Most research about relationships and networks concentrates on social bonds such as trust and commitment. Little research considers technical bonds and how they interact with social bonds within a relationship. Thus this research investigates how technical bonds of information technology link with social bonds in the relationship between two organisations in a business system, in particular, between a franchisor and franchisees within a franchise system. First, a framework of the structure of a relationship between business alliance partners was synthesised from the business-to-business literature. Then Australian franchisors were surveyed about the effects of their investments in information technology upon their franchisor-franchisee relationship. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to analyse the survey data. The results provided support for the framework, with the franchisor's increased technical competence from information technology improving the social bonds in a relationship but those bonds being secondary to further technical investment. An implication for managers is that investments in information technology operate through the social bonds within their business.

Those researching organizational capabilities have largely accepted that the most fundamental operational capabilities form a hierarchy ranging from the lower-order dynamic functional to higherorder dynamic learning capabilities. Measurability has advantaged the first two types, resulting in numerous operationalized measurement scales. Yet at the strategic level, higher-order capabilities remain unmeasured, thus perpetuating issues of causal ambiguity. This paper responds by developing and presenting a measurement scale of dynamic learning capabilities (DLCs). Using multiple sources of data, we follow a five-step process to propose to measure and then validate a reliable scale consisting of three subscales. These subscales complement and thus extend the existing exploration and exploitation learning subscales. This predictive validity is further supported by relating all our subscales to perceived performance. Employing this dedicated new scale will enhance both the validity of studies on higher-order dynamic capabilities and the understanding of how firms create and use capabilities to drive performance.

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This research provides insight into the complex relationship between consumer response to persuasion attempts and skepticism, suggesting that erstwhile targets may be swayed by campaigns which are pitched as a form of entertainment. We examine consumer responses to an important sponsorship leveraging tool; sponsorship-linked advertising. A theoretical model of consumer response to sponsorship-linked advertising is proposed, drawing upon important resistance mechanisms to persuasion including ad skepticism, attributed advertiser motives and the nature of thoughts. Results confirm existing research on consumer skepticism suggesting its transitory nature, and hence potential for advertisers to strategically temper it through specific cues in ad execution. Differential processing between sponsorshiplinked advertising and traditional advertising is supported, such that sponsorship-linked advertising elicits more favorable cognitive response.

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