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By outsourcing or partnering with two or more firms to perform certain activities targeted toward customers, firms are engaging in service networks. This research begins to examine how customers evaluate firms in a strategic, B2B service network and how their assessment of firms involved in co‐producing after‐sales service affects their evaluations of a focal selling firm. These evaluations include the key relational outcomes of brand image, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.

The conceptual model examines the effects of partner firm performance on customers' evaluations of a focal selling firm. Key factors such as focal brand strength and the strength of the relationship between the partner firm and the focal selling firm are proposed to influence this relationship.

Post‐sale business services provided directly to the customer are likely to play an important role in building a firm's brand image and equity, whether those services are provided by the firm or its partners.

The individual firm to individual customer dyad approach that currently dominates the literature does not adequately capture the complex nature of today's B2B service relationships. This research develops a conceptual model that directly addresses the way customers evaluate service when it is performed by multiple partners.

Discovering how customers evaluate service experiences in which multiple firms co‐produce the service within a B2B service network can provide firms with the guidance needed to improve the performance of the entire network and the overall service experience of network customers.

This paper presents new theoretical developments in the area of business‐to‐business service networks. This research also addresses several gaps in the industrial marketing literature, particularly B2B services and branding.

This study re-evaluates the criteria in the choice of exchange partners from the buyer’s and seller’s perspective within the context of inclusive tour production and reveals priorities to such criteria among the business actors, providing theoretical frameworks for a wider understanding of the criteria within a tourism context. The study is based on a study of cooperative relationships between European tour operators and Norwegian sub-suppliers. It deploys a qualitative research approach (personal interviews) inspired by grounded theory. The resultant data present critical three consideration embracing (1) market capacity (its ability to acquire customers), (2) purchase price and the attaching conditions and (3) confidence/reliability as criteria of selecting the exchange partners. Lastly nine future agendas are suggested in a bid to theory development.

This paper aims to examine how interviews of learning commons partners were used to improve communication and collaboration between the library and its partners.

Interviews were conducted with representatives from each of the eight partners that have service desks in the library. The interviews’ transcripts were studied to search for ways communication and collaboration between the library and its partners could be improved.

The passing of time, addition of new library partners and the hiring of new employees since the opening of the learning commons at Draughon Library have created some gaps in communication between the library and its partners. Interviews with representatives from the library’s partners revealed ways communication needed to be improved and provided insight as to how the library and its partners might collaborate in the future.

Much of the literature on library partnerships focuses on the creation of collaborations, but does not elaborate on ways to keep lines of communication open and encourage continued collaborative work once partnerships are already in place. Information gleaned from the interviews highlights concerns that may occur at other libraries with learning commons, as new partnerships develop and time passes since the initial creation of the commons.

The purpose of this paper is to understand which controlling and enabling practices are used, how the numerous supplying partners are managed and how positive network effects are generated in online service triads (multi-sided platform – supplying partners – consumers).

A single representative in-depth case study was conducted to refine theory on managing service triads. The main data source consists of field notes collected by one author, who held a temporary position within the organization. Additional data were collected from observations, internal documents, informal talks and 20 interviews.

The authors found controlling and enabling organizational practices in four main categories on two levels as follows: managing network composition (system level), managing order fulfillment and returns (operations level), category management (both levels) and capability enhancement (both levels).

The authors show that both controlling and enabling practices are present in online service triads. This enables platform owners and supplying partners to share responsibilities for creating positive network effects, i.e. to increase scale, which increases value, which again attracts more suppliers and consumers, which creates more value, etc.

The authors present a range of and controlling and enabling practices that describe how multi-sided platforms can manage numerous supplying partners in an online context.

This study is the first to show that contractual and relational governance is insufficient in service triads in online settings with numerous supplying partners. Further, the authors provide empirical evidence that supply networks continuously adapt over time.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationships among collaboration competency, partner match, knowledge integration mechanisms (KIMs), and e‐service product innovation.

Data were collected from 118 financial firms in Taiwan. IT managers were chosen as the source for data collection. Furthermore, partial least squares (PLS) was used to address sophisticated data analysis issues.

Collaboration competency and partner match relate positively to KIMs, which in turn relate positively to e‐service innovation. In addition, partner match relates positively to collaboration competency. Also, the findings show support for the mediating effect of KIMs on the relationship between collaboration competency and e‐service product innovation.

First, KIMs are the central mechanism through which collaboration competency enhances e‐service product innovation is novel and noteworthy. Second, the study can help researchers to better comprehend partner match and analyze it as a partner‐led enabling mechanism. Third, this study extends an important direction for service product innovation research that lies in adopting an e‐service innovation perspective.

IT managers should mobilize collaboration competency in conjunction with KIMs and should highlight the centrality of KIMs in e‐service product innovation. Managers should examine whether the firm has the necessary technologies to develop particular levels of new e‐service products and to determine which technologies need to be developed. They would also need to consistently and synergistically align their strategic innovation choices.

