Safeguarding export and import transactions through relationships and networking

This paper provides insight into some notable factors in safeguarding business transactions. Firms in the Sunnmøre region of Norway use a variety of governance forms to secure and safeguard international business transactions. These governance forms impact on the quality of international buyer-supplier relationships and export performance. Institutionally embedded governance forms should take into consideration: the export market condition; product characteristics; documentation requirements/payment methods; and type of customer and the destination of exported goods. The choice of governance form(s) depend on these underlying factors due to the uncertainty/complexity of international trade and the investment in specific assets. Multiple case examples elicit the commonality of themes despite differences in firms’ products, strategies and business models. Though findings of this study cannot be generalised due to the limited case examples and explorative nature of the study, it may be possible to transfer some of the general statements across industries and regions. Keywords: international buyer-supplier relationship; networking; contracts; trust-based relational contracting; export-import relationships; securing; safeguarding; governance.publishedVersio

Seafood export as a relationship-oriented supply network : evidence from Norwegian seafood exporters

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of relationships and networking in the international flow of seafood products through export processes and practices using empirical case examples. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides an insight into seafood export through 10 case studies of seafood exporters from Norway and a freight forwarder working with most of these companies. Findings: The international seafood business is characterised by coordination, interactions and exchange such that economic and social interactions among network members transcend national boundaries into international/global markets. Findings reveal how studied seafood exports are in line with the learning-based Uppsala internationalisation model, embedded in international buyer-seller relationship structures and networks, which is also a particularity of this food-producing industry. To secure long-term business in distant markets, small and medium-sized (SME) seafood exporters have shifted the focus from transactional approaches to relationships and networking as a means of improving export performance. This paper suggests how logistics and marketing have become closely and strategically interconnected, and so marketing strategies depend on logistics strategies and the two cannot be separated in a typical global seafood supply network. Practical implications: Purposeful collaborative interaction between exporter and importer helps in risk mitigation. Increased interactions in distant markets by SMEs can also be achieved using social media networking. Originality/value: This paper offers an insight into the global seafood supply network using empirical case examples from Norway, an important seafood producing country.acceptedVersio

Transnational digital entrepreneurship and enterprise effectiveness : A micro-foundational perspective

Transnational digital entrepreneurship (TDE), the establishment of digital enterprises by combining home- and host-country value creation to serve domestic and foreign customers, is increasing. In order to understand the role of entrepreneurs in transnational digital enterprise effectiveness, we investigate how the competencies of transnational digital entrepreneurs influence social interactions among stakeholders that contribute to enterprise effectiveness. We apply the micro-foundations perspective of management and entrepreneurship and semi-structured interview data from transnational entrepreneurs from six countries—Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA—and their partners in Pakistan. We find that entrepreneurs’ digital knowledge, skills, and abilities—versatile cognitive capabilities, digital managerial capabilities, and multicultural capabilities—affect social interactions through four socio-structural mechanisms—structural support, trust-building, knowledge sharing, and resource configuration—that enhance enterprise effectiveness. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for transnational entrepreneurship, policymakers, and migrant entrepreneurs.© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Examining Consumer Mobile Money Usage Behaviour in Ghana

This study develops a theoretical model to examine the effects of agent credibility and service quality on customer empowerment and the consequences of such empowerment in mobile money (MM) usage in Ghana. In total, 595 valid responses were collected using a pre-tested onsite-survey instrument. The research findings suggest that a higher level of MM agent credibility increases customer empowerment, which in turn positively affects the continuous usage of MM services. A significant association between MM agent service quality and customer empowerment was also noted. The study concludes with a discussion of study implications, limitations, and future research directions

Implementing public procurement of innovations in an organization: lessons from Norway

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the drivers, enablers, barriers, key success factors, pitfalls and benefits of implementing public procurement of innovations (PPoI) in an organization. Design/methodology/approach The study deployed multiple-case design, whereby six case organizations were selected according to purposeful sampling. Data collection was carried out through in-depth semi-structured one-on-one interviews with key informants. Data analysis involved coding, synthesis, categorization and aggregation. Findings The study revealed that implementation of PPoI represents significant change in an organization, and thus, it identifies key enablers and barriers that organizations must overcome. Furthermore, the study revealed that implementation of PPoI is a necessary but not sufficient condition for reaping its benefits. Moreover, the study identified key success factors for achieving the desirable results and potential pitfalls that organizations should avoid to ensure that the execution phase is not hurt. Social implications Overall, the findings of the study imply that PPoI and the practices associated with it are valuable to the organizations implementing it and society at large. Thus, time and financial investments and the costs associated with the challenges and barriers of implementing it are justified by the resulting wider benefits and outcomes. Originality/value The study contributes by providing useful insights related to implementation of PPoI at an organizational level. Considering that extant literature provides limited insights on this subject, findings of this study should be of interest to researchers, public authorities, procurement practitioners, small- and medium-sized enterprises and other stakeholders. In particular, the study contributes to the body of knowledge on PPoI and offers actionable implications to both practitioners and policymakers. Keywords: innovation, public procurement, public procurement of innovationsacceptedVersio

A discussion on firms’ responses to disappointing incidents, such as partner underperformance or opportunism, in supply chain relationships

Trial lecture held 19 December 2012 before the defence for the PhD in logistics at Molde University College - Specialized University in Logistic

Does supplier development lead to supplier satisfaction and relationship continuation?

The primary purpose of this study is to find out if supplier development can serve as a means for buying firms to actively increase supplier satisfaction and eventually predict relationship continuity. Supplier relationships provide an essential means for buying firms to access and leverage supplier resources. One way in which buying firms influence the supply management process is through supplier development. The findings show that supplier development is an important means by which buying firms can increase supplier satisfaction. Supplier development significantly predicts the future of business relationships. Further analysis based on polynomial regressions provides evidence to show how congruence or discrepancy between economic and non-economic satisfaction impact continuance

Breaking the uncertainty barrier in social commerce: the relevance of seller and customer-based signals

Even though the problem of uncertainty in online business is widely discussed, there is still limited knowledge of the mechanisms used by social commerce customers to reduce uncertainty perception. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge this gap by investigating the influence of the number of positive review comments, seller popularity, customer service quality, and return policy on seller uncertainty. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The empirical evidence from 155 social commerce customers shows that the number of positive review comments, seller popularity, and customer service quality has a negative influence on seller uncertainty. Moreover, customer service quality enhances the negative influence of the number of positive review comments on seller uncertainty. Furthermore, the study revealed that the seller that offers a lenient return policy in addition to good customer service quality experiences lower levels of seller uncertainty than the seller that only offers good customer service

Short-term study abroad : motivations, expectations and experiences of students of Aalesund campus

The purpose of this study is to explore students' motivations, expectations and experiences in embarking on short-term study abroad and to investigate factors that influence students' attitude and intention to study abroad. Based on in-depth interviews with two groups of students, yet to go abroad and have been abroad, this paper discusses the motivations, expectations and experiences of students by comparing and contrasting these two groups. This analytical approach reveals very interesting insights into the study abroad decision-making process. The paper also presents a conceptual model, which was estimated by use of multiple regression analysis based on data source of 294 respondents. Understanding the factors which influence attitude and intention to study abroad can provide useful guidelines for higher education institutions to consider in the formulation of effective study abroad programs and on how best to promote and market study abroad experiences to the Norwegian student