methodological approach 4.1.1 Validity of qualitative research 4.1.2 Reliability, credibility and characteristics of qualitative research 4.2 Phenomenology – studying a phenomenon 4.3 Sampling 4.3.1 Judgement sampling 4.3.2 Snowball sampling 4.4 Questionnaire 4.5 The data 4.6 Epilogue of the methodological approach Chapter V: Analysis 5.1 The coding manual 5.2 Coding technique for the first cycle 5.3 Recoding and categorising – Second cycle 5.4 Post- second cycle coding findings 5.5 Does the research require a third cycle coding? 5.6 Data saturation in qualitative interviews 5.6.1 Factors determining data saturation 5.6.2 Guidelines on the size of the sample Chapter VI: Results 6.1 Prologue 6.1.1 The ‘pre-relationship’ stage in a ‘successful’ bank(er)-client relationship 6.1.2 The constructs of goodwill at the “pre-relationship” phase 6.2 Exordium – The introduction phase 6.3 Incrementum – The growth/build-up phase 6.4 Maturitatem – The maturity phase 6.4.1 Situation 1: Superior interpersonal trust 6.4.2 Situation 2: Superior company trust 6.5 How does trust evolve in an investment bank(er)-client relationship? 6.6 Declino – The decline phase: The sub-areas of research interest 6.6.1 Scams 6.6.2 Living up to the expectations 6.6.3 Issue with additional services 6.6.4 Transparency and predictability 6.6.5 Can trust be regained? – A contextual question Chapter VII: Discussion of results 7.1 A pragmatic approach in relation to the research gap 7.2 Transaction cost theory and a ‘free’ perspective 7.3 Goodwill and resource-based theory 7.4 Stakeholder theory, service/performance quality, and relationship marketing 7.5 The debate on trust and time 7.5.1 The model of trust and distrust in relationship development 7.5.2 Relationship life cycle 7.6 Network approach, recommendation, and 3D negotiation 7.7 Contractual trust and a phase of ‘neutrality’ 7.8 Trust vs. reliance Chapter VIII: Conclusion Publication bibliography Appendices