This study examines the performance outcomes of interorganizational trust using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Using qualitative data from four informants and drawing on the literature on trust, we define interorganizational trust and derive a model of its outcomes. Regression analysis results indicate that trust is negatively related to transaction costs and positively related to cooperation, conflict resolution, satisfaction, and risk taking tendency. Dependence has a moderating effect on trust while predicting satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed four trust components: goodwill trust, competence trust, contractual trust, and distrust. Further exploratory analyses between trust components and trust outcomes indicate that distrust is not a mere opposite of trust, but is a distinct component of it. Goodwill trust, by itself, is not sufficient for the reduction in transaction costs / it must be supplemented by the reliability and ability of the other party in the exchange relationship to fulfill obligations. Competence trust alone is not sufficient for better conflict resolution due to the divergence in the expectations of the exchange partners. Only goodwill trust affects the tendency towards risk taking, since it reduces the perceived potential for opportunistic behavior. As a result of this study, the concept of trust and its outcomes were investigated in the Turkish context, different components of trust were identified, and these components were linked to the outcomes of trust. In addition, risk taking tendency was tested as an outcome of trust, which is an important contribution to the research in this field.

abstract: Services outsourcing is a prevalent yet problematic phenomenon. On the one hand, more and more firms are outsourcing services function. On the other hand, we are faced with many services outsourcing failures. This research attempts to uncover some of the omitted causes of services outsourcing failure. It extends a conceptual paper that used social network theory to examine the shifting of the triadic relationship structures among the service buyer, service supplier and the buyer's customers at different stages of the services outsourcing arrangements and its performance implications. This study empirically examines these performance implications. Specifically, this research defines the concept of bridge transfer, which denotes the weakening and dissolution of operational ties between the service buyer firms' and their end customers and the appearing and strengthening of operational ties between the service supplier firms and the end customers. It also empirically derives a measurement scale for this new construct. Further, the effects of bridge transfer on supplier's appropriation behavior, buyer's cost of quality and end customers' quality perception are examined in the context of customer facing services and are contrasted with those entail little or no customer interactions. In addition, the moderating roles of buyer-supplier relationship on the effects of bridge transfer are also examined. An Internet-based survey was administered to firms affiliated with CAPS Research and the Institute of Supply Management as the primary data source (n=137). Principal Component Analyses were used to derive a composite score for each of the model construct. Then linear regressions were used to detect the effects of bridge transfer on services outsourcing outcomes and to detect the moderating role of buyer-supplier relationships on these effects. The results show that bridge transfer is positively correlated to suppliers' appropriate behavior and negatively correlated to end customer's quality perception in the context of customer facing services. The effects of bridge transfer are not found for services that entail little or no interactions with the end customers. Instead, buyer-supplier relationship is found to be a key influencing factor to services outsourcing outcomes in this context. This study helps to pinpoint some of the omitted causes of services outsourcing failures and shed light on how to manage services outsourcing for success. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2011

A Comunicação, dos “Ps” do Marketing, Promotion, trata do intercâmbio de informações entre sujeitos. No caso da Comunicação entre Empresas (B2B), os sujeitos, ditos emissor e receptor, têm papéis e necessidades diferentes daqueles que possuem em suas vidas cotidianas, como consumidores finais de um produto. Quando se comunicam dentro de um ambiente corporativo, compradores e vendedores vêem-se diante de desafios importantes, como os de comprar/vender bens de alto valor para um processo industrial complexo e, normalmente, com grandes riscos envolvidos. O ambiente dessas relações entre empresas chama-se Marketing Industrial. Entender como funciona o comportamento de um vendedor e de um comprador organizacional pode ser estratégico para uma organização. Mais ainda, identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre o que é dito/visto por um vendedor X (versus?) o que é percebido por um comprador de uma empresa cliente pode aproximar ainda mais as duas partes, diminuir gaps de entendimento e aumentar a eficiência da máquina produtiva. É para isto que foi feito este estudo. Para identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre uma empresa vendedora de produtos e serviços da cadeia de celulose e papel e dois de seus clientes, e sugerir ações que possam melhorar o fluxo de comunicação entre as partes estudadas. / The Communication, the "Ps" of Marketing, Promotion, addresses the exchange of information between subjects. In the case of communication between companies (B2B), the subjects, so called communicator and receiver, play different roles and needs from those performed by both in their daily lives, as final consumers of a product. When they communicate within a corporate environment, buyers and sellers face major challenges, such as those related to the purchasing/selling of goods with high added value to a complex industrial process and, normally, with high added value and major risks involved. The relationship environment between the two companies involved is called Industrial Marketing. To understand what the organizational behavior of a seller and a buyer is like may be strategic for an organization. Furthermore, to be able to identify the potential noises in the communication between what is said / perceived by a seller X, and that that is perceived by a purchaser of a client company can increasingly draw near the two parties involved, reducing the understanding gaps and, with that, increase the efficiency of the productive machine. This is the aim of the current study: identify potential noises in communication between a company which sells products and services from a chain of cellulose and paper and two of its clients and, with that, recommend actions that can enhance the flow of communication between the studied parties.

