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The purpose of this paper is to provide a differentiated view of relationship‐specific proactive improvement of logistics service providers (LSPs) that distinguishes between the cost and performance and the effect that these two dimensions of innovation have on three distinct customer loyalty dimensions (retention, extension, and referrals).

A confirmatory empirical study was conducted based on social exchange theory and customer value theory. The survey responses from 298 firms were analysed using structural equation modelling and multi‐group analysis to test for direct effects and moderation.

Both dimensions of relationship‐specific proactive improvement by LSPs (cost and performance) are strong drivers of all three customer loyalty dimensions and, thus, are important to customer relationship management and relevant areas to be considered within innovation management. The effect on customer loyalty is moderated by the dynamism of the customer's market. Proactive cost improvements are more important under high dynamism, while proactive performance improvements, contrary to initial assumptions, are more important when dynamism is low.

Future studies should analyse other cultural settings, differentiate between functional and relationship value provided, consider other services, investigate how LSPs can facilitate proactive improvement and improve innovation management, and explore how customers can foster proactive improvement.

The currently low level of proactive improvement should be increased if LSPs want to enhance customer loyalty. In doing so, LSPs ought to consider the dynamism of their customers' markets.

The paper is the first to provide a differentiated view on the role of relationship‐specific proactive innovation that distinguishes between cost and performance improvements and illustrates their effects on three distinct customer loyalty dimensions.

Awareness of environmental impacts on society is increasing among companies. In order to turn environmental problems into business opportunities, many companies are beginning to consider how environmental, or green aspects can be integrated into their service offerings. This opportunity can be of specific interest to logistics service providers, whose core business is an environmental impact in itself. The purpose of this article is to indicate where green‐labelled logistics service providers are positioned today in their development, and to seek the underlying rationale in development of green service offerings.

This article takes a logistics service provider's perspective and is based on a multiple case study of six companies. The analysis is based on cross‐case analysis, and empirical, as well as theoretical, pattern matching.

The attitude towards a green approach differs among the case companies: while some are working towards a green integration throughout the entire business, others offer green alternatives to the original service offering. The results point to possible explanations for these differences, and include differences in range of service offerings, size, and to different management principles for green aspects.

The article can inspire logistics service providers in their continuing work to integrate green initiatives into the company. By introducing alternative green approaches in the development of service offerings, logistics service providers can match their own business and context with alternative rationales.

While most of the green logistics research focuses on the logistics system's characteristics, this article offers initial insights into how the integration of green aspects into logistics services can impact logistics service providers.

This paper aims to introduce the special issue on the marketing perspectives of logistics service providers and the relevant papers. The paper also aims to introduce the concept of outsourcing in general and logistics outsourcing in particular that is directly relevant to the genesis of third‐party logistics firms.

This is a conceptual paper largely based on analysis and discussion of the relevant literature.

The paper suggests possible avenues for future research in terms of this special issue and illustrates the contribution of the selected papers to the current literature.

This is a conceptual paper that offers a plethora of suggestions for future research. Subsequently, the empirical testing of these suggestions is urgently required.

The value of this paper lies in examining a topic that has attracted limited attention by marketing scholars so far. The selected papers illustrate the possibilities for further original research in that area.

The purpose of the research is to shed light on the question of how elements of a partnership system interact to provide a basis for an enhanced performance management framework.

A structured literature review is followed by a longitudinal case study (action research), which combines qualitative and quantitative analyses. Observations over time, documents such as contracts, joint agreements, meeting agendas and minutes, personal conversations and in‐depth interviews were mainly used, with quantitative measurement of operational and relational performance. For an in‐depth analysis of interdependencies, a systemic perspective based on an interaction analysis of relevant elements of the partner management system was adopted.

The paper draws upon real‐life data from service partnerships in the automotive industry. Combining a longitudinal multi‐dyadic approach with action‐based research makes it a unique opportunity to reveal insights into the development of performance‐based partnerships. The paper illustrates enablers, limitations, and conflicting circumstances in partnering highlighting the role of incentives and derives propositions for a comprehensive framework for a performance‐oriented partner management.

Owing to the limited number of case studies, this research is considered mainly exploratory. The presented case study is an essentially illustrative example of the implementation and development of performance‐oriented partnerships. The insights provide a better and deeper understanding of the dynamics of forming partnerships in reality, especially limitations and pertinent expectations regarding performance management in partnerships. There remains a need for further research for success‐related dimensions and antecedents of partnering concepts in a general industry approach.

The paper draws upon real‐life data from service partnerships in the automotive industry. Combining a longitudinal multi‐dyadic approach with action‐based research makes it a unique opportunity to reveal insights into the development of performance‐based partnerships. The paper illustrates enablers, limitations, and conflicting circumstances in partnering highlighting the role of incentives and derives propositions for a comprehensive framework for a performance‐oriented partner management.

