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The purpose of this paper is to investigate guilt proneness as a prosocial salesperson trait and its impact on outcomes important to the firm, the customer as well as the salesperson. Specifically, the authors look at how this variable relates to job effort and the indirect effects on customer satisfaction. The corollary purpose is to uncover how managers influence these constructs through positive outcome feedback.

Prosocial motivation theory grounds the conceptual model which the authors test through survey implementation. The final sample consisted of 129 business-to-business (B2B) salespeople working across multiple industries in India. Latent moderated structural equation modeling was utilized to test the proposed model.

The results suggest that guilt proneness positively influences the likelihood that a salesperson adopts a relational orientation, which has a direct effect on individual effort and an indirect effect on customer satisfaction. Supervisors have the ability to amplify this effort through positive outcome feedback, but only when relational orientation is low. Their support had no effect on salespeople with a high relational orientation.

The study is unique in that it combines an overlooked prosocial trait with a B2B Indian dataset. We provide value for firms because our results show that guilt-prone salespeople put more effort into their job – ”something universally desirable among sales managers” – through the development of a relational orientation. The authors also give practical implications on how to support salespeople given their level of relational orientation.

This paper explores changes in the attitudes of managers at a state transportation agency towards working with professional service consultants over time. The development of a relational orientation amongst agency managers is explored, i.e. managerial styles recognizing greater interdependence and emphasizing trust, partnership and collaboration over formal procedures and monitoring. Case studies of two points in time (2003 and 2007) are presented using semi-structured interviews and survey data. The evidence demonstrates growing patterns of interdependence and the structural and procedural adaptations made by the agency. Corresponding difference in means tests demonstrate patterns of change in relational orientation over time.

This study seeks to: empirically measure relationship orientation along a continuum from operation to strategic; evaluate the impact of relationship orientation on the actual activities implemented within the relationship; and determine the impact of these relational activities on relationship effectiveness and business performance.

A survey research design following the total design method was used to collect the data. Multi‐item measures were developed to measure relationship orientation and relational activities while existing scales were used to measure competitive intensity and relationship outcomes. The study sampled purchasing managers and the unit of analysis in this research was the business relationship between a buying firm and supplier firm.

This study provides evidence that relationship orientation has a direct and positive influence on the manner in which buying firms execute relationships with supplier organizations. Additionally, the findings suggest firms with a strategic orientation would have a greater likelihood to implement the relationship in terms of utilization of interorganizational guidelines and resource commitment. Similarly, firms that have a more operational orientation would likely not expend as much effort in relationship implementation. Finally, the study demonstrates a positive relationship between the activities used in buyer‐supplier interaction and both relationship effectiveness and business performance.

This paper contributes to the understanding of relationship orientation and in particular on how variation in relationship orientation impacts the nature of relational activities deployed in buyer‐supplier interaction.

This study aims to use the framework of customer dominant logic to explore the mediating role of service co-creation on the relationships between customer involvement and perceived service performance and between customer involvement and word-of-mouth (WOM). It also investigates the moderating role of customer relational-motivational orientation on the relationship between customer involvement and service co-creation.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect responses from 289 Hong Kong's customers in different service settings. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed research model.

The results of structural equation modeling showed that the freedom of co-creation and the degree of collaboration fully mediated the effect of customer involvement on perceived service performance and WOM. Additionally, relational-motivational orientation moderated the relationships between customer involvement and the freedom of co-creation and between customer involvement and the degree of collaboration.

This research provides implications to managers on how to facilitate an environment that stimulates customer co-creation. Customer-contact employees must be trained with the necessary interpersonal skills to serve customers with different levels of relational-motivational orientation.

The study is one of the first to identify customer involvement as a key antecedent of service co-creation attributes and the moderating role of relational-motivational orientation on the relationships between customer involvement and service co-creation attributes.

This paper aims to investigate the importance and prevalence of Guanxi in business interactions in network-based societies such as China, few studies have the phenomenon from a dyadic view. In a business dyad, one partner may not value Guanxi and take it as a template for actions as the other does.

The authors propose that such collective and asymmetric Guanxi orientation influence both the creation and distribution of relational rent in a Guanxi dyad. Furthermore, relationship-specific investments (RSIs) moderate the relationship between dyadic Guanxi orientation and relational rent creation and distribution.

