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The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether triad structures, as the smallest unit of a network, can facilitate or inhibit the evolution into a service ecosystem. According to SD logic literature, the triad structure and the institutions that dominate the triads determine the evolution into ecosystem, remain as triad or die. “Balanced centricity” is considered a desirable institution that increases the possibility of transforming triads into ecosystems through marketing equilibrium.

The authors apply a conceptual approach to develop a framework for deepening understanding about triads’ structures from the institution’s perspective (balanced centricity). Qualitative case study research was conducted using different methods of data generation including personal interviews and netnography analysis in the arts sector. Three case studies were developed, one for each triad structure: Sothebýs, Patreon and Vibuk.

New business models start being a triad, and it is a strategic option to evolve into an ecosystem. In this sense, authors argue for considering balanced centricity as an institution that enables the ecosystems to arise. From this perspective, balanced centricity can be considered a strategy that helps to balance and reach positive relationships among actors, enabling the process to become a “balance triad structure”.

The paper is a conceptual work that combines with an empirical approach. The empirical approach considers three success cases on the arts context. Considering other contexts as different from arts industry would be useful to add new perspectives to the theory development.

The present paper defines a new form of triad “balanced triad structure” (BTS) and identifies categories depending on the way balanced centricity institution is adopted, facilitating or inhibiting the future evolution into an ecosystem. Hitherto, previous papers have not put together these concepts that build on the triads and ecosystems theory to better understand triads management and facilitate the evolution of three-actor networks into ecosystems.

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.

Balance Theory has accumulated an impressive record of empirical confirmation at both the micro- and macro-levels. Yet, it is unclear why humans consistently prefer balanced relations when imbalance offers the opportunity to reap material rewards. We argue that balance is preferred because it functions as a “compression heuristic,” allowing networks to be more easily encoded in, and recalled from, memory.

We present the results of a novel randomized laboratory experiment using nearly 300 subjects. We evaluate the independent and joint effects of degree of balance/imbalance and presence/absence of kin compression heuristics on network recall.

We find that memory for relationship valence is more accurate for balanced, rather than imbalanced, networks and that relationship existence and relationship valence are separable cognitive elements. We also use comparisons between kin and non-kin networks to suggest that humans are implicitly aware of the conditions under which imbalanced networks will be most durable.

We show that the tension/strain postulated to generate mental and behavioral responses to increase balance likely stems from cognitive limitations. More broadly, this connects balance theory to models of human cognition and evolution and suggests that human general processing ability may have evolved in response to social, rather than physical, challenges.

Using Triad-based multinational enterprises as their empirical setting, influential scholars in international management uncovered key organizational characteristics needed to create globally integrated and locally responsive multinationals. They proposed a “modern” theory of multinationals' organization (Hedlund, 1994). But recently, a new generation of multinationals from emerging markets has appeared. Little is known about their organizational choices and some scholars even doubt that they leverage organizational capabilities altogether. Does the “modern” theory still hold in their case? This exploratory study of three emerging-market multinationals (EMNEs) discloses that for reasons related to their origin in emerging economies and to the competitive specificities of these economies, EMNEs approach the global and local conundrum in ways which are both similar – and vastly different – from recommendations of the “modern” theory. We inductively develop a new theory that accounts for the evolution of organizational capabilities in EMNEs to reconcile global integration and local responsiveness. We discuss its implications for the executives of both emerging and Triad-based multinationals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of triad structures, and the management mechanisms adopted by the focal company, affect cooperative performance.

This paper uses a social network perspective to examine the triad management phenomenon in the military avionics maintenance context, which is closely associated with the field of operations management.

This paper demonstrates that different triad structures and management mechanisms influence perceived cooperative performance. Four main findings emerged: in a triad, a firm playing a bridging role perceives higher cooperative performance than when playing a peripheral role in the triad or being located in a fully connected triad. When a firm plays the bridging role in a triad, and has a high level of trust, this leads to higher perceived cooperative performance. When a firm plays a peripheral role in a triad, high levels of coordination mechanism combined with high levels of trust result in higher levels of perceived cooperative performance. In a fully linked triad, when the coordination mechanism is well developed, the level of trust is high, so that the resulting level of perceived cooperation is high.

This paper extends the knowledge of triad management by providing an in‐depth study of a well‐defined network setting with exceptionally high‐level access to the most senior executives. In practice, this paper shows how to manage different triads.

Supply chains are becoming more complex and uncertain, yet existing theories are predominately based on empirical research of dyads overlooking triadic settings. This study aims to bridge the gap between supply chain theories and praxis, this study examined multi-sourcing triads in terms of coordination, collaboration and integration.

