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Drawing from theories of structural power and relational competence, this paper proposes an innovative theoretical model able to predict relationship outcomes during adolescence by mapping the partners’ resources and patterns of exchange in four contexts (family, work/school, leisure time, and survival) as power bases in the relationship. Adolescent dating is an important juncture in the developmental pathway to adult partnership, both in terms of relational satisfaction and relationship violence. Power processes can capture the dynamics of both healthy and unhealthy relationships, regardless of gender, contingent to the power advantage (or disadvantage) within the relationship and can produce predictable consequences for partner’s behavior. Knowing which partner holds what kind and amount of power and in which decision-making areas may be used to predict the actions of either partner and ultimately identify the trajectories of their relationships.

Outsourcing has become part of organizational strategy for achieving efficiency and effectiveness. This study aims to examine outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria, the mediating effect of trust.

The study used 353 respondents as sample size drawn from 12 public universities across the six geo-political zones of the country. The study used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using ADANCO 2.0.1.

The study found significant relationships between outsourcing and quality of teaching and research (core activities) and outsourcing and the quality of other activities (non-core). Also, the study found a significant relationship between outsourcing and low-cost. While the study supports the position of transaction cost economics and relational theories, in contrast, it has not supported the core competence theory. Generally, the study found that outsourcing significantly affects public universities’ performance in Nigeria, and trust partially mediates the relationship.

The study, such as any other research, has limitations. The study is only limited to public universities and the research has not included students in its survey.

Managers of public universities are always looking for ways to reduce costs and enhance the quality of their activities. This study has demonstrated the relevance of outsourcing activities in Nigerian Public Universities. Therefore, managers should focus on outsourcing in areas that have not been outsourced but have the potentials of efficiency and effectiveness if outsourced. Furthermore, the study broadens the understanding of promoting an environment of trust in outsourcing; therefore, managers should encourage trust with their vendors to achieve the desired outcomes of outsourcing.

This study examines the mediating effect of trust on the relationship between outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria empirically, drawing on the core and non-core activities of the universities. The study has contributed to the discourse on outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria. The study also unveiled the contribution of outsourcing activities in public universities in Nigeria, and how trust as a uni-dimensional construct mediates in achieving outsourcing that contributes to the public university system. Finally, the study also contributed to the understanding that universities can outsource some of their core competences and achieve performance.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical model for the relationship between quality management (QM) practices and the health and fitness industry through two competencies, including relational competence (RC) and technical competence (TC).

Drawing from the resource-based view and the relational competence theory, this paper seeks a further understanding of the conceptual link between QM practices and the health and fitness industry.

This paper proposes that RC and TC will positively mediate the relationship between QM practices and customers’ behavioral intentions to use the health and fitness service.

This paper provides an integrated perspective to the health and fitness industry. More specifically, this paper suggests that QM practices can be applicable to customers’ behavioral intentions to use the health and fitness service. This paper also provides a solid conceptual foundation through which managers in the health and fitness industry put more effort in developing the relationship with customers. An empirical investigation might be needed for future study.

This paper suggests that managers and employees in the health and fitness industry need to provide a sustained and consistent effort into maintaining the interaction with customers. This paper also suggests that the use of QM practices can be related to customer perception (e.g. boosting behavioral intentions toward service providers) and can provide sustainable competitive advantage in the health and fitness industry.

This paper extends current understanding of QM practices and the health and fitness industry by providing a conceptual framework regarding how QM practices are related to the health and fitness industry through RC and TC.

In this chapter, I investigated how challenges (life events) are negotiated within families according to gender roles and their effect on marriage quality, life satisfaction, and psychological resilience in a nonclinical sample of heterosexual couples (N=159), age 23–78 (M=45.4, SD=11.2), with children (n=127) or childfree (n=32). Specifically, I accounted for the individual’s ability to share “hurt feelings” and foster intimacy within the couple, thus strengthening resilience and improving life satisfaction and hypothesized that the impact of negative life events on both relationship quality and life satisfaction could depend on the resilience levels of each partner and their ratio according to gender roles. Results confirmed the hypothesis and showed significant gender differences in the impact of negative life events on relationship quality, life satisfaction, ability to share hurt feelings, fear of intimacy, and resilience levels. Moreover, the ratio of the partner’s individual resilience affected the dependent variables differently by gender, its level interacted with the age of the couple’s first child (range: 2–54, mean: 21.4, SD: 10.4) and strongly depended on the occupation of the parents.