The findings of this study fill the gap in the service management literature that currently fails in examining these determinants that affect e‐service product innovation. First, the paper helps to clarify the nature of e‐service product innovation. By studying de Brentani's classification of innovations, the paper views e‐service product innovation as two types of radical and incremental innovations that affect the ability of a firm to deliver desirable new services/products to customers via the internet. Second, based on Gallouj and Weinstein's work, the paper addresses the visibility (i.e., tangible or intangible of technical characteristics) and the degree of standardization (i.e., specifying service characteristics, making service characteristics less hazy and more concrete, and giving service characteristics a shape), which constitute innovations in e‐service products.

This paper aims to explore how different service relationships (mentoring relationship versus partnering relationship) in service co-production affect service outcomes. Specifically, it aims to explore whether the effects of service relationships on customers’ intention to purchase the service are contingent upon service appeals’ regulatory focus (promotion versus prevention focus) and when the regulatory fit effects exist.

Three experimental studies were conducted to test hypotheses. ANOVA and bootstrapping were used to analyze the data.

The findings of the three experiments provide convergent evidence for the hypotheses. Specifically, when customers view service employees as mentors (versus partners) in service co-production, promotion-focused (versus prevention focused) service appeals effectively enhance customers’ intention to purchase the service because customers experience a regulatory fit. Moreover, the regulatory fit effects are strengthened or attenuated according to customers’ subjective social status.

Service firms should adopt promotion-focused (versus prevention-focused) service appeals if employees and customers are having mentoring (versus partnering) relationships, especially when customers have higher (lower) social status.

To better manage service co-production, this paper investigates beneficial outcomes of mentoring and partnering relationships from a regulatory fit perspective. It highlights the importance of compatibility between service relationship and service appeals’ regulatory focus and demonstrates a novel regulatory fit effect. It also uncovers engagement as the underlying mechanism for the regulatory-fit effect and identifies social class as a boundary condition.

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

The aim of this paper is to investigate and model the issue of selection of strategic alliance partner for managing and implementation of an operations and maintenance centre for a large telecom service provider under a managed services contract. The alliance shall enhance capabilities of the telecom value chain.

Experts of the domain participated in a brainstorming session to list out the key elements, followed by series of individual interviews. Key insights were finally obtained by developing an interpretive structural modelling (ISM) model for the set of elements so obtained.

This paper illustrates the development of an ISM model for the evaluation of a strategic alliance partner in telecom operator space. Further, key elements of the model are classified into four categories, namely autonomous, driver, dependent, and linkage. This classification helps to understand their relative impact on the selection process.

Telecom service providers may benefit from the findings and insights presented and they may be used to enhance their ability to engage, manage, monitor and evaluate a strategic alliance partner for managed services business practice.

Key issues related to network managed services with perspective of progressive telecom players are discussed and interconnection of critical elements is understood. Work will be of interest to practitioners and research scholars.

Business-to-business (B2B) relations will become more prevalent in many areas such as delivery services, based on current trends supporting e-commerce proliferation. In addition, hyperlocal e-commerce, which focuses on customers in a small geographic region, relies heavily on another business to handle the supply chain. Emerging trends in business to business to customer (B2B2C) experiences provide retailers with opportunities to develop strategies for better customer service. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring business customer experience in the B2B2C aggregator business model.

Using the psychometric scale development procedure, the researchers devised a 29-item, six-dimensional scale measuring business customer experience with the help of two cross-sectional studies. Restaurant managers who rely on delivery partners to serve their customers were surveyed twice. The authors validated a scale for assessing business customer experience using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

Based on fit criteria, a higher-order formative structure was best suited to the scale. The dimensions identified were shared vision, interaction experience, end-customer focus, relationship experience, service experience and outcome focus. According to the study, business customer experience is more objective and utilitarian than existing paradigms on customer experience.

Theoretically, this research helps to understand the underpinnings behind the formation of business customer experience and attempt to bring transformative service research focus in the B2B2C trilogy as better experiences predict the well-being of members of the business centre in the B2B.

Practically, this research helps businesses to revisit their strategies for a better relationship with business partners for jointly offering an improved experience to the end customers.

This study explains a pioneer attempt to develop a scale for business customer experience in the context of B2B2C aggregator business models.

The purpose of this paper is to identify what is currently valued in maintenance services. The study first conceptualizes the value construct through an examination of its elements, including both financial and non-financial elements, and second provides insight into its actors’ (i.e. customer companies, service providers, equipment providers) attitudes toward value creation.

The study uses data collected from maintenance service professionals by an online survey. First an explorative factor analysis is conducted to examine the value construct. After this cluster analysis is conducted to define the actors.

The empirical findings suggest seven main elements that capture maintenance service value: relationship synergies, reliability of the service partner, development, availability, service solutions and problem solving ability, environment, health, safety and quality, and adaptability to suit different situations. Further analysis reveals that the actors can be divided into three main strategy types: basic, quality- and collaboration-oriented partners.

In previous studies the comprehensive nature of maintenance service value has received less attention, and the literature has focused on the technical and financial aspects. This paper provides a new conceptualization of the value creating elements, including also non-financial elements, and offers an integrated measure for the actors to identify the comprehensive value construct around maintenance services. In addition, the findings show that the actors in the field still have varying strategies when considering value creation. Communication and mutual understanding of the value creating elements are important so that right services are carried out and developed with the right partners.