Based on a matched sample of supplier-buyer dyads in China, the authors find that joint Guanxi orientation is positively related to joint pie creation, whereas Guanxi orientation imbalance has a positive effect on the pie distribution imbalance.

These results contribute to the literature by revealing how dyadic Guanxi dynamics and practices affect dyadic performance and providing managers with meaningful implications for dyadic Guanxi management.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of Swedish school leaders’ relational and management work orientation, in terms of both techno and socio structure dimensions. The background is the neoliberal policy regime, underpinned by OECD and PISA, and an increased focus on school leaders’ management work.

In total, 26 school leaders in a Swedish municipality were interviewed, and their responses were analysed to score their expressed orientations in terms of techno structure (object and formal) and socio structure (person and symbolic) dimensions.

The school leaders had predominantly formal work orientations, expressed in comments about organising teams, scheduling teacher meetings, shaping working routines in meetings, making plans and (in some cases) creating an infrastructure. Scores for object (goal and result) and symbolic dimensions of their management orientation were low.

The results suggest a need to increase Swedish school leaders’ attention to object aspects, and both person and symbolic aspects of the formal or organising dimension, of their work. They also indicate the importance of establishing and communicating core symbols in compulsory schooling, like democracy and equity, to avoid external accountability pressures instrumentally shaping schools’ management.

In contrast to previous research, the analysis indicates that Swedish school leaders have a predominantly formal and organising work orientation, frequently with little clear goal and results orientation, or attention to professional needs and motivations of the teachers (important aspects of person orientation).

This article aims to dwell on theoretical, managerial, and empirical knowledge to improve loyalty programme efficiency. Its intention is to try to understand how economic, hedonist, relational, convenience, informational rewards enhance or undermine customers' perceived programme benefits as well as subsequently loyalty according to individual shopping orientations (economical, hedonist, social‐relational, apathetic, brand/loyal).

The research uses self‐determination theory (SDT) and purchase orientations to classify types of rewards in terms of their effect on perceived programme benefits and loyalty. Scales are developed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To validate the hypotheses, surveys in two retail chains (grocery/perfumery) are used. Structural equation modelling confirms the research model.

Perceived benefits and loyalty vary according to purchase orientations, in line with the SDT. Intrinsic (extrinsic) rewards motivate customers to act to obtain a benefit within (apart from) the target of their purchase orientation and influences loyalty positively (have low impact on loyalty).

Further testing of reward types, in(ex)trinsic motivation, across multiple contexts is necessary for validity enhancement as it remains challenging to categorize purchase orientations and rewards. It is necessary to precisely define the degree of the relationship among an intrinsic purchase orientation and perceived loyalty programmes' benefits as orientations might be multidimensional.

Differentiation through tailored rewards is necessary in markets with strong competition to appeal to different segments. Differentiation could be achieved through nonmonetary benefits. The principal role of loyalty programmes should be to identify and segment customers as a means to improve resource allocations.

This is one of the pioneer articles in the use of SDT in marketing research. SDT provides a multi‐benefit framework which identifies the different (non‐) monetary rewards customers may value (in)extrinsically when participating in loyalty programmes. The development of scales which focus on rewards and the impact of purchase orientations on loyalty programmes' perceived benefits is another contribution.

Recently, focus in strategic sourcing (SS) has shifted from the exchange of tangible goods toward the exchange of intangibles, such as specialized skills, knowledge, and processes. The purpose of this paper is to aim to delineate the domain of, and operationally test, strategic sourcing orientation (SSO); a management philosophy directed at identifying and meeting the needs and goals of SS.

Using a mixed-methods research design and underpinned by a service dominant logic (SDL) inspired resource-based view (RBV), the authors first use the qualitative input of 41 top sourcing executives in four focus groups to derive four first-order “orientations” (learning, performance, planning, and relational-process) that were found to reflect SSO. Second, the authors propose a theoretically grounded operationalization of SSO derived from the qualitative data and extant literature. A sample of 174 top sourcing executives was used to test the proposed SSO and its impact on SS reputation, supplier management, and performance outcomes.

The results indicate strong support for the theorized SSO and its impact on SS reputation and supplier management, and, consequently, on performance outcomes.

