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Business alliances can assist organisations to acquire the means to compete within an ever complex and changing environment. For small and medium‐sized enterprises in non‐metropolitan areas these alliances can provide the means to extend business activity and compete against nationally based competitors. What is the nature of alliances formed by businesses in regional (non‐metropolitan) settings and how do those alliances contribute to business development? This research first examines theory supporting the classification of alliances in the literature, and then explores managers’ perceptions on motivation driving the formation of alliances and the role of alliances in a business’s strategic direction. When data identifying the purpose for entering the alliance and benefits received from the alliance were linked to data measuring alliance performance, three major dimensions emerged, which together describe strategic motivation or intent for the range of alliances observed in the data. The framework developed through this research provides a management perspective of building alliances, which supports Sheth and Parvatiyar’s (1992) prior classification of strategic (exclusive arrangements that create new opportunities), and operational (enhancing current business capabilities) alliances, with the addition of alliances created to defend past strategic activities against competitive and/or environmental threats.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000000647. When citing the article, please cite: Michael Jay Polonsky, Denise G. Jarratt, (1992), “Rural Outshopping in Australia: The Bathurst-Orange Region”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 26 Iss: 10, pp. 5 - 16.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb010276. When citing the article, please cite: Sue Slowikowski, Denise G. Jarratt, (1996), “The Impact of Culture on the Adoption of High Technology Products”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 8 Iss: 3, pp. 14 - 31.

The purpose of this paper is to test a theoretically derived representation of a relationship management capability. The relationship management capability architecture developed from the literature integrated theory on dynamic capabilities, the resource‐advantage theory of competition, and prior capability research in innovation and information technology management.

The second‐order constructs of relationship infrastructure, relationship learning and relationship behaviour argues to represent a relationship management capability (RMC) was assigned measures adapted from the literature, and pilot tested with industry consultants. The final questionnaire was sent to senior executives responsible for customer relationship management in manufacturing and business service firms in the UK. The structural model representing the RMC was shown to be robust with a comparative fit index of 0.91.

Although the low response rate and the subjectiveness of respondents encourage caution in interpreting the research findings, the results suggest that relationship management systems, implemented through collaborative and flexible behaviours, and renewed through adaptive and generative knowledge derived from experience and challenging current relationship management assumptions, are key dimensions of a RMC.

This framework advances and tests a new theoretical perspective of a relationship management capability that incorporates a capacity for renewal. In addition, it provides managers with a tool to evaluate their organisation's relationship management capability at key stakeholder interfaces on attributes that define relationship infrastructure, relationship learning and relationship behaviour, as this capability is renewed over time.

Although strategy development in large corporations has been well documented, the process of formulating strategy in small firms has not been extensively investigated by researchers. The process in small firms does not reflect exhaustive strategic analysis, but rather, a personality driven, opportunistic or instinctive approach, channelled through an emergent planning process. This study builds on recent work examining the planning patterns and approaches of small firms by integrating an understanding of the nature and extent of information and advice sought and received by the firm, and how that interaction influences the formation of competitive strategy. Results of this qualitative study point to more formal sources of advice such as providers of professional advisory services being bypassed due to a perceived lack of relevance of their information and planning advice to the SME's specific industry context.

Although culture appears to be an important element in consumer behaviour, few have researched its direct impact on the adoption of innovation. In an exploratory study, research was conducted with migrants from Vietnam and Poland to examine the impact of culture on the adoption of high technology products. Specifically, data were examined for differences in adoption of these products between Vietnamese and Polish migrants to Australia; and the effect of cultural factors of “traditions,” “religion” and “fatality” (beliefs about man's inability to control nature), on adoption. This research was a preliminary study, but the results indicate that culture has an important role in the adoption process of high technology products.

Net retail trade flow and outshopping specifically have been examined from a variety of different aspects. All earlier works used some “adjusted” income data to determine total retail expenditures; however, these expenditures were not adjusted according to spending behaviour of the various income groups. This particular study determines net effect of outshopping and inshopping levels based on retail expenditures which are calculated for each income group within an area. In this way net retail trade flow can be determined more effectively. This information is combined with a study which examined the extent of outshopping from one specific retail trading area within a region, providing further insight into the movement of retail expenditure within, into and out of that region. Examines data for the Bathurst‐Orange region of Australia. Its rural retail areas are prone to outshopping, specifically rural to rural outshopping.

Notes that many authors have supported the value of integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches within a research design to address research questions that aim both to develop or extend theory and test its application. Presents research which explores two alternative approaches to conducting qualitative interviews within an integrated research method. Aims to determine how those different approaches can enhance the design of the quantitative component of the research, and contribute to the interpretation of the quantitative data. Concludes that the findings indicate the importance of adopting both qualitative interview techniques within this combined approach, while completing a comprehensive review of the literature. Suggests that this will develop a theoretical framework and quantitative design, and assist in the interpretation of the quantitative data. The qualitative components of two outshopping studies, each study having a combined qualitative/quantitative research design, were selected to illustrate the nature of the data produced through each qualitative interviewing technique and the contribution of the data to the interpretation of the quantitative findings.

The purpose of this paper is to test a conceptual framework explaining the role of relationships and trust in enabling the purchase of business advice by small business owner–managers from their external accountants.

The study uses a semi-structured interview approach with 20 small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners and accountants in London and Melbourne.

The interview data support the conceptual framework’s central proposition that relationships and trust, rather than being antecedents of demand for advice, are necessary conditions for enabling latent demand. SMEs with greater propensity to trust are more open to buying business advice but not necessarily from their accountant.

A limitation of the fieldwork is that it is based on a non-random and limited sample of accountants and SMEs.

Accountants in public practice can no longer assume that the already established relationships with their clients, developed while providing compliance services, will automatically lead SME clients to purchase business advice.

The paper contributes to the accounting literature by developing a conceptual model of relationships and trust that will assist the profession in better understanding the complex dynamics of the accountant–client relationship. The conceptual model distinguishes, for the first time, the antecedent factors of demand for business advice from the enabling roles of relationships and trust. Fieldwork interviews also yielded new insights into how SMEs’ decisions to purchase business advice are influenced by specific personality traits of SME owner–managers and additional antecedent demand factors not identified in the extant literature – economic conditions, environmental turbulence and business life-cycle.