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The purpose of this paper is to address the topic of business network dynamics and identify different relational paths, as forms of change in business relationships and related types of network change. The paper contributes to the literature on business network dynamics by providing an understanding of relational paths in the context of firms’ internationalization and shading light on different forms of change in business relationships and types of network change. The paper also contributes to the understanding of liabilities in internationalization that has to do with business networks, namely the liability of outsidership.

This paper is based on qualitative research following the multiple case study research approach. The authors propose three cases of internationalizing firms in the fashion industry that follows relational paths corresponding to different forms of change in business relationships that imply different types of network change.

Changes to a firm’s business network may be addressed through relational paths, namely creation of new business relationships (activation), maintenance of existing relationships (integration) and ending of existing relationships (substitution). These relational paths can be considered forms of incremental (integration) and radical (activation and substitution) change in business relationships and lead to different types of network change for business network dynamics that coexist and influence each other within the same firm.

This paper contributes to a better understanding of business network dynamics by showing how firms change their business relationships following different relational paths as the best way to respond to the challenges and new opportunities offered especially by international markets. The present paper has relevant managerial implications since coping with change in business relationships is perhaps one of the most critical and difficult tasks for management, even more critical if compared to the increasing complexity of doing business internationally and the liabilities that firms face in their internationalization process, especially the liability of outsidership.

This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual model of the impact of commitment on relationship value dependence and switching cost dependence. The authors further investigate how these dimensions of dependence offer differing noneconomic and economic paths to strategic and financial performance.

Survey data was collected from 296 purchasing agents across multiple industries located in the USA. The conceptual model and accompanying hypotheses were tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results show that the relational path is driven by affective and normative commitment, which are related to relationship value dependence. Conversely, calculative commitment is related to switching cost dependence. This economic path is related to both strategic and financial performance, whereas the relational path is more closely related to strategic as opposed to financial performance outcomes.

This study extends research on Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships by leveraging social exchange theory to examine the interrelated roles played by two forms of dependence on performance outcomes. Thus, the authors answer Scheer et al.’s (2015) call for research into the two distinct types of dependence – relationship value and switching cost dependence – and their roles in determining B2B relationship outcomes. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social exchange and relationship marketing concepts to develop a dual pathway approach to B2B partnerships.

The results suggest that dependence is not necessarily negative for firms. Specifically, buyers can and do still exhibit positive performance, both strategic and financial, in relationships with suppliers even when dependent on the relationship. Regardless of whether buyers are dependent due to a relationship or economic factors, both can, in different ways, lead to positive strategic and financial outcomes. Together, the authors contribute to the understanding of B2B partnerships by offering guidelines for both buyers and suppliers in the dyad.

The authors derive a comprehensive model depicting primarily relational and economic paths to performance through different types of commitment and dependence. The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that relational and economic paths to success are not the same, highlighting how firms could influence performance even when the relationship is not necessarily characterized by generally positive relational benefits and behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain the reasonable dimensioning for each part and a full-dimension model of assembly dimensions.

The relational path graph of assembly dimension, the shortest-path spanning tree of functional dimension and a revised spanning tree are established in this paper.

The proposed method can obtain reasonable dimensioning of parts and establishment of dimension model in an assembly.

The proposed method can easily realise by computer and be more suitable to automatic dimensioning and establishment of dimension model of parts.

In this observation study the theory of conglomerated conflict behavior is tested. The impact of seven conflict behaviors on substantive and relational conflict outcomes is examined through multiple independent observations of 103 Dutch nurse managers handling a standardized conflict. Results show that process controlling is most important for achieving substantive outcomes, whereas problem solving, confronting, and forcing are most important for relational outcomes. In addition, substantive and relational outcomes are positively related. Implications for managerial practice and training are discussed.

University–industry (UI) collaboration is essential for knowledge and technology exchange between higher education institutions and industries, enabling enterprises to accelerate innovation. However, few studies have investigated the collaborative innovation mechanism through which UI collaboration can enhance the accumulation of firms' intellectual capital (IC) and how this, in turn, affects their innovation-driven development.

Drawing from the knowledge management and collaborative innovation theory, this research proposes a theoretical framework of the inter-organization relationship between enterprises and universities to investigate the influence mechanism of UI collaboration, including academic engagement and commercialization, on corporate performance as well as the mediating role of IC by employing survey that covers 177 UI collaborations.

Empirical results show that human capital and relational capital fully mediate the relationship between academic engagement UI collaboration and corporate economic performance, while human capital partially mediates the relationship between commercialization UI collaboration and corporate economic performance. Additionally, structural capital and relational capital partially mediate the relationship between academic engagement and corporate innovation performance, while structural capital fully mediates the relationship between commercialization and corporate innovation performance.

This study empirically investigates how academic engagement and commercialization impact corporate performance (i.e. innovation dimension or economic dimension). It uncovers this relationship's underlying mechanism by documenting the IC's mediating impact.

Currently, many firms have established brand fan pages on various social network sites. The purpose of this paper is to extend the conventional trust theory, which involves only perspective of trust.

This study targeted community members who have purchased tourist packages from travel agencies and have joined the official brand fan pages of the agencies for at least one year. A total of 646 valid samples were collected.

Structural equation modeling was employed to conduct path analyses, and the results show that the seven hypothetical paths proposed in this study are supported by the theoretical model, which exhibited desirable goodness-of-fit.

