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The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of a company’s external informal relationships in the internationalization process.

To achieve the aim of this paper, a qualitative research was undertaken. The data used for analysis were obtained through face-to-face interviews with representatives of 20 companies.

There are two main findings of the research. First, on the basis of the analysis of the interviews, it was possible to identify 14 different outcomes of informal relationships with external actors in the internationalization process. Second, the outcomes have been assigned to different stages of the internationalization process, thereby covering the whole range of a company’s development timeline.

This paper illustrates and confirms the important and positive role of the informal relationships developed by a company with external actors in the internationalization process and indicates that it can change over time depending on the stage of the internationalization.

The purpose of this research is to seek better relational strategies between formal and informal stakeholder relationships to improve megaproject performance.

The conceptual model was developed with twenty hypotheses based on the literature review. Then a questionnaire survey was conducted, and the collected data were analyzed by Partial Least squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the findings were discussed by a comparative study to explain the different effects of the formal and informal relationship on megaproject performance, and the managerial implications are presented for the stakeholders to implement the relationship management in the megaprojects.

The research finding reveals that formal relationship plays a dominating role in cost, quality, and labor protection; meanwhile, it is still more reliable in improving coordination, safety and environmental protection. Both formal and informal relationship is equally important towards collaboration and scheduling while the informal relationship is more effective in communication and project transparency.

The study extends the knowledge of relationship management in the domain of the megaproject performance. It provides a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the impact of formal and informal stakeholder relationships on ten aspects of the megaproject performance by the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results. The research findings contribute to the theory of relationship management on how the different influences between formal and informal stakeholder relationships lead to better megaproject performance from inter-organizational level to project and societal level.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of digital technologies adoption on the forms of organization of large architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Network theory has attracted scholarly and managerial attention, particularly from the perspective of the changes of project organization. However, little research focuses on network theory as a lens for understanding and managing the new forms of firms’ organization. Additionally, conventional organizational analyses are hampered by the lack of methods for understanding the changes in roles and relationships due to the adoption of digital technologies and examining their impact on organizational structures.

To address this gap, this research adopted a mixed-method case-study approach. This approach combined interviews, regular check-ins, and document analysis with data mining and social network analysis (SNA) to capture the changes of intra-organizational roles and relationships and for understanding their impact on the firm’s organizational structure. Using the data gathered, the authors created a dendrogram that shows the formal organizational structure, a sociogram that displays the informal organizational structure and a network map that visualizes the interplay between the two structures.

From this analysis, the authors identified four main findings: informal roles – as go-to people for advice and information about digital technologies – play within A/E firms facing digital transformation; such go-to people operate through informal networked relationships and beyond their formal roles; most of these relationships do not overlap with the formal reporting relationships; the combination of both these roles and relationships create an informal social network. The authors also show how managers can use SNA to understand the changes in roles and relationships due to the adoption of digital technologies and to diagnose their impact on organizational structures.

This research contributes to the literature of organizational design and change management from a network perspective in the context of the digital transformation of large A/E firms. It provides a systematic data-driven approach to understanding the changes of intra-organizational roles and relationships within A/E firms facing digital transformation and to diagnosing the impact of these changes on firms’ organizational structures.

Formal mentoring programmes have developed in public accounting firms in order to gain career development and organizational advantages and, although there is substantial literature concerning problems with formal mentoring programmes, there are few studies which actually have compared the mentoring process at firms with a programme with those using an informal process. Compares mentoring activities at each level in two accounting firms, one using a formal mentoring programme and the other an informal approach, to see how they differ. Qualitatively, no significant differences were found between the two approaches on the perceived influence for career development. Differences were found, though, regarding the respondents′ personal development and the numbers of mentor relationships between the two types of approaches. Concludes that personal development tended to be rated higher under the informal than the formal approach at the critical staff and senior levels. Regarding numbers of mentor relationships, the results indicate that the significant differences were related to rank.

Drawing upon the resource-based view this study aims to examine the connections between formal and informal business relationships and resource-bridging and adaptive capabilities within the context of foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Thailand. Based on prior literature emphasizing business network ties as sources of competitive advantage in emerging markets, this study extends the discourse by investigating the moderating effects of technological turbulence, power distance and assertiveness.

