Interfirm behavior and goal alignment in relational exchanges

This article considers the potential antecedents and performance-related consequences of a socialization-based approach to governing interfirm relationships. Relational behaviors, the manifestation of relational norms, are considered as a form of governance, in contrast to more formal and explicit contract-based approaches. The study addresses a gap in extant literature in relation to understanding how manager-actionable behaviors (i.e., supportive leadership, behavior-based monitoring) influence relational behaviors, and whether this form of relationship governance has performance implications. Data from a mail survey of construction industry contractors and subcontractors are analyzed. The authors find that relational governance can be effective in achieving coordination in marketing relationships, which in turn improves financial performance. Contractors' supportive leadership and behavior-based monitoring efforts respectively play positive and negative roles in shaping relational behavior. However, the interaction of leadership and monitoring is crucial, with subcontractors tolerating monitoring when contractors employ a management approach that combines monitoring and supportive leadership. This research provides support for the notion that relational governance can be a solution to agency problems of hidden action. The findings have implications for the theory and practice of relationship management, particularly as firms seek out alternatives to formal approaches to relationship management. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

An interview based approach to seeking user views in genitourinary medicine.

OBJECTIVES: To assess user and potential user views on the appropriateness, nature and quality of genitourinary medicine (GUM) provision in Bristol, UK and to develop a model for ongoing user consultation by GUM providers and purchasers. DESIGN: This qualitative study was based on semi-structured interviews with service users, potential users, community informants and NHS professionals. PARTICIPANTS: 76 current, past or potential users, 10 community informants and 11 NHS professionals were interviewed. African-Caribbean women and men, homeless men and women, lesbians and gay men, men and women living with HIV and women working in the sex industry were recruited to maximise the diversity of the sample. RESULTS: The interviews demonstrated that participants commented positively on many aspects of the service available. The research also identified a number of areas where the service could be improved. Many users emphasised their initial difficulty in finding out about the department and the need for greater publicity and outreach. Users reported coming to the clinic with high levels of anxiety and negative preconceptions about the GUM service. Specific issues were identified for different groups of users. There was a strongly expressed need from a number of women and African-Caribbean men for completely single sex clinics. CONCLUSIONS: The research identified a number of issues of importance to service users that had not been identified in the department's own questionnaire surveys. The results support the premise that qualitative interviews can be successfully employed to access a diverse sample of users, and can offer insights significantly beyond those available from structured patient questionnaires

The Scottish Structural Proteomics Facility:targets, methods and outputs

The Scottish Structural Proteomics Facility was funded to develop a laboratory scale approach to high throughput structure determination. The effort was successful in that over 40 structures were determined. These structures and the methods harnessed to obtain them are reported here. This report reflects on the value of automation but also on the continued requirement for a high degree of scientific and technical expertise. The efficiency of the process poses challenges to the current paradigm of structural analysis and publication. In the 5 year period we published ten peer-reviewed papers reporting structural data arising from the pipeline. Nevertheless, the number of structures solved exceeded our ability to analyse and publish each new finding. By reporting the experimental details and depositing the structures we hope to maximize the impact of the project by allowing others to follow up the relevant biology