Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify sensing, seizing and reconfiguring routines of dynamic capabilities that enable digital transformation in firms. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is used. Representatives from a firm going through digital transformations are interviewed, and focus groups have been carried out with a consultancy firm experienced in giving advice to firms going through digital transformation. Findings Six routines identified as relevant specifically for digital transformation are identified. These are cross-industrial digital sensing, inside-out digital infrastructure sensing, digital strategy development, determination of enterprise boundaries, decomposition of digital transformation into specified projects and creation of a unified digital infrastructure. Practical implications The authors provide direction for managers on how to approach digital transformation. In relation to previous research, the authors provide more specific guidance regarding how to reconfigure the organization in digital transformation. Originality/value The paper uses a novel context for digital transformation and complements the very few studies available using dynamic capabilities to understand digital transformation.

Environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly important motivator for the development of new offerings on business-to-business markets. Taking environmental concerns into account in the creation of new offerings can increase the complexity of the offering development process. Green offering development is therefore associated with new or emphasized capability requirements. This paper aims to explore these capability requirements through a multiple case study of manufacturing firms. It introduces a typology of three distinct kinds of green offering development, and suggests capabilities that are especially important for each type of green offering. The three types of offering are: internally oriented green production, externally oriented green application, and finally, reshaped green networks, which entails modifications in the boundaries between production and use.

Start-ups are often in need of external help to grow but do not have the cash to pay for critical services. A solution to this problem is to hire technology or strategy consultants and use equity as payment. With equity payments, the service provider also becomes an investor and a partner in the start-up. By interviewing consultants, investors, and start-up entrepreneurs, this study explores the challenges associated with equity payments, and it identifies situations when equity payments can be a viable solution. We propose that consultancies require a risk-seeking mindset and a business model that supports long-term investments in clients. Further, we propose that consultancies’ inclination to accept equity payments increases when the entrepreneur has industry specific experience. The start-up entrepreneur’s inclination to accept equity payments increases when they lack experience of running a start-up, and when the start-up has not yet shown a proof of concept. Even though the long-term viability of equity payments for critical services remains to be determined, it is an option worth taking into account by start-ups in need of assistance

The production of food can have large impacts on sustainable development in relation to various socio-ecological dimensions, like climate change, the environment, animal welfare, livestock epidemiology, and the economy. To achieve a sustainable food production system in Sweden, an integrated approach that considers all five of these dimensions, and all parts of the food production chain, is necessary. This paper systematically reviewed the literature related to food production in Sweden, especially in association with resource distribution and recycling logistics, and identified potential sustainability interventions and assessed their effects according to the five dimensions. Participation of stakeholders across the food production chain contributed with the focus of the literature search and subsequent synthesis. In general, there were synergies between the sustainability interventions and their effect on climate change and the environment, while there often were trade-offs between effects on the economy and the other dimensions. Few interventions considered effects on animal welfare or livestock epidemiology and few studies dealt with resource distribution and recycling logistics. This indicates that there is a need for future research that considers this in particular, as well as research that considers the whole food production chain and all dimensions at once, and investigates effects across multiple scales.

Startups are often in need of external help to grow, but do not have the cash to pay for such services. A solution to this problem, observed in Stockholm’s startup scene, is to hire consultants and use equity as payment. With equity payments, the consultancy becomes not only a service provider but also an investor and a partner of the startup. By interviewing startup entrepreneurs, consultants and investors, this paper explores the internal and relationship factors that affect the inclination of both startups and consultancies to use equity payments. We conclude that several criteria have to be met for equity payments to be viable. However, with the right circumstances in place, equity payments represent a promising opportunity for startups to obtain access to critical services.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand differences between open-book accounting (OBA) using static prices and OBA using dynamic prices. The authors identify how these differences influence various aspects of customer–supplier relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a case study involving a builders’ merchant and a wood manufacturer in the UK. The builders’ merchant under discussion has recently outsourced part of its production to the aforementioned wood manufacturer by using OBA with dynamic prices. For this case study, the authors have conducted interviews with multiple people from both parties in the agreement. Additional illustrative cases are provided through a study of other qualitative papers on OBA.

Findings

The authors find evidence supporting that, when dynamic prices are used in OBA, risk (unpredictability) is shifted from the supplier to the customer. Also, the customer frequently focuses on the supplier’s costs, both parties often aim for a long-term relationship and the customer becomes more dependent on the supplier, causing high interdependence. Furthermore, empirical evidence suggests that the customer finds price less important, and the reallocation of activities between the customer and supplier is easier in OBA setups in which dynamic prices are used.

