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This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance of resolving the disconnect between issues of quality, timing and uncertainty in climate projections and the need for swift, informed and appropriate climate change adaptation decisions.

The paper utilises results from a multi‐level study of adaptation policy conducted in early 2009 to assess the different approaches to climate change, the production of climate information, and its application at national and select sub‐national levels in Italy and Finland. Data were collected via a preliminary review of relevant documents as well as 23 interviews in Italy and 21 interviews in Finland conducted with climate change and environmental policy actors at each scale of administration.

The paper shows while the different extent and processes of climate research and their linkages to policy can be seen as determinants of the development of adaptation measures, the multi‐scalar adaptation decision‐making processes and the ways in which climate change and climate information are framed and used render climate research and its application a complex process.

The paper contributes further understanding of the linkages between science and policy with regards to adaptation, and the nature of science‐policy linkages in local decision‐making processes in particular. The findings are of importance to climate scientists and policy‐makers alike.

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the literature on individuals in cultural transitions in higher education, namely, international students in culturally unfamiliar contexts; teachers of international students and culturally more diverse classrooms; and local students in increasingly culturally diverse classes. All these individuals are actors exposed to new and shifting cultural experiences expected to impact their motivation and engagement. Two broad perspectives emerging from the literature were used to organize the chapter: a perspective of adaptation representing research grounded in unilateral, bilateral or reciprocal conceptualizations, and a perspective of transformation, capturing experiential learning research leading to personal and academic development. The analysis highlights how motivation is a critical, yet under-examined construct. This leads to numerous suggestions for future research including: addressing the neglected role of agency in research on international students' sociocultural adaptation and the lack of research on successful processes of adaptation; examining the confounding issue of socialization into new cultural-educational environments and level of proficiency in the medium of instruction, which impacts on engagement; and scrutinizing the posited link between deep-level motivated engagement in cultural transitions and the emergence of transformative experiences. A case is made for research on individuals' engagement and motivation in cultural transitions to be conceptually and methodologically stronger and broader, moving from studies of single groups of individuals in need of adaptation, to investigations of the co-regulated, reciprocal adaptations of actors and agents operating in complex sociocultural contexts where power dynamics related to knowledge and language affect participation and engagement with cultural 'others'.

The contemporary focus on high fidelity implementation of research-based practices often creates tensions for educators who seek to balance fidelity with needed flexibility as they strive to improve learner outcomes. In an effort to improve how decisions are made such that flexibility is achieved while fidelity to core components is maintained, this chapter begins with a discussion of the role of fidelity in research and practice. Particular attention is given to current conceptualizations of fidelity that may help inform theoretically and empirically driven adaptations to research-based practices. Specifically, we describe adaptations based on the instructional context for implementation and the characteristics of the individual learners. A framework for adapting research-based practices is then presented with relevant examples from research designed to optimize learner responsiveness without sacrificing fidelity to core components. The chapter ends with implications and future directions for research and practice.

Competitive success in business‐to‐business markets often depends upon the ability of the firm to adapt specifically to the needs of a single customer organization. Research into buyer‐seller relationships in industrial markets has shown that both buying and selling firms implement specific adaptations for a single partner. Adaptation can take place at the level of the product or more broadly in terms of management processes, information exchange, and even organizational restructuring. The paper develops an improved taxonomy for dyadic adaptation in business‐to‐business markets, and explores the driving forces behind relationship‐specific adaptation. Adaptation by supplier firms is found to be more frequent than adaptation by buyers. Supplier adaptation is driven by relative power, buyer support, and by the managerial preferences of the two firms for a more or less relational form of exchange. Several managerial implications and avenues for further research are discussed.

This research sets out to assess the relevance and impact of interpersonal contact, in the form of multicultural experience, in the development of socio‐cultural adaptation for international students studying in their new country. The original contribution of this research is the application of a statistical methodology to this subject area in the Asia Pacific Basin.

The data analysis consisted of quantitative, longitudinal and cross‐sectional studies, from a sample consisting of students studying an international business degree, in the categories of living in national home culture or out of national home culture. Longitudinally, 88 students were sampled at the beginning of the semester and four months later. The cross‐sectional study of 380 students, over three years, was for students in these same categories, on the Australian and Malaysian campuses.

The analysis identified that socio‐cultural adaptation statistically demonstrates an initial negative relationship with multicultural experience, but develops beyond this period with a positive increase and relationship at the end of three years. There were no significant differences for socio‐cultural adaptation and multicultural experience between students studying in or out of their national home culture.

The results statistically demonstrated a continuous increase of multicultural experience but also a U curve shape of socio‐cultural adaptation, thereby confirming previous qualitative research on the culture shock phenomena.

This is the only statistical research to date on the U curve phenomena in the Asia Pacific Basin.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors that influence price adaptation in export markets.

The conceptual model was tested empirically using data collected by mail questionnaire in a sample survey of 140 firms. The results were analysed using structural equation modelling and the method of estimation was maximum likelihood (ML). Various statistical tests show that the results were reliable and valid.

The results reported here suggest that while controlling for the size of the firm, the degree of price adaptation is strongly influenced and conditioned by the degree of product, promotion, and distribution adaptation as well as by the differences that exist between the home and the foreign market.

