How can economic sociology help business relationship management?

Mandják, Tibor; Szántó, Zoltán

doi:10.1108/08858621011027795

Cited by 29 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…According to Mandják and Szántó (2010) there are bound to be conflict between stakeholders who are involved with one another. The relationships between stakeholders are not conceivable if there are not personal connections between the stakeholders involved (Mandják and Szántó, 2010). Business sustainability is created with the aid of interrelated stakeholders whose behaviours are influenced by their willingness to be socially responsible.…”

Section: A Perspective On Business Sustainability Efforts and Stakehomentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

Svensson

Høgevold

Petzer

et al. 2016

Journal of Business &Amp; Industrial Marketing

101

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The purpose is twofold: (i) to determine the extent to which companies' efforts aimed at sustainable business practices consider stakeholders in their organisations and business networks, the marketplace and society; and (ii) to validate or refute a stakeholder framework of business sustainability efforts within focal companies, the marketplace, society and business networks. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on a questionnaire survey targeting large companies across industries and sectors in Spain. The sample consisted of 231 companies generating a useable response rate of 38.5%. Exploratory factor analyses was performed on a crossindustry sample to test a five-dimensional framework. Findings: Reports on the validation of initial and refined factor solutions. The factor analyses confirmed five stakeholder dimensions related to business sustainability efforts of organisations, their business networks, marketplace and society. The validated results indicate satisfactory convergent, discriminant and nomological validity and reliability through time and across contexts. Research implications: The stakeholder framework in connection to business sustainability efforts in supply chains consisting of five factors was validated: (i) the focal company, (ii) downstream stakeholders, (iii) societal stakeholders, (iv) market stakeholders, and (v) upstream stakeholders.. Suggestion for further research is provided. Managerial implications: The validated framework of stakeholders allows insight into the environment which stakeholders operate and how they influence on the focal company. Originality/Value: The manuscript contributes to the validation of a stakeholder framework of business sustainability efforts within focal companies, their business networks, the marketplace and society. The measurement properties provide support for acceptable validity and reliability across contexts and through time.

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Section: A Perspective On Business Sustainability Efforts and Stakehomentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

Svensson

Høgevold

Petzer

et al. 2016

Journal of Business &Amp; Industrial Marketing

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Interpersonal relationships are usually not readily visible, but can be perceived only through the effects of their existence (Mandj ak & Sz ant o, 2010). While psychology examines individual cognitive processes and their connections to human relationships (the interior) (Clement, 2010), sociology refers to the formation of relationships in consideration of collective interactions and their visible effects on the social order (the exterior) (Clement, 2010;Mandj ak & Sz ant o, 2010).…”

Section: Theoretical Background: the Sociological Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…An adjoining research field suitable for theoretical borrowing and, therefore, the expansion of relationship marketing's knowledge base is the discipline of sociology (Jonassen, 1959;Mandj ak & Sz ant o, 2010). Defined as teachings of society and social actions, the mentioned area focuses on the comprehension of social structures, and especially conditions and consequences of human relationships (Hughes, Kroehler, & Vander Zanden, 1999;Jonassen, 1959;Schaefer, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Convoy Model Theory for Explaining and Controlling Business-to-Customer Relationships

Saath

Schönitz

Siems

et al. 2018

Journal of Relationship Marketing

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Relationship marketing has become an important part of today's economic research and practice that complements the traditional marketing approach. With regard to building a reliable theoretical foundation for this branch of science, the transference of established psychological and sociological theories is of particular significance. As an attempt to further frame the underlying theoretical basis, the present article focuses on discussing sociology's convoy model theory in view of business-to-customer relationships. On the one hand, this contributes to the progression of relationship marketing's fundamental conception. On the other hand, it provides management implications specific to a novel subject.

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“…Reconceptualizing the final phase of business relationships in the INA, i.e., their institutionalization, necessitates a higher degree of 'construct clarity' (Suddaby, 2010;Shepherd & Suddaby, 2017). The underlying assumptions of business relationship institutionalization are not explicated, and respective ontological considerations have not been carefully made (Mandják & Szántó, 2010;Raskovic, 2015). Construct clarity refers to the "degree to which ideas overlap or differ" (Suddaby, 2010: 352), enabling the accumulation of knowledge and distinction of what we already know and how new perspectives could broaden our understanding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintaining business relationships: resilience through institutional work

Ojansivu

Hermes

2019

JBIM

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Purpose Business relationships are considered long-term and stable. Furthermore, over time, business relationships are expected to become and remain “institutionalized”. The undertone is that this process is deterministic and inevitable. While the authors do not question the long-term nature of business relationships, they argue that the process of “institutionalization” requires more construct clarity. Consequently, they ask the following: What is the source of resilience in business relationships, and how are these relationships maintained over time? Design/methodology/approach To unravel these questions, the authors conducted an historical case study of a business relationship between a government buyer and a software seller extending over two decades. Findings The authors found that while the network around the business relationship is crumbling and all odds are in favor of relationship dissolution, the active maintenance work of key individuals in the relationship prevented detrimental effects and resulted in not only its continuation but also an increased degree of institutionalization. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to the Industrial Network approach (INA) by providing a non-deterministic approach to the typically taken-for-granted end phase of business relationships. Practical implications The findings illustrate that the process of institutionalization is manageable but requires hard work, highlighting managers as the principle vehicle of relationship maintenance. Originality/value The authors provide construct clarity around the process of “institutionalization”. In fact, they regard the process as reverse compared to the early interpretation in the INA literature in which a business relationship is assumed to start as a “clean slate” and then begins to represent the industry codes of practice over time. They found that “institutionalization” implies that a business relationship is no longer compared with nor is comparable to the institutional prescriptions; in contrast, the relationship has established its own rules and norms, which have been taken for granted by the buyer and seller organization.

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How can economic sociology help business relationship management?

Cited by 29 publications

References 14 publications

Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

Benefits of Convoy Model Theory for Explaining and Controlling Business-to-Customer Relationships

Maintaining business relationships: resilience through institutional work

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