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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategy of contract manufacturers (CMs). The research question is the following: how can the strategy of CMs be explained? The purpose is to better understand this activity though using different theoretical approaches and analyzing two customer relationships of a Hungarian CM, Videoton Holding.

The primary theoretical background is the relational view of strategy, and the concept of the business model is used for the analysis. The authors confront the literature about this topic in strategic management using the industrial marketing and purchasing approach to strategy; namely, strategizing. Through the case study of Videoton the authors explore how the company became a highly developed CM from its origins as an original equipment manufacturer company.

Through comparing theory the authors have created a research framework which is adapted to the empirical findings. In the CM’s strategy it is crucial to understand how partners are able to synchronize key propositions, key resources and key actors while taking the network of the firms into consideration.

The paper is novel in that the authors investigate the strategy of a supplier from their own perspective, not that of a customer. Applying and contrasting different theoretical approaches to this particular topic may considered to be valuable as well.

The purpose of this paper is to understand one aspect of electronic health record adoption by studying the impact of policy interventions on the adoption among hospitals, physicians and patients, using a system dynamics simulation model.

A system dynamics simulation model of the existing distribution network was built. Policy experiments were conducted to compare the performance of each.

Using data from the Greater Capital Region, Northern New York State, the findings from the simulation experiments suggest that while there is no single right intervention, a combination of measures can promote the adoption of electronic health records by different stakeholders.

The results are based on simplified operational and structural assumptions regarding the diffusion of electronic health records among stakeholder groups. Some of the variables are based on theoretical rather than quantifiable values.

The results of this study have practical implications when it comes to designing effective policies to improve the adoption rate of electronic health records. The theoretical contribution will help stakeholders to take leadership roles in policy discussion.

This paper is a theoretical study describing a unique application of simulation methods to an important area of application. Use and evaluation for model‐based approaches could provide additional insight about the potential value of simulation for social learning and effective approaches to making public policy decisions.

We propose an information-based view of the dynamics of network positions and use it to explain why bridging positions become stronger. We depart from previous network dynamics studies that implicitly assume that firms have homogenous information about the network structure. Using network experiments with both students and managers, we vary a firm's network horizon (i.e., how much information a firm has about the network structure) and the network horizon heterogeneity (i.e., how this information is distributed among the firms within the network). Our results indicate that firms with a higher network horizon occupy a stronger bridging position, especially under conditions of high network horizon heterogeneity. At a more general level, these results provide an indirect validation of what so far has been an untested assumption in interfirm network research, namely that firms are aware of their position in the overall network and consciously attempt to improve their position.

The past two decades have witnessed the rapid developments in distance education. Though debates surrounding issues related to distance education have yet abated, more and more institutions, entrepreneurs, educators, and learners embrace distance education with the aid of improved information technologies. The present guide introduces the historical development, major theories, and leading agencies and organizations associated with the discipline. Furthermore, it provides an annotated selection of resources including periodicals, books and monographs, and Internet sites. Though emphasis is placed on representative resources and information of distance education of the USA, important international resources are also analytically introduced.