Despite calls for research on the adaptation of pricing in export markets little headway has been made in understanding the issue in the literature. This study adds to the limited empirical research work done in this area. Although past research points to a link between product adaptation and price adaptation and between distribution adaptation and price adaptation, empirical research that includes simultaneously the link between the three elements of the marketing mix (product, promotion, and distribution adaptation) and price adaptation is largely missing in the literature. These relationships have been tested in this paper and found to be relevant to the understanding of pricing in international markets.

This paper aims to identify problems caused by cultural differences between Japan and China that face supply chain managers by applying Japanese-style supply management practices within supply networks in China and present solutions to this problem.

A single, longitudinal case study conducting two waves of data collection (i.e. interviews and observation) plus the collection of much archival data was performed. It goes beyond the dyad by examining supply management of a Japanese company’s supply chain up to three tiers in China.

The four supply cultural differences between Japan and China, which caused the cultural clashes between JVCo and some of its suppliers were revealed and a model of adaptation of Japanese supply management to the Chinese business system was developed. Adaptation involves creating new supply management practices out of selective adaptation, innovation and change of existing Japanese and Chinese supply management practices rooted in different Japanese, Chinese and Western cultures. A list of organisational factors affecting the adaptation has also been provided.

Due to the adoption of a single case study method, caution should be given to generalising the findings to all Japanese firms.

The Japanese, Chinese and Western managers were provided with insights on how to mitigate the problems caused by cultural differences within supply relationships in China and some innovative ideas on how managers from all three cultures could blend the elements of the three cultures to form a hybrid culture and reduce cultural clashes.

This is one of the few attempts to study the transfer of Japanese supply management practice to China. Organizational theory (i.e. transfer of organizational practice and hybridization) is applied and provides a robust framework to explain the supply management practice. This study also answers the call for a global supplier relationship management paradigm.

Prior studies on product standardization–adaptation in multinational corporations (MNCs) have revealed environmental factors that can influence the choices of MNCs. However, these studies have not shown how these choices are made behind the scenes in new product development (NPD). In many industries, MNCs face the dual pressures for product standardization and adaptation from the environment. This study aims to explore how MNCs facing dual pressures can make choices of product standardization–adaptation in NPD.

A qualitative case study of four high-performing MNCs was conducted. The four MNCs were selected using the theoretical sampling approach. Data were collected, mainly through 74 semi-structured interviews. Coding was conducted and four aggregate dimensions were generated.

This study reveals that choices of product standardization–adaptation are made through a process in MNCs’ NPD, including four steps – organizing for NPD, organizational diversity, cross-unit integration and combination of design practices. In addition, MNCs adopt different process variants to address different environmental pressures.

This research focuses on high-performing MNCs in manufacturing industries. Future research can explore different types of firms.

Managers in MNCs should focus more on the process of choices for product standardization–adaptation, than on the level of product standardization–adaptation. They should also keep monitoring the environmental pressure and employ experienced engineers.

By focusing on NPD, the authors shift the attention from product standardization–adaptation to product feature standardization–adaptation in MNCs, which is a fresh and refined perspective. The authors show a process in NPD composed of activities and mechanisms that managers might use for handling product standardization–adaptation challenges in MNCs. The authors contribute to the area of cross-unit integration in MNCs’ NPD by revealing mental mechanisms for mitigating tensions in cross-unit interactions.

As interventions are disseminated widely, issues of fidelity and adaptation become increasingly critical to understand. This study aims to describe the types of adaptations made by teachers delivering a school‐based substance use prevention curriculum and their reasons for adapting program content.

To determine the degree to which implementers adhere to a prevention curriculum, naturally adapt the curriculum, and the reasons implementers give for making adaptations, the study examined lesson adaptations made by the 31 teachers who implemented the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum in 7th grade classrooms (n=25 schools). Data were collected from teacher self‐reports after each lesson and observer coding of videotaped lessons. From the total sample, 276 lesson videos were randomly selected for observational analysis.

Teachers self‐reported adapting more than 68 percent of prevention lessons, while independent observers reported more than 97 percent of the observed lessons were adapted in some way. Types of adaptations included: altering the delivery of the lesson by revising the delivery timetable or delivery context; changing content of the lesson by removing, partially covering, revising, or adding content; and altering the designated format of the lesson (such as assigning small group activities to students as individual work). Reasons for adaptation included responding to constraints (time, institutional, personal, and technical), and responding to student needs (students’ abilities to process curriculum content, to enhance student engagement with material).

The study sample was limited to rural schools in the US mid‐Atlantic; however, the results suggest that if programs are to be effectively implemented, program developers need a better understanding of the types of adaptations and reasons implementers provide for adapting curricula.

These descriptive data suggest that prevention curricula be developed in shorter teaching modules, developers reconsider the usefulness of homework, and implementer training and ongoing support might benefit from more attention to different implementation styles.

With nearly half of US public schools implementing some form of evidence‐based substance use prevention program, issues of implementation fidelity and adaptation have become paramount in the field of prevention. The findings from this study reveal the complexity of the types of adaptations teachers make naturally in the classroom to evidence‐based curricula and provide reasons for these adaptations. This information should prove useful for prevention researchers, program developers, and health educators alike.