This study uses a quantitative research approach, using data obtained from a self-administered survey conducted among 168 foreign subsidiaries spanning diverse industries in Thailand. The data were analyzed by using multiple-group structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Cultivating different types of business ties enables foreign subsidiaries to improve different types of capabilities. While interpersonal relationships (i.e. informal businessties) enable them to develop their abilities to combine various resources (i.e. resource-bridging capability), rigid contractual-based relationships (i.e. formal businessties) help them to be more adaptive (i.e. adaptive capability). These relationships are also contingent upon the levels of technological turbulence, host-country power distance and host-country assertiveness.

This research builds upon prior research on network ties and capability building by delineating the specific nature of capabilities. Contradicting to the previous findings, demonstrating a negative relationship between formal business ties and capabilities, this study found that each type of business tie enables foreign subsidiaries to enhance different types of capabilities under different circumstances. Moreover, this study adopts a lens of host-country national culture rather than home-country culture in investigating the moderating effects of power distance and assertiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine capability connectivity, relationship alignment and the ability to informally network in the supply chain as determinants for better utilizing capabilities amongst supply chain partners. In particular, the paper focuses on how the above described determinants may impact on operational performance in the supply chain when responding to short‐lived demand requirements or highly dynamic markets.

A mixed research methodology is used, including a qualitative exploratory phase to confirm the relevance of the research question to the practitioner, followed by quantitative structural equation modeling, based on a sample of 231 supply chain professionals.

In total, four determinants of informal networking were derived: capability connectivity, describing the ability of supply chain partners to rapidly and informally integrate capabilities, such as IT, to service an ad hoc market requirement; relationship alignment or the ability to informally integrate resources across supply chain partners in the context of highly dynamic market situations; the informally networked supply chain itself, measuring the ability of supply chain partners to respond to transient opportunities in the context of highly dynamic markets; and finally operational performance which measures the effect informal networking has on company performance. Results show that informal coordination of supply chain activities influences operational performance in different ways, and most significantly impacts positively on operational efficiency through supply‐oriented informal networking. The study identified that industry rules and regulations have a significant impact on the propensity of supply chain partners to collaborate informally. Finally, it is also shown that relationship alignment between companies is an important factor to achieve both market‐ and supply‐oriented informal networking capabilities.

The management of industry rules, regulation, connectivity, and relationship alignment are significant antecedents for informal coordination of supply chain capabilities in business networks. The study shows positive effects of informal networking in supply chains on operational efficiency, and suggests that companies should strive to enable greater flexibility to connect with their trading partners without an abundance of idiosyncrasies. Furthermore, relationship alignment, in combination with process and IT connectivity, is significant in creating the foundation for informal networking in supply chains, in particular for supply‐related activities.

The paper adds a new concept, the informally networked supply chain, and shows that capability connectivity and relationship alignment may enable new alternative ways of coordinating supply chain capabilities to meet a specific market requirement. As such, it offers a new perspective in relation to flexibility and agility in the supply chain.

Organizations have become increasingly interested in developing their human resources. One tool that has been explored in this quest is mentoring. This has led to a surge in mentoring research and an increase in the number of formal mentoring programs implemented in organizations. This review provides a survey of the empirical work on mentoring that is organized around the major questions that have been investigated. Then a conceptual model, focused on formal mentoring relationships, is developed to help understand the mentoring process. The model draws upon research from a diverse body of literature, including interpersonal relationships, career success, training and development, and informal mentoring. Finally, a discussion of critical next steps for research in the mentoring domain is presented.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the use of governance mechanisms in buyer-supplier relationships in the supply chain (SC) are related to the maturity of relationships and the generation of relational rents.

Several studies have analysed interorganisational governance in SCs. However, to the best of the knowledge, no study has focussed on the use of different types of governance mechanisms through maturity stages in buyer-supplier relationships and as a consequence, its relational rents. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the use of governance mechanisms in buyer-supplier relationships in the SC are related to the maturity of relationships and the generation of relational rents. To achieve this goal, this paper carried out multiple case studies.

