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The impact of specific investments to performance has mixed arguments. This paper aims to clarify how and under what conditions specific investments made by manufacturer tailored to supplier affect the new product development (NPD) performance of the manufacturer itself.

This study develops a moderated mediation model, testing the roles of supplier involvement and information technology (IT) implementation by regression and bootstrap analyses from 378 NPD projects.

The results show both physical and human specific investments positively affect NPD performance. IT implementation strengthens the mediated role of supplier involvement, i.e. the mediator role of supplier involvement between specific investments and NPD performance link is significantly weaker while IT implementation is lower.

The findings contribute to identify IT implementation and supplier involvement as two important constructs, together demonstrating how and when specific investments affect NPD performance.

This study aims to explore how manufacturing firms master customer lock-in through value creation by servitization innovation strategies from the perspective of asset specificity.

A multiple case study with triangulation fashion is adopted to identify servitization innovation strategies. Several manufacturing firms were investigated, which are distributed in different positions of the value chain. Content analysis and abductive approaches are adopted to analyze the data. Moreover, an in-depth interview and participatory observation were conducted to refine the analysis results.

This study identified four different focusing points of servitization operations. Based on these, the paper further induces an innovative servitization strategy matrix of customer lock-in, concerning communion, intellectual, existential and insubstantial strategies. Furthermore, a conceptual model of customer lock-in by servitization innovation from the perspective of asset specificity is elaborated. It is suggested that companies can use tangible or intangible resources by sharing or storing operations to create servitization value.

This study theoretically proposes a conceptual model to extend servitization innovation as an intangible asset and adopt the new perspective of asset specificity to illustrate the value creation in servitization to generate customer lock-in.

This study investigates how asset specificity, relational governance and firm adaptability relate with supply chain integration (SCI), considering selected food processing firms (FPFs) in Uganda.

This study applies a quantitative research methodology. This research draws on a sample of 103 FPFs that have been selected from a population of 345 FPFs located in Kampala district. Hypothesis testing was done using Smart PLS version 3.

Asset specificity has a significant positive relationship with SCI, and firm adaptability partially mediates this relationship. Also, there is a full mediation impact of firm adaptability on the relationship between relational governance and SCI.

This study focused on perceptual measures to get responses from managers on the level of integration with key suppliers and customers, yet firms deal with a number of suppliers and customers.

This study contributes to existing literature on SCI by applying the transaction cost theory. The study focuses on the influence of asset specificity, relational governance and firm adaptability on SCI in the food processing sector. Literature on relational governance in supply chain using the transaction cost theory remains scanty. Few studies have also focused on firm adaptability as a mediator in the FPS with specific focus on Uganda, yet the sector is highly faced with uncertain events. The uncertain events in the sector and in developing countries call for adaptive strategies. Additionally, this study is the first to use firm adaptability to mediate the influence of asset specificity and relational governance on SCI more so in a developing country like Uganda where the FPS is one of the most important in the economy.

This study aims to propose an integrated view and emphasize the importance of bank intangible value binding in customers' robo-advisory adoption. It explores the relationship between robo-advisors and traditional banking and defines the role of bank intangible assets value. It also attempts to understand if trust in the banking institution and the financial consultant determines the effect of these relationships.

The target sample of the study was investors who currently use wealth management services. This study collected 228 valid questionnaires and then executed structural equation model analysis to test the hypotheses.

Results showed that intangible value bindings play a mediating role, which positively affects consumers' willingness to adopt robo-advisors. Consumers' trust in banks and financial consultants are antecedent variables, which positively affect the intangible value bindings between consumers and banks. In addition, when the consumers' investment amount is higher, it will weaken the positive relationship between the intangible value binding and robo-advisor adoption intention.

Most of the past studies have focused on whether robo-advisors would replace personal financial consultants. This study proposes a hybrid model that contains both robo-advisors and traditional banking services, which encourage the acceptance of robo-advisors.

