PurposeThis paper aims to explore the theoretical foundations of relationship marketing from the perspective of several management‐related disciplines, and to attempt a fresh perspective that seeks to integrate these contributions.Design/methodology/approachDespite the recent popularity of research into relationship marketing, there is still some confusion surrounding the concept of and how it differs both from “non” relationship marketing and from other ways of managing marketing relationships. This confusion reflects, to some extent, the diverse origins of the concept and the scarcity of research into such fundamental questions as what is a relationship, and what forms of relationship are more or less suited under different circumstances to management through relationship marketing. Taking a broad approach to the subject, the paper explores and integrates these theoretical foundations.FindingsThis article finds that an integrated account can be offered for the emergence of relationship marketing as a coherent area for research. Areas of marketing research with particular relevance to the development of research into relationship issues are: supply chain management, interaction theory, database marketing, and services marketing. Future research into relationship marketing should focus on: the rationale, processes and structures involved in relationship marketing.Originality/valueThe paper encompasses and integrates the diverse theoretical origins of relationship marketing and integrates the research traditions emerging from these origins as they relate to relationship marketing. The paper then considers the implications and priorities for the future development of research and theory in relationship marketing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interaction process between organizations of a knowledge network as a means to promote learning. In particular, the authors aim to answer the following research questions: how do dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organizational creation and transfer of knowledge? More specifically, which joint activities between organizations facilitate inter-organizational learning within a knowledge network? That is, the authors are interested in the relationship processes for inter-organisational learning, aiming to identify and understand the joint activities through which organizations within an institutional network generate and transfer knowledge. Design/methodology/approach Aiming at studying how six institutional actors generate and transfer knowledge, the existing dyadic relationships between a focal actor (a technological center of the textile and clothing industry – CITEVE) and each one of the other five institutional actors were studied. In the study of this knowledge network the authors analyzed several documental sources and carried out 19 interviews. Findings This study shows how dyadic and network relationships contribute to inter-organisational creation and transfer of knowledge. It assesses several joint activities through which organizations in the studied network learn with each other and compares the five dyadic relationships in terms of their distinctive features. Through the cooperative effort based on joint activities between actors, the studied network generates complementary and multidisciplinary knowledge aiming to promote network learning of the studied organizations. Management implications and suggestions for further research on network learning are discussed. Originality/value This paper adds to the literature on network learning and management by empirically illustrating how a network of organizations in a given industry contributes to knowledge generation. It is an original contribution because, first, it allows a better understanding of how organizations of a knowledge network interact and contribute for network learning. In particular, the paper identifies a large number of joint activities for inter-organizational learning in the context of a traditional industry. Second, the research shows empirically how such interaction and learning occur in practice within a network context that comprises only institutional actors.

This paper investigates whether foreign firms had a positive impact on entrepreneurial activity measured by the net creation of firms. Using firm-level panel data for the Portuguese manufacturing and service industries over the period 1986 to 2000, we test whether the impact of foreign firms on firms' entry depends on the number and size of previous foreign entrants. Overall, the results cast some doubts on the influence of foreign firms in assisting entrepreneurial activity. The impact of a first foreign investment is, in general, positive but the marginal impact of additional investments appears to be negative.

This article identifies important changes in the Portuguese health care industry, such as the ownership of health care providers. At the same time, customers are changing their attitudes towards health care, becoming much more concerned and demanding of health services. These changes are forcing Portuguese private and public health care organisations to develop more marketing-oriented services. This article recognises the importance of quality evaluation of health care services as a means of increasing customer satisfaction and organisational efficiency, and develops a framework for health care evaluation based on the relationship between customers and providers.

Este artigo considera as alianças estratégicas como forma particular de cooperação empresarial, reconhece a necessidade de esclarecer o conceito e sugere elementos de distinção de outras formas de cooperação e relacionamento interorganizacional. Contribuindo para este esforço de esclarecimento, reconhecem-se e discutem-se limitações na literatura, e propõe-se uma tipologia de alianças estratégicas. A tipologia adoptada é baseada em três domínios de cooperação, os quais, por sua vez, podem ser analisados à luz de várias actividades. No estudo empírico da tipologia de alianças estratégicas proposta recorreu-se a um questionário a que responderam 133 empresas industriais portuguesas participantes no programa Europartenariat da União Europeia. Os principais resultados obtidos sugerem que: (1) as empresas estudadas apresentam indicadores de cooperação muito positivos; (2) a intensidade de alianças estratégicas está associada à dimensão das empresas; (3) a intensidade global de alianças estratégicas varia consoante o sector de actividade; (4) a importância de cada tipo de aliança estratégica é também variável por sector de actividade; (5) a importância de cada tipo de aliança estratégica é variável, consoante o tipo de parceiro envolvido do outro lado da relação.