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Article
Publication date: 3 June 2019

Mette Vedel and Per Servais

The paper explores the links between network structures and internationalization, conceptualized as a process of value innovation. The exploration sets off from the concept of an…

373

Abstract

Purpose

The paper explores the links between network structures and internationalization, conceptualized as a process of value innovation. The exploration sets off from the concept of an entry node, i.e. whether network entrance is facilitated by a direct dyadic or an indirect triadic relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is mainly conceptual, but also presents an empirical cross-border actor constellation which highlights the implications of the study.

Findings

Bi-directionality implies that value innovation is contingent on the fit between the actors involved in the entry node, not on the fulfilment of the needs of a focal actor. Further, the attractiveness of an entry node depends on network structures, the network positions of the actors in the entry node, the desired outcomes of entry (immersion or reach), and the actual behavior of the actors. The dynamics of transitivity can influence triadic entry nodes. However, transitivity operates differently in business networks than in social networks constituted by inter-personal ties. Therefore, closure of open triadic entry nodes is neither an automatic outcome of strong ties, nor a normatively better outcome.

Research limitations/implications

The theorizing offered by this paper must be further explored in different empirical contexts to assess its practical adequacy. Still, the presented empirical case indicates that the expected attractiveness of entry nodes is closely linked to (in)transitivity.

Originality/value

The paper supports the relevance of expanding from a dyadic to a network perspective in order to capture the dynamics of value innovation in an international setting.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Mette Vedel

The purpose of the paper is to explicate how connectedness of relationships results in varying value potentials of triads.

1555

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explicate how connectedness of relationships results in varying value potentials of triads.

Design/methodology/approach

First connectedness is re-described as an actor-perceived and actor-interpreted phenomenon. The re-description is used to theorize the triad value function. Next, the applicability and validity of the concept is examined in a case study of four closed vertical supply chain triads.

Findings

The case study demonstrates that the triad value function facilitates the analysis and understanding of an apparent paradox; that distributors are not dis-intermediated in spite of their limited contribution to activities in the triads. The results indicate practical adequacy of the triad value function.

Research limitations/implications

The triad value function is difficult to apply in the study of expanded networks as the number of connections expands exponentially with the number of ties in the network. Moreover, it must be applied in the study of service triads and open vertical supply chain triads to further verify the practical adequacy of the concept.

Practical implications

The triad value function cannot be used normatively or prescriptively. It is a descriptive tool which indirectly supports managerial decision-making through the analysis of how the structural context of a triad influences the value of relationships.

Originality/value

The paper offers an additional aspect for the study of value in and of triads. It illustrates that perceived connectedness of relationships operates as a triad value function, which captures the structural value potential of the triad for a focal actor.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

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Article
Publication date: 29 July 2013

Mette Vedel and Chris Ellegaard

The purpose of this paper is to uncover how buying companies use sourcing intermediaries to manage supply risks in global sourcing.

5194

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to uncover how buying companies use sourcing intermediaries to manage supply risks in global sourcing.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carry out an explorative qualitative study of the clothing industry, interviewing key respondents who occupy different positions in the supply chain, including sourcing intermediaries, retailers, and brand marketers.

Findings

Sourcing intermediaries carry out a broad range of supply risk management functions, including design availability and support, and the operation of high risk markets. The authors identify different sourcing intermediary types, characterised by the set of functions they handle.

Research limitations/implications

By analysing a limited set of in‐depth interviews in one industry the authors have traded off broader analytical generalization for in‐depth exploration and theory building. Therefore, future research should test the findings in other industries and across broader populations.

Practical implications

Sourcing intermediaries carry out valuable supply risk reducing functions in global sourcing and must be considered as alternatives to direct sourcing or international purchasing offices.

Originality/value

The paper contributes by identifying the supply risk management functions that sourcing intermediaries carry out for buying companies. The paper also contributes by uncovering different types of sourcing intermediaries, determined by the collection of functions handled.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2003

Anne‐Mette Hjalager

The focus of this paper is on virtual working and the ultramobile – contingent – workforce in a Nordic welfare economy. The institutional frameworks for virtual working are…

1280

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on virtual working and the ultramobile – contingent – workforce in a Nordic welfare economy. The institutional frameworks for virtual working are investigated and analysed. Danish legal frameworks and collective bargaining arrangements are shown to provide substantial opportunities for flexibility, which benefits small and medium‐sized enterprises in particular. Since the early 1990s, temp and recruiting agency activity has somewhat widened in scope and scale, in accordance with a general deregulation of this labour market service. Restrictions that still exist in many European countries have been abolished in Denmark, but other forces counteract a rapid development of the agency sector. The Internet is opening up new opportunities for a flexibilisation of work by expanding geographical and organisational limits and lowering search and promotion costs. Finally, the paper also discusses the new “meta” organisations, the aim of which is the social protection of virtual workers in an increasingly competitive, globalised and individualised world.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

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