Despite the growing interest in the role of relation-specific investments (RSIs) in superior firm performance, their impact on sustainability performance remains unexplored, as do the underlying mechanisms of such effects. Drawing on the relational view and resource orchestration theory (ROT), the authors propose that supply chain learning (SCL) mediates the link between RSIs and sustainability performance.

A multi-method approach was adopted, combining a case study and survey. An exploratory case study of four Chinese manufacturing firms was first conducted to develop research hypotheses. A quantitative survey of data collected from 269 firms was then undertaken to test hypotheses.

Property-based, knowledge-based and personal-based RSIs positively impact firm sustainability performance and SCL. SCL fully mediates the relationship between knowledge-as well as personal-based RSIs and sustainability performance, and partially mediates the relationship between property-based RSIs and sustainability performance.

The study unveils important practical insights and approaches for firms endeavouring to achieve sustainability performance through RSIs and SCL.

The study extends the RSIs literature by linking RSIs and sustainability performance and differentiating the effects of different types of RSIs on sustainability performance. The theorized underlying mechanism advances the understanding of SCL in the link between RSIs and sustainability performance.

Firms are subject to power from both upstream and downstream partners; those partners may have different or even opposing impacts on supply chain relationships and financial performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate how upstream and downstream dependence structures affect a firm's financial performance through upstream and downstream relational depth (DEP) and relationship extendedness (EXT).

Data representing both upstream and downstream supply chain perspectives was collected using a multiple-respondent survey and was further augmented using financial performance data from an archival database.

Dependence advantages (ADVs) and disadvantages from upstream and downstream partners affect relational mechanisms and firm performance differently. Only downstream ADV will enhance a firm's DEP and EXT and subsequently affect firm's revenue and profit. Contradictory to widely held belief, the results reveal that firms that maintain long-term relationships with buyers and suppliers may experience lower revenue/profit.

This research represents a significant step in understanding the economic ramifications of dependence by (1) highlighting the difference between upstream and downstream supply chain dependence structure and (2) understanding the indirect effects of dependence structure on financial performance.

Utilizing transaction cost economics (TCE) theory as the theoretical underpinning, this article aims to describe the costs of interpersonal helping and governing mechanisms that individuals may use to alleviate helping costs.

A theoretical analysis was performed by drawing upon TCE and related research.

Through the lens of TCE, the authors propose the following: First, as the costs of helping increase, interpersonal helping shifts from being triggered by an autonomous motivation to being regulated by contextual contingencies. Second, the helper is likely to utilize reciprocity to mitigate helping costs by acquiring specific assets possessed by the recipient when asset specificity is high. Third, the helper is likely to utilize organizationally sanctioned procedures and rules to mitigate helping costs by eliminating unwanted resource consumptions when outcome uncertainty is high. Finally, the helper is likely to utilize group norms to mitigate helping costs by involving others in helping or discouraging requests for recurrent help when the frequency of helping is high.

From a theoretical standpoint, this article complements previous research that focuses on the dark side of interpersonal helping. Practically, the authors offer several implications that help managers minimize the costs of helping in the organization.

The purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of resource orchestration in inter-firm partnerships that appropriately configure and align strategic cross-firm supply chain resources and capabilities generating synergies to deliver superior performance.

Applying the resource orchestration logic, supported by the relational view of competitive advantage, the study draws from an empirical analysis of survey data from 152 top-level executives of US manufacturing firms to investigate the effect of leveraging and coherently combining cross-firm supply chain resources with capabilities on operational performance.

The study underscores the view that appropriately orchestrated combinations of key partnership resources and capabilities as mechanisms for marketing strategy implementation, enhance performance. Specifically, research results suggest that complementary inter-firm resources and lean align, and similarly idiosyncratic resources and agility align synergistically to deliver superior operational performance outcomes. The results also accent partnership responses to intense competition, enabling enhanced operational performance. The findings thus enrich the understanding of the resource orchestration logic and strategy, making important theoretical contributions.

As is typical in marketing and strategy research, the study research design has a cross-sectional framework, thus limiting insights on the resource orchestration dynamics that can otherwise be generated using a longitudinal design. Also, the resource orchestration stream is still nascent. Further research is needed to delineate the orchestration mechanisms that deliver on performance outcomes, especially in supply chains.

