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This paper seeks to present a framework depicting the development of information power‐based relationships between firms, and to describe the effect of information power on long‐term relationships between supply chain partners.

This conceptual paper combines literature from the field of information sciences regarding information integration with literature addressing traditional power relationships to develop a set of propositions describing how interfirm relationships evolve.

The conceptual framework introduced indicates that information can be utilized as a coercive and non‐coercive power base in supply chain relationships.

The need for information may result in a firm utilizing either coercive or non‐coercive power as a means of obtaining it. This research provides interesting findings about the use of information, as a power base, and its role in interfirm relationships.

This paper combines literature from various fields to develop a needed conceptual model of information power roles within supply chain relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how information sharing practices influenced inter-firm relationships. This was done specifically in relation to bulk commodity supply chains, due to the pre-existing power asymmetries in the system.

This research was conducted using an interpretivist, inductive approach. The intention was to gather a wide range of data and then explore the data to see which themes emerged, rather than focusing on collecting data relevant only to specific themes.

The key findings of this research focused around the difference between creating situations of compliance or collaboration in a supply chain context. This suggests that by understanding the relationships that exist between organisations, those in procurement and supply chain management roles will be able to better understand and manage the nuances of their supplier relationships.

The study is focused on a supply network specifically configured to facilitate sourcing and distribution of bulk grain. As such the findings need to be understood within the constraints of this context.

Reliance on coercive power in an institutional change process is shown in our study to create a situation of compliance rather than of collaboration. Reliance on a different type of power, such as referent power, would be more successful in creating a situation of collaboration.

The sourcing and distribution of bulk grain is fundamental to food distribution in a developed economy. Our study provides a set of propositions indicating where managers can focus to more effectively manage these flows.

The definition of the “agent” also provided an interesting point of comparison. This research found that the ultimate definition of the “agent” changes and can be linked to the institutional differences in ownership within a supply chain. This suggests the potential to redefine the way that Agency theory is discussed. The notion that the “agent” is dynamic and is likely to be the “agent”, “caretaker” and more at the same time suggests the potential for the traditional definition of the agent to be challenged.

In this chapter, we present a model for the process of value creation in power-differentiated groups and identify affect as a key moderator. We divide the value creation process into two key steps: information sharing and information processing. Further, we propose that high- and low-power group members each play a critical, albeit different, role in these processes. High-power group members are instrumental in establishing an environment that encourages all group members to share their unique information. Once that information is available, low-power group members use it to formulate solutions that create value. Further, we propose that the affective experience of each of these determines the extent to which they fulfill their role. If high-power group members are happy, they are more likely to create an open and sharing environment. If angry, they will likely squelch broad participation in information sharing. While low-power group members are naturally prone to effortful cognition, we propose that the more suspicious they are regarding the motives of those around them, the more carefully they will process available information.

The paper aims to analyze power balance and collaboration in the value net context and to discuss the role of information as a source of power. The purpose is to find out how power affects information sharing and collaboration between buyers and suppliers. Both demand and supply perspectives are utilized, and the value net approach is combined with research on supply management and market orientation.

The case study method was used in order to analyze relationships and information sharing in the Finnish food industry. A 29 semi‐structured interviews were conducted in four case companies.

The results indicate that value net actors in the supplier role are willing to form collaborative relationships, but when they are in the role of the buyer the willingness to collaborate weakens. The implication is that power increases as the distance from the end‐markets decreases and that power relations affect collaboration and restrict information sharing between the actors in the value net.

A single case study such as this does not purport to produce findings that can be generalized in a statistical sense, but the findings will be valuable in an analytical sense because they extend understanding of the existing theory. Further research should be directed towards comparative studies of value nets, power relations and information sharing in other countries and in other industries.

The paper sheds light on the critical factors that influence value net collaboration, making it possible for managers to focus on relevant issues when developing business relationships and the value net as a whole.

There is a limited amount of research on value nets in the food industry, and because of the changing business environment there is an urgent need for studies focusing on the food business in the context of networks and value nets. In combining the value net approach with purchasing and supply management and market orientation perspectives the study extends the discussion on information sharing with its emphasis on network relations and the complicated nature of collaboration.

This study aims to elaborate the picture of the relationships between information and power by examining how expert power appears in the characterizations of gatekeeping presented in the research literature.

This study uses conceptual analysis for examining how expert power is constitutive of the construct of gatekeeper and how people subject to the influence of gatekeeping trust or challenge the expert power attributed to gatekeepers. The study draws on the analysis of 40 key studies on the above issues.