Finally, practical suggestions are offered for community managers.

This study was conducted by integrating the models of consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer interactions.

Functioning as space connectors, path structures in urban parks may rarely present social interaction opportunities, although centralized activity spaces are available. This paper investigated the interrelationships between the visual and physical accessibility attributes of path structure and their impacts on passive social interaction intensity across urban parks in Kuala Lumpur.

The concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier. The experiential landscape method was applied to determine visual accessibility by interpreting experiential landscape maps. The space syntax method based on quantitative analysis is considered to measure physical accessibilities and vigorous activities along the designated paths by conducting integration analysis and gate observation. The data were crossed-analyzed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) classification technique, correlation analysis and Microsoft combo-charts to generate the relationship between patterns of activities and their accessibilities.

The results suggested that designated paths with higher accessibility attributes, impressively more elevated than other tracks, could influence the intensity of passive social interactions. The findings supported the understanding that activity nodes and active areas adjoining designated routes could make accessibility attribute areas more critical. These findings verify that visually enriching the spaces along the path structure toward activities is a pivotal contributor to urban planners and designers to enhance the paths’ local integration (LI) and visual accessibility to predict more passive eye contact among park visitors.

The proposed interrelationship among variables in this study has limitations because of not considering other qualitative methods and techniques like cognitive maps and interview simultaneously. These techniques could discover why some paths generate more passive eye contact among park users (Mohammadi Tahroodi, 2018).

Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 emphasizes Kuala Lumpur’s unique image as a tropical garden city via preserving and developing the iconic historical urban parks in the city center (CHKL, 2004, pp. 3–3). The latest Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 has outlined the strategy to achieve a conducive, good-quality neighborhood that encourages social interaction. The findings could assist urban planners and designers better public parks by considering accessibility and permeability aspects of design. This research endorses the appropriateness of interrelationship between accessibility attributes of path structure and social interaction in urban design research, which local urban designers have not fully considered until now. Evaluating the visual convenience of designated paths and assessing LI of the axial lines constructing each designated route of urban parks during the primary stage could enable urban designers to estimate to what extent the paths are accessible and respond to passive social interaction. Then they could enrich with salient landmarks, views and activity nodes to make them attractive. The considerable number of designated paths connections, specifically while they shape the sides of activity nodes, could increase the connectivity and integration of spaces within the parks. These patterns of positioning the activity nodes make the designated routes more legible and provide ease of movement. As a result, it will give urban park users more information about the activities. Allowing people to use the paths will increase people’s presence and, subsequently, passive social interaction. One way is to locate accessible lands that provide social activities at direct visual access paths within urban parks for legibility.

The socially responsive urban design enhances the quality of life and provides life satisfaction, happiness and society’s overall health. Being in urban social parks in any passive and active situations has psychological benefits. It facilitates relief and rests from a stressful modern lifestyle that significantly impacts their mental health and well-being. The framework applied in this research integrates the social, spatial and physical aspects of parks design. With this regard, principles and indicators facilitate physically and socially attractive urban parks for Kuala Lumpur city center and applicable to similar contexts elsewhere.

The concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier.

This study aims to investigate the intention of adopting a technological service innovation that is a mix-mode consumer shopping service in the retailing context.

A modified extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model is tested by using data on a real example named “Mkolay” which is a new mix-mode consumer shopping service. Data are collected from 217 participants and analyzed by using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).

Research findings show that the customers' intention to use the new mix-mode consumer shopping service is particularly influenced by performance expectations, effort expectations, social influence and personal innovativeness.

In designing a mix-mode consumer shopping service, keeping the design as simple and easy to use as possible seems to increase the intention of adoption. Additionally, collaborating with reference figures or influencers could be instrumental to spread the new service to a wider audience hence increase the likelihood of adoption. Practitioners should also use new technologies in different ways to attract and surprise customers, especially taking into account the technological profile of potential users.

This study contributes to the literature of technological service innovation adoption by revealing the factors affecting the intention of adoption of mix-mode consumer shopping service in the retailing context with a modified UTAUT2 model.

This study aims to conceptually propose and empirically validate a path perspective on the servitization process of manufacturing firms. It identifies a customer and an outcome path to servitization, sheds light on the pivotal role of digital technology usage for both value-creating paths and explores their financial and relational performance outcomes.

The authors use a mixed-method approach, combining a qualitative study with a cross-sectional survey in the USA, the UK and Germany.

Manufacturing firms choose between two generic paths to servitization, a customer and an outcome path. Digital technology usage is equally important for both value-creating paths. Progress on the outcome path has a positive effect on firms’ financial performance, whereas the customer path has an indirect effect only, fully mediated by firms’ relational performance. Customer tenure and customer’s open-mindedness are contingency variables in the digital technology usage – servitization path – firm performance framework.

A path perspective is useful to conceptualize the servitization processes in manufacturing industries. Future research should investigate the sequential choice of servitization paths and explore its drivers and performance outcomes.

To create and claim superior value for their customers, managers can choose between two servitization paths, leading to differential performance outcomes. While digital technology usage is key to progress on both paths, it is particularly effective for newly acquired customers on the customer path. Suppliers should target their value-creating service offerings at open-minded customer firms to reap their full performance potential.

Propose and empirically validate a path-perspective on servitization. Understand the pivotal importance of digital technology usage for both servitization paths.