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The objective is to review theories of the impact of network relations and present empirical evidence on their nature and impacts. Among the questions addressed are: Who initiates network relations? Which ones are important and why? and What is the nature of the affects in important relationships?

Analysis is based on the IMP2 omnibus survey of international B2B business relations, specifically Swedish, German and Chinese firms.

While there are some differences between countries, contrary to conventional wisdom, no evidence can be found that Chinese firms differ from European firms on the above questions.

China is rapidly evolving a market‐based economy and its firms increasingly interact with foreign customers and suppliers. It is to be expected in particular that Chinese responses to the questions regarding network relations will evolve. An implication is that studies of this sort should be periodically repeated over the next decade.

The results imply that Chinese and European firms characterize their relationships with important customers using largely the same factors and that the perceived importance of these factors largely is the same.

The survey reflects the conceptual structure of the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group. The IMP2 database is one of the largest omnibus, cross‐national surveys that collects information of B2B relationships.

The purpose of the paper is to describe and evaluate the changes in the content of the marketing theory course at Wharton 50 years ago, taught by Reavis Cox, as a result of the insertion of Wroe Alderson's book Marketing Behaviour and Executive Action.

The paper presents a personal experience of taking the course before the insertion of Alderson's book and a review of the revised course outline.

The course content moved away from a broader philosophically based marketing systems course linked to ideas from other disciplines, to one focused on marketing management.

The period in question is an important turning point in the way marketing theory was taught and developed that influenced future development of the discipline in ways that narrowed its focus and limited its contribution.

The purpose of this paper is to read a selection of Dixon's library collection in conjunction with his published work in an effort to make his book collection and research speak to contemporary scholars who should be exposed to Dixon's writings.

The paper adopts a viewpoint approach.

A case is made that Dixon's work is characterised by a concern with the historical sedimentation and structuration of marketing theory and practice.

Calls attention to Dixon's work for scholars who might otherwise have bypassed it by linking it with contemporary interpretive and critical marketing approaches.

Argues that the ability of a firm to develop and manage relations with key suppliers, customers and other organizations and to deal effectively with the interactions among these relations is a core competence of a firm – one that has a direct bearing on a firm’s competitive strength and performance. This is referred to as a firm’s network competence. In the first part of the paper work in Germany that has led to the development and calibration of a scale to measure a firm’s network competencies is described. In the second part the results of preliminary studies designed to develop and test the validity of the scale in an English‐speaking context are reported. The results show that the measurement of network competence is valid and that the same relations between network competence and performance measures found in the German research hold. It is further shown that the measure of network competence is empirically and conceptually distinct to that of the market orientation scale.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate Donald F. Dixon's contribution to scholarship in clarifying two parallel streams of thought on marketing's role in value creation: value in use and value in exchange.

The paper presents a literary analysis of some of Dixon's work that is often overlooked, and a discussion of its relevance to the services, channels and marketing strategy literature.

Dixon's distinction between the two streams of thought (“value in use” and “value in exchange”) clarifies an important aspect of marketing's intellectual heritage that has eluded the literature on services marketing, channels and marketing strategy. The consequences of this oversight are considerable.

The paper focuses on an aspect of Dixon's work that is underappreciated and not widely understood.

Looks at the importance of manufactured exports with regard to Australia's future economic progress. Identifies different types of manufacturing organizations in terms of their actual and perceived export‐related problems. Uses this as a basis for addressing the likely effects of export promotion and assistance schemes. Proposes that, by removing or minimizing these barriers, governments and other change agents can help stimulate export activities. Concludes that by implementing such a strategy there is likely to be development of a more cost‐effective export assistance policy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the doctoral seminar in the history of marketing thought and theory taught by Donald F. Dixon.

The approach is an historical narrative based on the author's personal recollections of the historical context of the seminar, how it was organized and conducted, along with a sample class discussion of the first lesson in marketing systems.

Dixon was indisputably a maverick who worked far outside the marketing mainstream. Consequently, he had a truly unique historical systems framework for understanding and teaching the history of marketing thought.

Because of its uniqueness, the Dixon seminar offers novel insights into teaching the history of marketing thought and the development of marketing theory.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the contribution of Donald F. Dixon to the study of marketing as an academic subject.

This paper evaluates three of Dixon's working papers to demonstrate two features of his work. First, Dixon's ability to identify critically important topics of enquiry – topics that are of concern to academics but also that reflects issues in the “real” world. Second, the quality of his scholarship which is based upon an extraordinarily wide knowledge and understanding of the social sciences – especially of the economics and the marketing literatures.

In addition to the challenge that the quality of his work makes to the quality of much academic research in marketing, Dixon's papers raise fundamental questions about the purpose of marketing as an academic study and also as an economic activity.

This paper shows how even when his ideas were at an early stage of development Dixon analysis was both insightful and rigorous. In addition, the paper also provides an insight into Dixon's generous personality.

To explore what suffering is, how suffering is embedded within the sociology of sport literature, and what suffering can do to athletes in sport. In addition, to discuss the value of an interdisciplinary approach and co-presence when researching athletes in suffering.

In the first part of the chapter, the concepts of pain, violence, and suffering are separated, and a justification for the study of suffering in sport is given. The second part of the chapter details sport and social problems, and the suffering body in sport is discussed, pulling from interdisciplinary theories and methodologies of suffering external to the sociology of sport.

Social inequalities and hidden forms of suffering may be reproduced in sport. Sport is questioned as a force of social mobility for vulnerable people. The context of sport can offer ‘healing’ properties for people in suffering. The impact of using an interdisciplinary approach and considering co-presence and relational suffering when researching suffering is discussed.

The difficulties understanding the complex, multi-dimensional nature of suffering are shared. New ways of engaging within the research act and specific theoretical approaches are suggested for improving the understanding of suffering within sport.

The concept of “embeddedness” is central to industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) theories. This paper is concerned with one form of embeddedness, namely the political embeddedness of business networks. Existing IMP literature on political embeddedness is reviewed and four dimensions of political embeddedness identified: political institutions, political actors, the political activities of firms and political resources. Research into each of these dimensions of political embeddedness is extended in this paper by analysing the findings from a longitudinal case study of the networks of an exporting firm. The case contributes to a deeper understanding of the “political embeddedness” concept, and suggests that the interpenetration of marketing and policy exchange is a feature of networks in “politically salient” industries.