Researchers have mainly constructed the gatekeepers' expert power in terms of superior knowledge and skills applicable to a specific domain, coupled with an ability to control or facilitate access to information. The gatekeeper's expert power has been approached as a contextual factor that facilitates rather than controls access to information. The power relationships between the gatekeepers and those subject to gatekeeping vary contextually, depending on the extent to which the latter have access to alternative sources of information. The findings highlight the need to elaborate the construct of gatekeeping by rethinking its relevance in the networked information environments where the traditional picture of gatekeepers controlling access to information sources is eroding.

As the study focuses on how expert power figures in gatekeeping, no attention is devoted to the role of social power of other types, for example, reward power and referent power.

The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the nature of expert power as a constituent of gatekeeping.

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of how information technology (IT) resources influence a firm’s channel power development. Specifically, this study hypothesizes that two types of IT resources (i.e. IT infrastructure resources and IT human resources) are key antecedents to channel power and that information management capability is a key mediator between IT resources and channel power.

The hypotheses are tested using survey data gathered from a sample of Chinese companies. The analyses are performed using partial least squares technique.

The results suggest that both of the two IT resources play key roles in enhancing a firm’s channel power, but they do so in different ways. Specifically, while IT human resources can enhance a firm’s channel power by strengthening both information acquisition and dissemination capabilities, IT infrastructure resources can influence channel power only by enhancing a firm’s information acquisition capability.

The measurement of IT resources might potentially be influenced by subjective divergence. In addition, information management contains many sub-processes, and this study only examines two of them: information acquisition and information dissemination.

The findings suggest that managers should develop/improve both IT infrastructure and human resources to enhance channel power by building stronger information management capability. More importantly, the findings reveal that IT human resource can provide more benefits as it strengthens both information acquisition and dissemination capabilities.

This study extends the existing literature by investigating how a firm’s IT resources affect its channel power. The results of this study provide insightful guidance for managers and researchers in how to better manage IT resources to improve channel governance performance.

The purpose of this article is to explore and propose a way of using power as a theoretical anchor to investigate the information behaviour of people in work roles.

The paper reviews literature on power relevant to the information disciplines. Various models of power are described, and a more sophisticated view, which takes a relational approach to power, is used to suggest how information related behaviour could be investigated.

In this paper, power is regarded as a pervasive phenomenon involved in all aspects of individual lives, including the aspects emanating from work roles performed by individuals, thus manifesting itself as part of the relationships in the organisation. The paper suggests a framework that links information behaviour to power by arguing that power relations that form part of the processes of the work roles induce the information behaviour exhibited by those people. The paper concludes by pointing to a need for information behaviour researchers to consider power as central to understanding how people seek and use information.

The framework could be used as a tool for designing studies that will enable the collection of data on information behaviour.

This paper aims to examine whether information search frequency of accounting information is related to the explanatory power of accounting information for firm market value. It also examines whether information content and state of nature can have an impact on this relationship.

The paper is an empirical study using Web search volume data collected from Google Trends and financial and market data collected from Compustat.

This paper finds that investors use Web search engines as an alternative way to search for information they need, search frequency of accounting information is positively related to the explanatory power of accounting information for firm market value, the relationship is found differential between statements and categories within a statement depending on the information content and the relationship is found stronger during economic upturns.

This paper examines 59 accounting items that are cross-firm commonly reported and that have data availability in Compustat. The external validity might be an issue.

This paper is of interest to standard setters, corporate management and academics who wish to understand and improve the value of accounting information in the capital market.

This paper is the first study which provides a comprehensive examination of the impact of investors’ information search volumes on the explanatory power of accounting information. It is also the first paper that intrudes Google Trends search volume data into accounting research.

With the advent of the information age, this paper aims to apply risk analysis theories to study the risk prevention mechanism of information disclosure, thus supporting the green electricity supply.

This paper conducts a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the impact of power market transactions, power market operations and effective government supervision, so as to figure out the core risk content of power market information disclosure. Moreover, AHP-entropy method is adopted to weigh different indicators of information disclosure risks for the participants in the electricity market.

The potential reasons for information disclosure risk in the electricity market include insufficient information disclosure, high cost of obtaining information, inaccurate information disclosure, untimely information disclosure and unfairness of information disclosure.

Some suggestions and implications on risk prevention mechanism of information disclosure in the electricity market are provided, so as to ensure the green electricity supply and promote the electricity market reform in China.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.