Transaction cost economics, resource-based view in conjunction with social capital theory and agency theory were used to develop a research framework. Abductive, comparative research examined four triads. The triads comprised four retailers (EU, USA, Japan and one with a global presence), one third-party logistics provider (3PL) and 103 suppliers in textiles and the clothing industry.

All multi-sourcing triads achieved efficient coordination via network configuration showing varying degrees of collaboration and integration. Three research propositions were developed as follows: transaction complexity and dynamics necessitate triad coordination and control by the 3PL; relational and structural embeddedness emerge when actors invest in triad-specific resources and capabilities; information, relational and structural asymmetries may trigger bridge transfer and affect triad integration and performance.

Empirical research on multi-sourcing triads complements existing research on logistics and service, transitive triads to uncover how triad coordination, embeddedness and power asymmetries affect supply chain performance. Future studies should examine the interrelationships between triad embeddedness, asymmetries and relational capital.

Compared to logistics or service triads, B3B triads excel in relational and structural embeddedness and offer unique production-distribution solutions that create value to end-consumers and triad actors.

B3B triads are a unique conceptualization in supply chain management that extends the concepts of logistics triads and service triads.

The purpose of this paper is to explore service triads in humanitarian logistics (HL). The study uses agency theory to understand the dynamics between principal(s) and agent(s) and how contractual arrangements influence the service buyer–service provider alignment in humanitarian service triads.

This is a case study on a specific humanitarian service triad, with qualitative data being collected in a field study, utilising participant observation and in-context interview techniques for rich data collection.

The findings highlight the importance of both contractual and relational contracts between the service buyer, service provider and end customer – here donor (government), United Nations agency and implementing partner (IP). The alignment of the three parties in the service triad is more easily achieved through hybrid contracts rather than legal arrangements focussing on outcomes only.

Results stem from a specific case study that constitutes a typical humanitarian service triad. An increased understanding of managing services and their service providers in the triadic context of outsourced service delivery adds to the body of knowledge in supply management.

This is the first examination of governance structures in contractual arrangements in a humanitarian service triad. The research fills the gap in humanitarian literature regarding the interaction of practitioners in HL, specifically, a service buyer organisation (a donor – government), a service provider (a UN agency) and the end customer (an IP). The research is field based and is grounded in empirical observations thus adding to the literature and offering insights to practice.

Service triads refer to tripartite relationships in which client firms serve their customers through third-party service providers. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the nascent but fast-growing literature on service triads to explore the broad themes along which the literature has grown, and to identify the gaps and future research opportunities.

Systematic literature review (SLR) approach is adopted to retrieve, select, and synthesise relevant service triads studies. A citation network analysis on the corpus resulting from the SLR identified the core articles of the literature.

The SLR uncovered ten themes of research along the articles’ objectives, theories and methodologies. The classification framework of service triads, the roles of customers and providers, the size of the provider, triadic risks, controlling service delivery and service quality, regulated triads, the stability of the triads, and cross-country, cross-culture triads emerged as significant under-researched areas.

The paper illustrates research trends and provides insights into the neglected and under-researched problems of service triads. This is the first SLR on service triads.

The social and cultural duality perspective suggests dual ordering of interpersonal ties and cultural similarities. Studies to date primarily focus on cultural similarities in interpersonal dyads driven by principles such as homophily and contagion. We aim to extend these principles for sociocultural networks and investigate potentially competing micro-principles that generate these networks, taking into account not only direct dyadic overlap between interpersonal ties and cultural structures, but also the indirect interplay between the social and the cultural.

The empirical analysis utilizes social and semantic network data gathered through ethnographic studies of five creative organizations around Europe. We apply exponential random graph models (ERGMs) for multiplex networks to model the simultaneous operation of several generative principles of sociocultural structuring yielding multiplex dyads and triads that combine interpersonal ties with meaning sharing links.

The results suggest that in addition to the direct overlap of shared meanings and interpersonal ties, sociocultural structure formation is also affected by extra-dyadic links. Namely, expressive interpersonal ties with common third persons condition meaning sharing between individuals, while meaning sharing with common alters leads to interpersonal collaborations. Beyond dyads, the dual ordering of the social and the cultural thus operates as asymmetrical with regard to different types of interpersonal ties.

The paper shows that in addition to direct dyadic overlap, network ties with third parties play an important role for the co-constitution of the social and the cultural. Moreover, we highlight that the concept of network multiplexity can be extended beyond social networks to investigate competing micro-principles guiding the interplay of social and cultural structures.