The dominance of federal and state contracts by large enterprises reduces the share of contracts small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) business leaders obtain. As of the last census reading in 2016, SMEs received only 23% of contracts. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of 3 small business leaders, operating in south Florida, for obtaining state contracts through public procurement. The thematic findings were in the context of the principal-agent theory as the conceptual framework. The participants answered 10 questions in semistructured interviews and provided organizational procurement documents for review. The methodological triangulation of multiple data sources and data analysis led to the identification of 3 primary themes: business performance, overcoming barriers, and strategic initiatives. Enabling proper business performance protocols for revenue, company reputation, pricing, and compliance benefitted the 3 participants as a strategy for successfully winning state contracts. The participants first identified the barriers they experienced, which included access, bargaining power, funding, and labels. The barriers encountered by the participants became less overwhelming with the implementation of strategic initiatives based on knowledge, relationship building, skilled personnel, and taking action. Findings included the importance of SME business leaders and personnel educating themselves on the public procurement process and building relationships with individuals in the various agencies. Application of the findings may lead to a social change of higher small business employment rates, increased revenue, and improved innovation for business leaders.

Industrial online-reverse-auctions have become a common procurement strategy used by many firms to reduce the cost of purchased goods and services. The advantages of online-reverse-auctions include significant price reductions, increased purchasing and selling efficiencies, and access to new supply and purchasing markets. Despite these benefits, practitioners and academics alike have raised concerns with respect to the impact of online-reverse-auctions on the buyer-supplier relationship. Previous research suggests that the parameters and characteristics of an online-reverse-auction can influence the perceptions of online-reverse-auction participants. This dissertation investigates this phenomenon by examining how the design of an online-reverse-auction influences the supplier's perception of the buyer-supplier relationship. Specifically, this research considers the effects of online-reverse-auction design in terms of the independent variables of auction control, auction bid visibility, and auction award rules and the dependent variables of supplier commitment to the buyer and supplier trust in the buyer. Using a 2 x 2 x 2 quasi-experimental design and the statistical technique of MANCOVA, this study tests hypotheses related to how different online-reverse-auction design characteristics influence supplier commitment to the buyer and supplier trust in the buyer. The results of the study suggest that the type of online-reverse-auctions buyers utilize can have an impact on supplier perceptions of the buyer supplier relationship. Overall, the result suggest that supplier trust is influenced by the type of auction design buyers utilize, however, supplier commitment is not. Auctions utilizing third party auction providers, partial bid visibility, and post auction negotiations tended to result in higher levels of trust on the part of suppliers. This study makes a contribution to the literature in the following areas. First, this study is one of only a handful of empirical studies examining the effects of online-reverse-auction designs on the buyer-supplier relationship. While a considerable debate exists within the literature concerning the pros and cons of online-reverse-auctions, little empirical work exists. This study makes a contribution by providing insight with respect to how online-reverse-auction designs influence supplier perceptions of the buyer-supplier relationships. Secondly, this analysis considers the buyer-supplier relationship in terms of commitment and trust. Previous studies have largely neglected these constructs despite their prominence in the buyer-supplier relationship literature. Finally, given that the use of online-reverse-auctions seems well entrenched in the purchasing strategies of many buying organizations; this study provides guidance for the design of online-reverse-auctions such that buyers can potentially reduce the negative aspects of the process.

This work shares purpose with new directions in the philosophy of intellectual property, where self-expression and participation in the creation of culture are seen as key ingredients of human wellbeingand autonomy. A technical solution is explored that enables major labels and independent creatorsto publish music with equal reach to audiences, without the need for trusted third parties.The principal contribution is a buyer-seller protocol in the setting of untrusted service providersand a blockchain ledger. In the envisioned scenario, files are streamed from untrusted providers toend users. Encryption and watermarking, rather than obfuscation, are used to protect against anddisincentivize piracy. Watermarking bit rate, storage and communication overheads, and encryptionperformance are key parameters. Subscription and ad-supported pricing models are discussed. / Detta arbete delar syfte med nya idéer inom immaterialrättsfilosofi, där yttrande och delaktighet iskapandet av kultur ses som nödvändiga ingredienser för mänskligt välbefinnande och självständighet.Rapporten utforskar en teknisk lösning som möjliggör för stora mediebolag och oberoende artister attpublicera musik med samma åtkomst till publik, utan behov av betrodda tredjeparter.Det huvudsakliga bidraget är ett köpar-säljar-protokoll för en miljö med obetrodda service providersoch en blockchain ledger. I det föreställda sceneriot skickas filer från obetrodda parter till slutan-vändare. Kryptering och vattenmärkning, snarare än obfuskering, används för att skydda mot ochavskräcka från piratkopiering. Vattenmärkningens bithastighet, lagrings- och kommunikations-behov,samt krypteringens prestanda är avgörande parametrar. Subscription och ad-supported som prismod-eller diskuteras.

