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This thesis investigates manufacturer-distributor power relationship in the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry. The main objectives of this study are to identify, describe and investigate the power relationships in Chinese Iron and Steel Industry; to understand the concept of power from the perspective of distributors and their relationship with State-Owned Enterprises and Private-Owned Enterprises in this industry; and to explore the possibility of developing an extended research power-relationship framework by investigating the power construct and potentially related and relevant factors in the Chinese market that may impact predicted outcomes such as positive conflict resolution attitude and levels of conflict. Two quantitative pilot studies were conducted, consisting of 14 surveys with semi-structured questions each, which were instrumental in the design of an extended power relationship model by incorporating the factors such as the level of trust, frequency of communication and level of guanxi that drive positive conflict resolution attitude into the traditional power model that had not been combined in a single framework before. Subsequently, the main study was carried out comprising 148 questionnaires completed by distributor firm managers. These represent the views of 74 respondents, who responded for both state-owned enterprises and private-owned enterprises in the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry The sample size is 74 respondents including 14 respondents that were also respondents for the pilot studies. This study generated four main findings. 1) a State-Owned Enterprises tend to use more non-coercive power than Private-Owned Enterprises, and have a stronger negative effect than Private-Owned Enterprises; 2) although Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the level of trust, and have a stronger positive effect when explaining the observed relationship between the level of trust and positive conflict resolution attitude, the difference is really minimal; 3) Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the frequency of communication, and have a stronger positive effect than State-Owned Enterprises in the explanation of the relationship between frequency of communication and positive conflict resolution attitude. 4) Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the level of guanxi, and have stronger positive effect than State-Owned Enterprises in the explanation of the relationship between level of guanxi and positive conflict resolution attitude. These findings contribute to fill gaps in the literature with regard to power relationships in distribution channels. This thesis extends the current boundary of knowledge through the formulation of an extended framework that integrates conflict resolution constructs into a typical/traditional power model. This extended framework comprises new constructs such as level of trust, frequency of communication and level of guanxi and hypothesises their impact on conflict resolution attitude and level of conflict in the Chinese distribution channel. New knowledge is created by investigating differences regarding the use of power by SOEs and POEs considered from the distributor perspective in the Chinese context. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in detail.

To this point research on firms’ political behavior has contributed knowledge concerning large firms’ relationships and strategies with political actors and their surrounding environment. Less is known about small firms’ behavior towards political organizations. As a matter of fact, the fields of international marketing, international business and corporate political science have left the political behavior of small firms almost untouched. Therefore, extant literature assumes that small firms due to their resource constraints are passive receivers of political initiatives. About 99 percent of all firms within the European Union are small firms, and it is therefore questioned whether all these firms are passive receivers of political initiatives. The intention with this thesis is to challenge some assumptions regarding how small firms manage their relationships with political actors concerning EU related rules and regulations. Consequently, the study raises the overarching research question; how do small firms manage their political environment? Theoretically, the study takes a network perspective on business political interaction to examine both individual and/or collective political behavior of small firms. It develops a theoretical view constituted of knowledge, commitment and legitimacy. Methodologically, two sequential stages are followed: first an in-depth qualitative case study of three successful cases is presented and second, the in-depth understanding is broadened to a wider population of firms based on a quantitative survey. A central contribution of this thesis is to aid research on the political behavior of small firms. It is found that small firms, in contrast to prevailing assumptions, do possess political resources. They are not passive receivers of political initiatives. Instead, the findings show that small firms are active and can exercise influence. This, however, is shown to be dependent on the firm’s political commitment, political knowledge and competency and business-political legitimacy. It is also shown that small firms mobilize these critical resources not only directly, but also indirectly through various intermediating actors. Besides the theoretical contributions, these conclusions are important not just because of the managerial implications but also, and perhaps more importantly, for the policy implications that can be drawn from the study. Being exploratory and opening up the black box of small firm’s political behavior, the thesis ends with a number of future research directions.

Minimal scientific research has been conducted regarding female sexual offenders within the South African context, despite its prevalence. This study explores behavioural and contextual characteristics of female sexual offenders to gain an understanding of the phenomenon. This qualitative study in the form of a systematic review, focuses on the findings of ten original international research articles published from 2002 to 2012 regarding the behavioural and contextual characteristics of female sexual offenders. The epistemological foundation of this study was postmodernism and social constructionism. Three main themes and various subthemes emerged from the data by applying the thematic content analysis. The aim of this study was to explore the similarities and differences between the findings of the research articles. Lacunas in the existing literature were explored in an attempt to extend scientific knowledge on female sexual offenders. Finally, recommendations for future scientific studies on female sexual offenders were discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)