While many firms encourage a culture to enable SS to realize enhanced performance, research has failed to provide a holistic account of this orientation. This study employs a mixed-methods research design to conceptualize and operationalize such orientation.

The type of social capital among families involved in business, or family social capital, has both positive and negative effects on family firms. This paper aims to investigate the mediating role of social relationships of family business members between socioemotional wealth (SEW) and firms' entrepreneurial orientation.

The authors applied a survey conducted in the four main cities in Mexico. The sample consisted of 360 small and medium enterprise (SMEs). This study's research framework and hypothesis were tested using regression analysis and the structural equation modeling technique.

This study finds that not only does SEW strongly influence the entrepreneurial orientation of family firms, but this influence is also mediated by the capability of such families to develop their social capital.

The results show the perspective of one person in the company. Though it is the person with the highest rank and presumably the person who thoroughly knows the company, there is always a possibility of bias, which may inflate the results presented in this paper.

Based on this study's results, family firms should continuously improve their entrepreneurial abilities to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, their unique family-related characteristics further enhance these strategic approaches' positive effects on relational capital development.

This work contributes to the academic literature on entrepreneurship and social capital. As a mediator between SEW and entrepreneurial orientation, family relational capital has been under-researched. The results of this study reveal significant implications for networking management and relational capital strategies for SMEs.

Las relaciones y conexiones de las familias involucradas en los negocios, o capital social familiar, tienen efectos tanto positivos como negativos en las empresas familiares. Este artículo investiga el papel mediador de las relaciones sociales de los miembros de la empresa familiar entre la riqueza socioemocional y la orientación empresarial de las empresas.

Se aplicó una encuesta realizada en las cuatro principales ciudades de México. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 360 pymes. El marco de investigación y la hipótesis de este estudio se probaron mediante análisis de regresión y la técnica Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Nuestro estudio encuentra que la riqueza socioemocional no solo influye fuertemente en la orientación emprendedora de las empresas familiares, sino que este factor también está mediado por la capacidad de dichas familias para desarrollar su capital social.

Este trabajo contribuye a la literatura académica sobre emprendimiento y capital social. Como mediador entre la riqueza socioemocional y la orientación emprendedora, el capital relacional familiar ha sido poco investigado. Nuestros resultados revelan implicaciones significativas para la gestión de redes y las estrategias de capital relacional para las Pymes.

As relações e conexões das famílias envolvidas nos negócios, ou capital social familiar, têm efeitos positivos e negativos nas empresas familiares. Este artigo investiga o papel mediador das relações sociais dos membros da empresa familiar entre a riqueza socioemocional e a orientação empreendedora das empresas.

Foi aplicado um inquérito realizado nas quatro principais cidades do México. A amostra foi constituída por 360 PME. A estrutura de pesquisa e a hipótese deste estudo foram testadas usando análise de regressão e a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais (SEM).

Nosso estudo conclui que a riqueza socioemocional não apenas influencia fortemente a orientação empreendedora das empresas familiares, mas que esse fator também é mediado pela capacidade dessas famílias de desenvolver seu capital social.

Este trabalho contribui para a literatura acadêmica sobre empreendedorismo e capital social. Como mediador entre a riqueza socioemocional e a orientação empreendedora, o capital relacional familiar tem recebido pouca pesquisa. Nossos resultados revelam implicações significativas para a gestão de rede e estratégias de capital relacional para PMEs.

The study aims to test the framework that proposes the role of resources (intellectual capital) in mobilizing entrepreneurial orientation that influences the competitiveness improvement of micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the lens of resource orchestration theory.

In this study, 347 respondents from the MSMEs participated through a structured questionnaire. For the data analysis purpose, the structural equation modeling technique was employed using SmartPLS software.

The results suggest human, structural, and relational capital are significant antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation, which leads to competitiveness improvement. The findings also indicate the mediation role of entrepreneurial orientation between intellectual capital and competitiveness improvement.

The current study presumably will supplement the promising research effort to progress the research orchestration theory and also could be a strategic guideline for the managers/owners of the MSMEs.

This study is possibly a novel attempt to divulge the association between intellectual capital (tripartite model) and competitiveness improvement of firms under the lens of resource orchestration theory.