In this study, we aimed at examining the unique and interactive effects of peer violence in cyberspace on adolescents’ emotion regulation and socioemotional adjustment, as well as the mediational role of resilience in the link between adolescent’s pathogenic relational experiences and behavioral outcomes. Specifically, we intended to explore emotion differentiation and regulation in reaction to bullying perpetration and victimization and in terms of positive (proud, confident, good) and negative (ashamed, excited, guilty), Passive (sad, embarrassed, humiliated) and Reactive (angry, scared) emotions and how it impacted and predicted positive and negative outcomes.

A stratified convenient sample of 494 Italian students aged 13–19 years (M = 15.27, SD = 1.23) was selected to represent all different school types in Italy and the students were administered a self-report questionnaire on school bullying involvement. General Linear Models, ANOVA, and T-tests were employed to explore gender differences, the relationships between variables, and their contribution to the predictive model. A two-step Cluster analysis was used to profile adolescents based on patterns of resilience, health outcomes, and cyberbullying involvement.

Results showed significant gender differences, with females using internet and Facebook more than males and being more resilient, positive, and prosocial, but also responding to victimization with higher levels of alienation, anger, humiliation, and psychosomatic and emotional symptoms. Males perpetrated peer violence more than females, were less likely to be victimized, and were generally less emotionally impacted by it. Victimization rates (63.7%, n = 296) were higher than perpetration rates (51.7%, n = 233) and bully-victimization was prevalent (47.1%). Victims prevalently experienced passive emotions (sadness, humiliation, embarrassment) while perpetrators experienced negative ones (guilt and shame). Cluster analysis evidenced different pathways and trajectories of resilience and cyberbullying involvement: Resilient victims (RV), Healthy uninvolved (HU), Healthy Bullies (HB), Alienated Bully-Victims (ABV), and Resilient Bully-Victims (RBV). RV, HU, and HB resulted all well-adjusted, despite the different involvement in cyberbullying, and also RBV and despite the double involvement in cyberbullying, ABV were the only maladjusted and at-risk group in our sample characterized by very low Positivity, very low Resilience, and extremely high Alienation.

This study proposes a comprehensive, developmental, ecological, relational, and self-regulatory resilience approach to cyberbullying, which represents an innovative and advanced contribution to the literature with significant implication for research and practice. Fully understanding and measuring the emotional impact of cyber peer violence and resilience following cyberbullying victimization and perpetration can help in developing targeted interventions for both victims and bullies. This study highlighted the need for a self-regulatory model of resilience for modulating emotions, arousal, and behaviors across contexts, relationships, and difficulties. It also evidenced that moderate levels of resilience and positivity are sufficient to buffer youth from involvement in cyberbullying and to predict healthy adjustment and less pathological outcomes.

By profiling adolescents based on resilience levels, health outcomes, and cyberbullying involvement, we evidenced five distinct trajectories of risk evaluation for cyberbullying beyond participating roles. Our results confirmed the fundamental importance of assessing resilience and emotion regulatory resources together with peer violence involvement in identifying and targeting adolescents at risk.

This study aims to examine an empirical evidence of the relationship between relational capital, network competence and market entry capabilities on marketing performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) furniture export orientation in Central Java, Indonesia.

This study uses a quantitative research approach to investigate the relationship between relational capital, network competence, market entry capabilities and marketing performance. To achieve the research objectives, data were collected from managers or owners of furniture export orientation in Central Java, Indonesia. Using structural equation modeling, and after a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzed, the authors tested an integrated model of the relationship between relational capital, network competence, market entry capabilities and marketing performance.

The result of this study indicates that relational capital has a positive significant effect on marketing performance. Relational capital has an insignificant effect on market entry capabilities. Network competence has a positive effect on market entry capabilities. Market entry capabilities have a positive effect on marketing performance. Other results also show that market entry capabilities can mediate the influence of network competence and marketing performance.