A Comunicação, dos “Ps” do Marketing, Promotion, trata do intercâmbio de informações entre sujeitos. No caso da Comunicação entre Empresas (B2B), os sujeitos, ditos emissor e receptor, têm papéis e necessidades diferentes daqueles que possuem em suas vidas cotidianas, como consumidores finais de um produto. Quando se comunicam dentro de um ambiente corporativo, compradores e vendedores vêem-se diante de desafios importantes, como os de comprar/vender bens de alto valor para um processo industrial complexo e, normalmente, com grandes riscos envolvidos. O ambiente dessas relações entre empresas chama-se Marketing Industrial. Entender como funciona o comportamento de um vendedor e de um comprador organizacional pode ser estratégico para uma organização. Mais ainda, identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre o que é dito/visto por um vendedor X (versus?) o que é percebido por um comprador de uma empresa cliente pode aproximar ainda mais as duas partes, diminuir gaps de entendimento e aumentar a eficiência da máquina produtiva. É para isto que foi feito este estudo. Para identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre uma empresa vendedora de produtos e serviços da cadeia de celulose e papel e dois de seus clientes, e sugerir ações que possam melhorar o fluxo de comunicação entre as partes estudadas. / The Communication, the "Ps" of Marketing, Promotion, addresses the exchange of information between subjects. In the case of communication between companies (B2B), the subjects, so called communicator and receiver, play different roles and needs from those performed by both in their daily lives, as final consumers of a product. When they communicate within a corporate environment, buyers and sellers face major challenges, such as those related to the purchasing/selling of goods with high added value to a complex industrial process and, normally, with high added value and major risks involved. The relationship environment between the two companies involved is called Industrial Marketing. To understand what the organizational behavior of a seller and a buyer is like may be strategic for an organization. Furthermore, to be able to identify the potential noises in the communication between what is said / perceived by a seller X, and that that is perceived by a purchaser of a client company can increasingly draw near the two parties involved, reducing the understanding gaps and, with that, increase the efficiency of the productive machine. This is the aim of the current study: identify potential noises in communication between a company which sells products and services from a chain of cellulose and paper and two of its clients and, with that, recommend actions that can enhance the flow of communication between the studied parties.