<p>Despite the high expectations that researchers and practitioners had for business-to- business electronic marketplaces (EMs), EMs have not prospered, for reasons that are not well understood. Research to this point on EM adoption is very limited due to their quickly changing nature and the complexity of the issue, which involves multiple economic, political and technical factors at both macro and micro levels.</p> <p>EM adoption and buyer-supplier relationships are related. Buyer-supplier relationships play an important role in firms' EM adoption decisions since businesses are not willing to change their current relationships with trading partners to adopt EMs and their support functionalities, such as auctions, reverse auctions, transaction support, etc. The adoption of EMs also impacts buyer-supplier relationships. A framework is proposed in this thesis to investigate these mentioned issues. A buyer-supplier relationship perspective is adopted to investigate EM adoption, and both the economic and power dimensions of buyer-supplier relationships are examined. It is proposed that power can speed up the adoption of EM functionalities and that the effect of power is moderated by market structure. Some important contingencies are suggested that underlay buyer supplier relationships, such as transaction uncertainty, transaction frequency, transaction specific investment, complexity of product description and non-contractible factors, and it is proposed that they are likely to affect choice of functionality. At the same time, it is proposed that EMs can make short-term relationships efficient and long-term relationships effective. It is also proposed that the use of EMs causes varying degrees of satisfaction of participants with their online trading partners.</p> <p>A case study approach was adopted to examine the framework. A total of five EMs and some of their participating buyers and suppliers were studied to validate the propositions. Some important findings are reported. The first finding was that the classification of EMs should not be a dichotomy, but a continuum. It was also found that complexity of product description could not explain why companies choose to use different functionalities, since simple products tended to be involved in EM trading, in all the functionalities that we studied. It was confirmed that relationship efficiency and effectiveness gains were moderated by the drawbacks of EMs and the lack of participant system and process integration into EM systems. Finally, based on the results of the case studies and the confirmed propositions, a refined framework is presented and described.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In a business to business context, the adoption of a disruptive technology can introduce great risks and benefits for all involved parties. In order to investigate the issues surrounding disruptive technology adoption, this dissertation analyzes the roles of buyers, suppliers, and employees within the adoption process. First, it is found that interorganizational trust has a positive impact on the likelihood of disruptive technology adoption, thus benefitting incumbent suppliers. Second, pre-existing interorganizational trust is shown to lead to lower quality adoption decisions from the buyers' perspective. Finally, employees are found to be less likely to accept disruptive technologies, as compared to incremental technologies. The influence of buyer, supplier, and employee relationships are complex and are explored in further detail in the following studies. / Business Administration/Marketing

Manufacturer's promotional support is an important factor in buyers' selection of their suppliers. Research into retail customers' needs examined apparel retail buyers' attitude and acceptance behavior toward manufacturer's promotional support, and the effects of retail organization's characteristics (i.e., orientation, size, and degree of centralization) on the attitude and acceptance behavior toward the promotional support. Promotional support items were categorized into four through literature review (i.e., promotional materials, monetary support, selling aids, motivation of salespeople). Differences between importance perception and offering frequency of promotional support, and differences between importance perception and acceptance and cooperation level with promotional support were also examined. A mail survey (postal or fax) was designed to collect data. Apparel retail buyers from one hundred apparel retail organizations with annual sales volume over $100 million, randomly selected from Hoovers Online Search on the internet, participated in the survey. Forty-eight organizations agreed to participate. A total of 397 questionnaires were mailed, with follow-up phone calls to increase the response rate. Data analysis was conducted on the 137 questionnaires out of 141questionnaires returned (response rate: 35.52%). Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed a positive relationship between importance perception and offering frequency of promotional support, and between importance perception and acceptance or cooperation level. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed the existence of significant differences among levels of orientation and degree of centralization in apparel retail buyers' attitude and acceptance behavior toward three promotional support components (i.e., promotional materials, selling aids, motivating salespeople). Specific differences in attitude and acceptance behavior among levels of organizational variables are discussed, and some recommendations for apparel manufacturers' promotional support strategies to their specific retail customers are proposed. / Master of Science

No / Purpose - To present a complete and comprehensive model by which business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce transactions for sales and purchases between organisations may be categorised. Design/methodology/approach - Literature from the e-commerce and operations management fields was studied, and the findings were synthesised to develop a preliminary conceptual model of B2B interaction. The conceptual model was tested empirically using a qualitative research procedure involving focus groups. From this, its structure and content were validated and refined. Findings - The research found that the developed model, incorporating nine exclusive e-commerce trading scenarios, covers all B2B selling and purchase transactions, which suggests that it is comprehensive. It further found that trading occurs in each of the nine scenarios within the model, thus suggesting that it is complete. These findings support the conclusion that the model represents a valid taxonomy for the classification of B2B e-commerce transactions. Research limitations/implications - Although the literature findings are international, the empirical study was restricted to the UK. The model has been validated through this research, and now provides a framework by which the mechanisms of B2B trade may be further investigated. Practical implications - The model allows commercial organisations and researchers to recognise and understand the complexity and multiple dimensions of e-commerce use for B2B sales and purchases. It provides a framework onto which individual trading scenarios may be mapped. The framework offers guidance to operations and supply chain managers in organisations as to the most appropriate approach to adopt in particular e-commerce implementation projects and supply chain transactions. Originality/value - This paper furthers knowledge in the areas of e-commerce and operations management by proposing a new model of B2B interaction. This provides a comprehensive means of classifying all available transaction types, the characteristics of these and the likely technology used within them. It offers the ability, systematically, to identify, map and understand all available B2B e-commerce trading mechanisms.