A key insight for supply chain and marketing managers is that close-knit inter-firm partnerships are critical for accessing idiosyncratic and complementary resources that can be configured and symbiotically aligned with market-facing agility and lean capabilities, respectively, to deliver market value. Proactive partnerships, especially in highly competitive and disruptive environments, enable mobilizing cross-firm resources and building appropriate matching combinations with capabilities to deliver on operational performance.

The study, guided by theory, advances the understanding of how key cross-firm resources and capabilities deliver performance gains. The key to competitive advantage and enhanced performance outcomes may lie in acquiring, leveraging and deploying appropriately matched resource-capability combinations. The present study investigates this proposition within the context of supply chain partnerships, focusing on cross-firm resources and capabilities.

Grounded in contingency theory and strategic fit theory, the goal for this research was to determine if managers differentiate in terms of the degree of partnership when allocating resources for planning, joint operating controls, communication and other management components to relationships and if this differentiation is based on the Partnership Model (Lambert et al., 1996).

In total, 381 managers representing 31 relationships participated in one-and-a-half-day partnership meetings, and the authors analyzed how the management components were implemented in each relationship compared to the recommendations in the Partnership Model.

Managers did not differentiate types of partnerships which led to over-resourcing relationships with low potential and under-resourcing those with the highest potential for creating value. The principles of contingency theory and strategic fit were not used for managing relationships.

Contingency theory combined with the relationship view suggests that management components should not be implemented at the same level for all relationships, but in the 31 relationships studied different partnership types were not managed based on their potential.

The research reinforces the need for a formal structure like the Partnership Model to establish joint goals for a relationship and guide management in implementation.

Effective supply chain management depends on the ability of managers to differentiate among partnership types and fit relational mechanisms that are appropriate. However, researchers tend to generalize their findings to all partnerships regardless of potential. The authors found support for the Partnership Model published in IJLM in 1996 as a method to resource different types of partnerships following the contingency perspective and strategic fit theory.

In view of the complexity of supply chain management (SCM) in the insurance industry, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper was the first to use symmetrical and asymmetrical methos to examine how the insurer’s service quality and SCM can be configurated to explain the relationships between the insurance companies and brokers as the intermediaries. This study positions insurance brokers as the insurance companies’ customers and supply chain partners, aims to examine the relationships between service quality, SCM and relationship quality.

This paper undertook two studies and used two methods to examine how the insurer’s service quality and SCM can be configurated to explain the relationships between the insurance companies and brokers as the intermediaries. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical analyses were performed including regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The results from symmetrical analyses and fsQCA from two countries show substantial differences in how service quality and SCM affect relationship quality. In particular, fsQCA show that all service quality dimensions are important antecedent conditions of relationship quality for Portuguese brokers. Interestingly for Irish brokers, the combination of assurance, responsiveness and the insurer’ empathy conjunctively accounted for their satisfaction, whereas none of these quality factors are related to their commitment and trust. All SCM factors are important to explain the brokers’ relationship quality with their chosen insurers for both countries.

This study contributes to three areas of research: service quality, SCM and relationship marketing. Firstly, this study used an asymmetrical approach to providing insights into the effect of service quality dimensions by showcasing how these dimensions were configurated to explain the outcome of interest, rather than examining their symmetrical path coefficients. Secondly, this study identified the key factors of SCM in the insurance industry and how these factors can be configurated through Boolean algebra to explain relationship quality between supply chain partners. Finally, this study has implications for relationship marketing research.

As the study was conducted with the insurance brokers in Portugal and Ireland, the findings have implications for the insurance companies for the two countries. As different service quality factors and SCM exert different effects on relationship quality, the insurance companies should look into these factors to modify their current practice to improve relationship quality with their brokers.

Theoretically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to approach from intermediaries to address effectiveness of SCM. Methodologically, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use fsQCA – a case-based approach to understand SCM and relationship quality between stakeholders.