Based on newspapers, the aim of this study is to find predominant discourses about prostitutes, prostitution and sex buyers. By using the foucauldian discourse analysis, 18 newspaper articles from 2016 and 2017 have been analyzed. The newspaper articles have been taken from Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter. The study is based on a social-constructivist perspective and uses two different feminist perspectives on prostitution, liberal feminism and radical feminism. The material has been analyzed with focus on the implicit, power, rules of exclusion and subject positioning and four prominent discourses have been found. These are “The prostitute as an involuntary victim”, “The prostitute as a commodity”, “The demand as the problem” and “The everyday inhumane sex buyer”. It is important for social work professionals to have knowledge about discourses in order to be aware of the constructive power of speech in their interactions with clients. / Med utgångspunkt i dagspress är syftet med denna studie att finna dominerande diskurser kring prostituerade, prostitution och sexköpare. Med användning av den foucauldianska diskursanalysen har 18 tidningsartiklar från 2016 och 2017 analyserats. Tidningsartiklarna har hämtats från dagstidningarna Svenska Dagbladet och Dagens Nyheter. Studien har även grund i det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet och behandlar två olika feministiska perspektiv på prostitution, liberalfeminism och radikalfeminism. Med fokus på det underförstådda, makt, utestängningsprocedurer och subjektspositionering har materialet analyserats och fyra framträdande diskurser återfunnits. Dessa är “Den prostituerade som ofrivilligt offer”, “Den prostituerade som marknadsvara”, “Efterfrågan som problemet” och “Den vanliga inhumana sexköparen”. För yrkesverksamma inom socialt arbete är kunskap om diskurser viktiga för att på bästa sätt kunna bemöta klienter och vara medvetna om den skapandekraft som språket kan besitta.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to expand knowledge of slow fashion brand customer by creating a persona that communicates the characteristics and aspects that influence purchase decisions of slow fashion consumers. Method: Since slow fashion consumer concept is still rather unexplored area, qualitative research strategy approach was chosen for this thesis, to get more deep data about the slow fashion consumer profile and buying insights. To address the research questions, single case study was used. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews that were conducted with five female slow fashion consumers who had recently made a purchase from a Swedish slow fashion brand MASKA’s online store. To analyse the data, a coding approach was used. As a result of the coding process, themes that described the slow fashion consumer’s profile and buying insights emerged and were used later to create a narrative of the slow fashion buyer persona. Conclusion: In order to expand knowledge of slow fashion brand customer, a persona that communicates the characteristics and aspects that influence purchase decisions of slow fashion buyer was developed with this study. To answer the research questions and develop persona, five female slow fashion brand buyers were interviewed. Answering the research questions provided 8 different themes that emerged from the interview transcripts and made up slow fashion brandbuyer persona, which fulfilled the purpose. The emerged themes were describing who slow fashion brand buyer persona is: 1) creative mind; 2) globetrotter and explorer; 3) fond of nature, and themes that described what influences the slow fashion buyer: 4) consciousness; 5) quality over quantity; 6) shoppers of small boutiques; 7) trust; 8) esthetics. This study did not come to a firm conclusion, but rather aimed to provide more in-depth knowledge about slow fashion brand buyer and point out implications to further study the slow fashion consumer.

A Comunicação, dos “Ps” do Marketing, Promotion, trata do intercâmbio de informações entre sujeitos. No caso da Comunicação entre Empresas (B2B), os sujeitos, ditos emissor e receptor, têm papéis e necessidades diferentes daqueles que possuem em suas vidas cotidianas, como consumidores finais de um produto. Quando se comunicam dentro de um ambiente corporativo, compradores e vendedores vêem-se diante de desafios importantes, como os de comprar/vender bens de alto valor para um processo industrial complexo e, normalmente, com grandes riscos envolvidos. O ambiente dessas relações entre empresas chama-se Marketing Industrial. Entender como funciona o comportamento de um vendedor e de um comprador organizacional pode ser estratégico para uma organização. Mais ainda, identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre o que é dito/visto por um vendedor X (versus?) o que é percebido por um comprador de uma empresa cliente pode aproximar ainda mais as duas partes, diminuir gaps de entendimento e aumentar a eficiência da máquina produtiva. É para isto que foi feito este estudo. Para identificar potenciais ruídos de comunicação entre uma empresa vendedora de produtos e serviços da cadeia de celulose e papel e dois de seus clientes, e sugerir ações que possam melhorar o fluxo de comunicação entre as partes estudadas. / The Communication, the "Ps" of Marketing, Promotion, addresses the exchange of information between subjects. In the case of communication between companies (B2B), the subjects, so called communicator and receiver, play different roles and needs from those performed by both in their daily lives, as final consumers of a product. When they communicate within a corporate environment, buyers and sellers face major challenges, such as those related to the purchasing/selling of goods with high added value to a complex industrial process and, normally, with high added value and major risks involved. The relationship environment between the two companies involved is called Industrial Marketing. To understand what the organizational behavior of a seller and a buyer is like may be strategic for an organization. Furthermore, to be able to identify the potential noises in the communication between what is said / perceived by a seller X, and that that is perceived by a purchaser of a client company can increasingly draw near the two parties involved, reducing the understanding gaps and, with that, increase the efficiency of the productive machine. This is the aim of the current study: identify potential noises in communication between a company which sells products and services from a chain of cellulose and paper and two of its clients and, with that, recommend actions that can enhance the flow of communication between the studied parties.