The competitive market of today is characterized by globalization, because of that organizations increased demands from customers on the services as well as on product. In other word, the customer is focusing on buying the service in same way as they buy products. For that the trust in relationships is considered as an important and effective factor when the business to business partners want to achieve growth profitability, and long term time. In order to reach high trust in relationships between customers and suppliers, ability to measure trust in relationships and to improve it is important. One to know how to be able to follow up the trust in the relationships between customers and suppliers, maintain and develop relationships for as long as possible in order to reach the company's goals. The first step in the project was data collection via an email survey and by direct contact with those companies by phone. Then the data was used to make an analysis by comports the results with pervious theories. The analysis enabled to identify the different types of factors which makes the trust in relationships more strong and stable .In the last chapters results are discussed and it was found that the each company has its own way to follow up the relationships to maintain the trust in relationships for longer  time to a achieve their goals and profit. The conclusions are each company have different way of measuring and regardless of which indicators are used for measuring the trust in relationships between the customer and service supplier, they must be  linked directly to the organization's  goals to maintain and  continuity relationships for as long as possible in order to reach the company's goals. The effective trust is important factor which lead to the partners feeling they belong to each other’s which the relationships between them  take a partner form which lead to long term time and profitable relationships and strong trust in relationships.

A central part of the marketing process is to be aware of why a customer or buyer makes a purchase and without such an understanding, businesses find it hard to respond to the customer‟s needs and wants. A large part of the current literature concerned with industrial buyer behavior has tended to focus on modeling and mapping the industrial buyer behavior. However, little research has been found on how the industrial buyer behaves when faced with a radical product innovation. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the industrial buyer behavior of firms within the Life Science sector in Uppsala when faced with a radical product. We aim to study the process and identify possible differences from buying a non-radical product. This study will provide valuable information about industrial buyer behavior that might be useful to marketers. This thesis will be conducted by using a deductive and qualitative approach. A case study approach was used with the selected three organizations in the Life Science sector in Uppsala. Semi-structured interviews and a survey were used to gather primary data; secondary data was collected through web pages. Our findings from these three organizations show that the industrial buyer behavior is affected. Using the buy grid framework we see that the process, the steps, doesn‟t change but within the steps different actions are taken. Step 1, 4, 5 shows strong differences when confronted with a radical and a non-radical product. These differences depend on the complexity of the product and the amount of available information. This affects the level of willingness to take risks. As the complexity is seen as high in radical products and there is not sufficient information the risk of buying this type of product means taking high functional risk and high financial risk which the organizations wants to avoid. However, the decision center [decision group] becomes more complex and more individuals are involved in the decision process when faced with a radical product. The most notable factors influencing the decision center in this situation is the size of the organization, the complexity of the product, the functional and financial risk, the importance of the decision at hand, attitude, and personal experience. The supplier criterion goes from being price orientated in the case with a non-radical product towards being more supplier orientated when faced with a radical product. This study does not aim to investigate how companies should market their products and neither does it try to generalize conclusions about industrial buyer behavior. This limitation is due to the small sample used.

Background: Business relationships between buyers and suppliers are of great importance to maintain a profitable and beneficial business environment. Every organization’s relationship characteristics vary and are influenced by various factors, including environmental conditions and competitors in the market. Also, Brexit is an event that brings uncertainty to these relationships. It is unknown how Brexit will affect the business environment and it is, therefore, necessary to investigate Brexit’s effect on buyer-supplier relationships. The research of Brexit could contribute with valuable insightsfor both companies and policymakers since it will demonstrate the way Brexit has influenced buyer-supplier relationships and companies' responses to the event.  Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between buyers and suppliers in the EU and the British market under the effect of Brexit. The supplier-buyer relationship will be focused on EU buyers and British suppliers, which will illustrate the adaptations and changes companies in the EU are facing regarding their relationships. Further on, the relevance of this paper will be highlighted through the long-debated case of Brexit. Method: The research is a qualitative study that follows a case study frame of logic. Data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of three individuals with a purchasing background. The empirical findings were analysed through a logic of thematic analysis using the Bensaou (1999) buyer-supplier relationships portfolio model as an analysis tool. Conclusion:  The analyses have found that there is no change experienced in the current buyer-supplier relationship characteristics due to Brexit. The participants expect to have some influence on their cost in the future which then may affect their product category. Otherwise, the EU buyers have not changed their outlook on their UK suppliers because of Brexit and for the time being continue their business as usual.