The results show that changes in the use of formal and informal governance mechanisms contribute to the generation of relational rents and relationship continuity. This paper identified that a reduction in power asymmetry by the buyer may allow for the greater use of informal governance mechanisms and greater relational rents. Moreover, the paper highlights that a relationship might advance or regress throughout the maturity stages, according to the commitment of the buyer to maintain the relationship with the supplier.

The study has the limitation of having chosen polar case studies in the organic sector in Brazil to illustrate the theoretical discussion and propose a model to be tested via further research. This study considered institutional factors in the analysis that might not affect dyadic relationships in other sectors and countries.

As a managerial contribution, the results indicate that when the buyer uses both kinds of mechanisms complementarily and encourages the utilisation of informal mechanisms, relationships become more resilient to adverse events.

The study also contributes towards valuing the role of organic farmers and encourages the government and business community to reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

Based on four propositions created by evaluating both the empirical data and previous literature, this paper proposes a buyer-supplier relationship maturity model rather than an overall SC maturity model. This paper also elaborated on the arguments of Dyer et al. (2018), proposing a causal explanation of how a relationship might advance or regress throughout the maturity stages, according to the commitment of the buyer to maintain the relationship with the supplier using governance mechanisms. This change in maturity stages, in turn, affects relational rents for the dyad.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of task and informal networks and their interaction on cooperative types of employee behaviour.

Two studies are used to examine the research question. The first dataset consists of book‐length ethnographies providing information at the team level. The second dataset is gathered through a survey across ten different organisations and provides information at the employee level. Both datasets are analysed using OLS regression.

Cooperative behaviour is positively affected by task and informal interdependence relationships. However, when employees have task and informal interdependence relationships with co‐workers, they may show less cooperative behaviour.

A major limitation of this study is that it was not possible to include information about the structure of the networks in which the employees are embedded. The study provides evidence for the existence of exchange relationships between the employee and the team. Besides that, the study shows the importance of including formal and informal networks to study cooperative behaviour of employees.

The findings provide practical information about how to manage cooperation within teams. Cooperative relationships can be created by either creating task or informal interdependence. Besides that, managers should strike a balance between task and informal interdependence.

Existing research tends to focus on the effects of one type of network on behaviour. This research shows that different networks may affect employee behaviour at the same time.

This paper aims to investigate the co-evolve relationship between informal relational governance (i.e. family involvement and personal authority) and family formal governance system in the process of growth and transformation. This co-evolve relationship is especially affected by the external institutional environment and market competition power. Thus, in the comprehensive process of deepening the reform and changing market, the modern transformation of family business means that rediscovery of unique superiority of family business and the core of this transformation is the governance of status privileges and private interests.

To test the hypotheses, this paper uses the 9th Chinese Private Enterprise Survey in 2010. A total of 4,900 questionnaires are issued, 4,614 are recovered and the total recovery rate is 94.16%. After clean the data, the study obtained 1,239 samples. To overcome the possible existence of heteroscedasticity, this study uses the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) to estimate the model. Besides, as for dummy dependent variables, this study uses logistics regression.

This paper makes an empirical test for the evolution of family governance driven by institutional change and organizational growth willingness in the process of growth and transformation, including a co-evolve relationship between family involvement and governance institution. Meanwhile, the empirical analysis comes to the conclusion that the institutional constraint to relational governance improves firm performance, which further promotes the modern transformation of family business governance.

It is the key to transformation to the modern corporate organization that family business could beyond the intervention of the traditional nepotism, patriarchal authority and family will. The fundamental of this process is to take advantage of formal institutions to manage family power.

This paper discusses the modern transformation of the formal organization from the perspective of modern ideal dominant type proposed by Max Weber. Modern organization is a hybrid system of the non-personified and personified institution. The primary reason why modern organization suffered erosion and destruction is that informal institution (status and relationship network) were endowed with legal privileges and private interests in modern organization including family business. The governance of privileges and private interests has become the core issue that whether the family business could play an instrumental value and realize modern transformation successfully.