[pt] O tema principal desta tese é a operacionalização da flexibilidade de manufatura, a partir de duas abordagens: teórica e empírica. A abordagem teórica visa a discussão com base em uma extensa revisão da bibliografia, da flexibilidade de manufatura e a sua operacionalização. No tocante à operacionalização, destaca-se a existência de diversos aspectos considerados indutores, como a tecnologia de processo, métodos de gerenciamento da produção, gerenciamento de recursos humanos, tecnologia de informação, processo de desenvolvimento de produtos e os relacionamentos na cadeia de suprimentos. Dentre esses aspectos, verificou-se a necessidade de aprofundamento na questão que trata dos relacionamentos na cadeia de suprimentos, em especial os relacionamentos produtor- fornecedor. Após o desenvolvimento do referencial teórico sobre os relacionamentos na cadeia de suprimentos, no sentido de apresentar as características gerais e seus efeitos sobre a flexibilidade de manufatura, passou-se a uma análise empírica com o foco no relacionamento produtor- fornecedor. A escolha desse indutor para a condução do estudo empírico deu-se em função da emergência do papel dos fornecedores na definição das estratégias do produtor e da importância das relações entre produtor e fornecedor na criação e desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas. Além da construção de um referencial teórico - útil para a discussão da operacionalização da flexibilidade de manufatura como fonte de vantagens competitiva e preparação para futuras pesquisas - a tese também atende à demanda por estudos empíricos tão importantes para o avanço das pesquisas sobre o tema. Nesse sentido, buscou- se responder às duas questões de pesquisa: como se caracterizam os relacionamentos produtor-fornecedor quanto aos aspectos de confiança/comprometimento, compartilhamento de informações, desenvolvimento de fornecedores e desenvolvimento conjunto de produtos nas empresas estudadas? E como se dão os impactos dos aspectos de relacionamento produtor-fornecedor sobre a flexibilidade de manufatura e o desempenho da manufatura nas empresas estudadas? O estudo envolveu quatro empresas de manufatura em uma investigação da influência de quatro aspectos de relacionamento produtor-fornecedor - confiança/comprometimento, compartilhamento de informações, desenvolvimento de fornecedores e desenvolvimento conjunto de produtos - sobre três dimensões externas de flexibilidade de manufatura - mix, novos produtos e volume. A análise estendeu-se à observação dos efeitos generalizados dessas relações sobre o desempenho da manufatura dos níveis da flexibilidade de manufatura apresentados pelas empresas estudadas. / [en] The purpose of this dissertation is to study the operationalization of manufacturing flexibility, focusing on aspects of relationships in the supply chain and their impact on manufacturing flexibility. The research involves four manufacturing companies for studying the influence of four aspects of buyer-supplier relationship - trust/commitment, information sharing, supplier development and joint product development - on three external dimensions of manufacturing flexibility - mix, new products and volume. The study also observes the generalized effects of these relationships on manufacturing performance and on the levels of manufacturing flexibility shown by the companies studied. The buyer-supplier relationships are deeply analyzed and their general characteristics and effects on the operationalization of manufacturing flexibility are presented. In addition, the analysis of scope and achievability factors indicated the presence of little explored flexible resources in the companies studied. Finding ways for operationalizing flexibility must be seen as a priority question to obtain competitive advantage in manufacturing systems. This work shows how the relationships between the buyer and supplier can influence several external dimensions of manufacturing flexibility and, consequently, manufacturing performance.

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.

Trust is an integral part in a supplier-buyer relationship. Especially in highly technological industries like the automotive- and aerospace industry this topic is of great importance. However, in contrast to the factors affecting the trust building process, which are researched very well, trust deterioration, its indicators, and counteractions to prevent trust deterioration were overlooked so far. The purpose of this study is to categorize different factors for trust as well as to contribute knowledge to trust deterioration by finding indicators and counteractions to prevent this. The study is partly based on the model of perceived trustworthiness and its three dimensions by Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995). One aim of this thesis is to proof if all three dimensions still fit within both industries. Furthermore, a deductive research approach was used in order to research the suppliers’ perspective in both industries regarding trust and indicators as well as counteractions of trust deterioration. Our findings show that the dimensions’ ability and integrity from Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) are still important to build trust. Furthermore, the study contributes to the not existing research by exploring several indicators of trust deterioration as well as highlighting three counteractions to prevent trust deterioration. Consequently, a trust deterioration framework is given to show the general connection between trust and indicators as well as counteraction of trust deterioration.