This study aims to provide a conceptualisation of HR outsourcing (HRO) effectiveness from a service quality perspective and subsequently develop a scale – HROSERVPERF to measure HRO service performance underpinned S-O-R theory.

Grounded on theoretical conceptualisation, literature and information collected through semi-structured interviews, HRO service performance items pool were generated. 257 responses from manufacturing firms in Malaysia that have outsourced their HR were collected. PLS-SEM is used for scale confirmation and validation.

The conceptualisation of HRO effectiveness and HRO service performance suggests a need for scale development that encompasses service quality-satisfaction-loyalty framework supported by S-O-R theory. Operational improvement, resource alignment and service delivery emerged as the service performance dimensions of HROSERVPERF.

This study was limited to manufacturing firms in Malaysia, hence little generalisation could be drawn beyond this context. However, this serves as future research opportunities.

HR managers and service providers can employ HROSERVPERF to measure and improve HRO service performance more effectively. Service providers can re-strategise and target their scarce resources to better retain their clients.

This is the first paper that provides HRO effectiveness conceptualisation from a service quality perspective followed by a scale development with formative measures using PLS-SEM underpinned S-O-R theory.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured literature review (SLR) and systematic insight into logistics outsourcing research, in order to identify gaps in knowledge, and provide future research direction in the logistics outsourcing discipline.

This paper identifies and synthesises information from academic journals and examines research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, geographic locations, industry engagements, year of publication, publishers, university and author affiliations. A collection of online databases from 1991 to 2016 were explored, using the keywords “third-party”, “logistics” and “outsourcing” in their title and/or abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 263 articles were found and data were derived from a succession of variables.

There has been a significant increase and concentration by researchers over the past 25 years focussing on logistics outsourcing. A need to implement best practice has been universally identified, owing to increasing global supply chain complexity. This analysis shows that only seven literature reviews were published in the logistics outsourcing discipline. Additionally, this study revealed that 42 per cent of the work in this field was found to be survey based and this trend in research indicates the development of the structural equation modelling and multi-criterion decision-making methods. Investigations between 2010–2012 and 2015–2016 accounted for 151 of the total 263 articles published. Finally, reverse logistics is an area that requires special attention.

This paper is limited to a review of academic articles obtainable from online databases, containing the words “logistics” and “outsourcing” in the title and/or abstract. Additionally, only papers from high quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other academic sources such as books and conference papers were not included in this study.

This review will provide an increased understanding of the existing state of current research, trends and future research directions in the logistics outsourcing discipline.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the entrepreneurial practice of intellectual capital sharing (ICS) with client organizations and assess its potential for collaborative business-to-business (B2B) relationship building. B2B collaborations within the traditional marketing paradigm are restricted due to perceived opportunism.

The research is based on the grounded theory approach and involves 22 semi-structured interviews with the employees of a focal organization and its five client organizations regarding 36 implemented projects. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed via constant comparison to surface codes, categories, concepts and themes from which the authors developed propositions based on the particular context of this study.

ICS approach helps customers to reconstruct sellers’ identity from one characterized by opportunism and arm’s length relationships to one defined by openness and collaboration. Identified benefits of ICS include higher trust, commitment, social bonding, value co-creation, individual and organizational performance and learning. Eight propositions and a model of ICS consequences are presented.

The context of the study is limited to a single industry – financial services – however, the findings should be highly relevant for other sales contexts characterized by low buyer trust.

Entrepreneurial marketers can engage in ICS approach quickly at minimal cost, as the capabilities and talent are typically already internal to the organization.

This paper examines a unique relational approach to serving clients called ICS that de-emphasizes the sale. Subject matter experts help buyers overcome challenges outside the scope of the traditional marketing paradigm.

Family firms (FF) reveal a considerable heterogeneity in their innovation behavior. Due to the successful long-term preservation of their innovation capacity via special resources and routines, multi-generational FF are of special interest in terms of learning from good practices. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain principles for successful innovation behavior in long-term successful FF and to contribute to bridging the theory-practice gap.

Results are generated by analyzing innovation and innovation processes in five cases of long-term successful FF. On the basis of these good practice cases, the “rules of the game” of innovating are re-constructed using fine and system analyses based on narrative interviews with the FF CEOs.

Intense reflection on the innovation characteristics of the five good practice cases along with a critical examination of the literature on innovation in FF were used to derive practical suggestions for FF in the form of 11 principles for FF taking a proactive interest in innovation.

The 11 generated principles of successfully innovative FF were validated by FF CEOs who confirmed the practical relevance of these principles as valuable guidelines for successful innovation. Owners and managers may reflect on these principles against the background of the innovation behavior of their firms and adapt them to their contextual conditions.

These principles serve as tangible suggestions for developing adequate innovation management strategies for individual FF. Furthermore, two FF CEOs were invited to comment on the viability of principles based on their comprehensive practical experience.