The limitation of this research indicates that respondents in this research are very varied, if it is seen from their background into furniture business development, whereas many respondents do not have enough understanding of the questionnaire distributed. This research is only developed at the SMEs’ furniture area, so it cannot be generalized at the other organizational area. The influencing of relational capital result in market entry capability has not suitable with theory built. It is because inaccurate dimension market entry capability has been applied in this research. For future research, it is suggested to look for alternative dimension of market entry capability.

Based on the analysis results and discussion, it can be formulated that managerial implication explains the following steps: first, a company should focus on long-period relationship development. Focus on long-period relationship development will increase customer loyalty and company performance. Moreover, the customer has long-term relationship with organization, although instability condition because of the belief in long-period relationship and strong commitment to each other. The evidence from this study suggests that’s the organization needs to develop the long-term relationship with customer. Second, networking competency is important in market entry capability. Relationship can change anytime; therefore, the company has to have a strong competency of network developing. This competency helps company to enhance strong relationship. The strong network relationship helps company face easier ways in market entry capability.

The results of this research indicate that the role played by relational capital to increase market entry capability is not as good as the role played by network capability on market entry capability. In the international market context, the role of resource-based view is better than that of transaction cost economy in influencing market entry capability. Other results also show that market entry capabilities can mediate the influence of network competence and marketing performance.

Drawing on resource‐advantage theory and a diverse literature base, this article seeks to further the development of the explanatory foundations of relationship marketing theory by proposing, and then providing, tentative answers to three “why?” questions in relationship marketing: why is relationship marketing so prominent now? Why do firms and consumers enter into relationships with other firms and consumers? Why are some efforts at relationship marketing more successful than others?

Before addressing the three questions, the paper begins by discussing the different forms of relationship marketing.

Although relationship marketing is a relatively young field of inquiry, relationship marketing theory is an extremely rich area of research. Relationship marketing can take many forms and, as a result, relationship marketing theory has the potential to increase one's understanding of many aspects of business strategy.

The answers to the three questions in this paper provide a strong foundation for the further development relationship marketing theory and are useful for both relationship marketing theorists and practitioners.

As relationship marketing theory and practice are developed further, the authors hope that the article will provide useful guidance to those involved. From a marketing theory standpoint, the eight kinds of factors provide guidance to researchers exploring the many forms of relational marketing. For practitioners, they provide a useful framework for evaluating extant relationship marketing strategies and for developing future strategies.

The study this chapter reports focuses on how network theory contributes to the understanding of the internationalization process of SMEs and measures the effect of network capability on performance in international trade and has three research objectives.

The first objective of the study relates to providing new insights into the international market development activities through the application of a network perspective. The chapter reviews the international business literature to ascertain the development of thought, the research gaps, and the shortcomings. This review shows that the network perspective is a useful and popular theoretical domain that researchers can use to understand international activities, particularly of small, high technology, resource-constrained firms.

The second research objective is to gain a deeper understanding of network capability. This chapter presents a model for the impact of network capability on international performance by building on the emerging literature on the dynamic capabilities view of the firm. The model conceptualizes network capability in terms of network characteristics, network operation, and network resources. Network characteristics comprise strong and weak ties (operationalized as foreign-market entry modes), relational capability, and the level of trust between partners. Network operation focuses on network initiation, network coordination, and network learning capabilities. Network resources comprise network human-capital resources, synergy-sensitive resources (resource combinations within the network), and information sharing within the network.

The third research objective is to determine the impact of networking capability on the international performance of SMEs. The study analyzes 11 hypotheses through structural equations modeling using LISREL. The hypotheses relate to strong and weak ties, the relative strength of strong ties over weak ties, and each of the eight remaining constructs of networking capability in the study. The research conducts a cross-sectional study by using a sample of SMEs drawn from the telecommunications industry in Ireland.

The study supports the hypothesis that strong ties are more influential on international performance than weak ties. Similarly, network coordination and human-capital resources have a positive and significant association with international performance. Strong ties, weak ties, trust, network initiation, synergy-sensitive resources, relational capability, network learning, and information sharing do not have a significant association with international performance. The results of this study are strong (R2=0.63 for performance as the outcome) and provide a number of interesting insights into the relations between collaboration or networking capability and performance.

This study provides managers and policy makers with an improved understanding of the contingent effects of networks to highlight situations where networks might have limited, zero, or even negative effects on business outcomes. The study cautions against the tendency to interpret networks as universally beneficial to business development and performance outcomes.