Originality/value

This paper provides the first study of how differences between dynamic and static prices in OBA influence the customer–supplier relationship. This paper adds to the developing literature on OBA, in particular, as well as to literature on pricing, in general.

This paper focuses on the move from buyer dominance toward interdependence between buyers and suppliers in a distribution channel. The paper introduces a case study collected through in-depth interviews and participative observations. It examines the relationships between a timber supplier and its customers in the builders’ merchants sector. We stress the relevance of considering actions intended to change the power balance, rather than focusing only on trust. The power balance in a dyadic relationship is dynamic, and power positions need to be constantly re-evaluated. An important power resource is information asymmetry, manifested in the supplier’s information about: products, regional and local demand, and the usage of the products. For practitioners, we highlight the possibility of exerting a non-coercive power resource, such as information asymmetry, in order to increase the relative power. Furthermore, being open about the power position between a buyer and a seller can foster a more efficient collaboration.

Previous retailer-supplier research reports both positive and negative collaboration outcomes. Resource alignment, or how collaborating actors’ resources affect each other, is a concept that has been brought forward to explain when collaboration increases performance. As the category management of builders’ merchants involves actors with different sets of resources, the resource alignment framework can be used to better understand the outcomes of collaboration in category management. The aim of this paper is to explore resource alignment among actors involved in the category management of builders’ merchants. The paper is based on interviews with top managers in Swedish builders’ merchants. Complementary and supplementary resources held by the involved actors are identified for four  distinguished category management activities. Resources needed to further improve the business are also identified. Three propositions are formulated, explaining how supplementary and complementary resources are interrelated and how the situation influences the need for supplementary resources. The description of resource alignment supports retailers and their suppliers concerning how to assign roles and responsibilities in category management activities. While the retailers themselves are often well equipped to manage pricing and inventory management, the supplier can support assortment and marketing management.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore open book accounting with fixed returns in the context of an outsourcing implementation. We look to identify circumstances in which open book accounting with fixed returns takes place, how failures can be avoided and what kinds of benefits can be achieved by the accounting method.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a case study involving a builders’ merchant in a wood manufacturer in the UK. The builders’ merchant has recently outsourced part of its production to the wood manufacturer, using open book accounting with fixed returns. Interviews have been conducted with multiple people from both parties in the agreement.

Findings – It was found that open book accounting with fixed returns can exist despite low initial competence trust, and that only one party has to see a benefit of using open book accounting. Failures in the implementation of open book accounting may be avoided by promoting understanding of the agreement among the people involved, and by making thorough calculations of the supplier’s costs. The benefits of open book accounting with fixed returns identified in this paper are cost savings, closer cooperation and interorganizational learning, lock-in effects, and decreased supplier risk.

Originality/Value – This paper provides the first study of open book accounting where the parties have agreed to fix the returns of the supplier and where the agreement was made as a result of an outsourcing decision. It adds to the developing literature on open book accounting, in particular, and on interorganizational cost management, in general.

Supplier integration in category management means that a supplier takes part in the activities that are traditionally performed by retailers. These activities are the selection of which products to sell, decisions on how to price and market the products, and making sure that the products are delivered to the stores in a timely manner. Depending on the situation, an integration of suppliers in these activities can be more or less suitable.

As more research is needed to understand when supplier integration in category management is suitable, the purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how situational factors affect the relationship consequences of supplier integration in category management. Specifically, the relationship consequences are expressed in terms of relationship performance and interdependence between the firms.

The study builds on empirical data about British and Swedish builders’ merchants and their suppliers, with a particular focus on timber suppliers. Data has mainly been collected through participative observations and interviews.

Five situational factors that improve the relationship performance of supplier integration in category management are identified: large retailer firms, supplier product knowledge, homogeneity of market demands for the supplier’s products, mutual trust and a shared view on customer value between the supplier and retailer. Three situational factors are identified that affect the interdependence between the retailer and the supplier when supplier integration in category management is implemented: supplier product knowledge, whether the supplier or the retailer initiates the integration and whether coercive or non-coercive power has to be used in the implementation.

This thesis contributes to retail literature by highlighting the need to include situational factors in the analysis of supplier integration, clarifying which activities are comprised by category management and suggesting a theoretical foundation based on the resource-based view and the transaction cost framework to analyse relationship performance in retailer-supplier dyads. When making decisions on integration, managers of retailers and their suppliers are advised to consider the fit with their overall strategy, the fit with the surrounding situation and the effects both in terms of interdependence and relationship performance.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore supplier integration in the assortment management of builders’ merchants (BMs) by identifying potential factors enabling supplier integration and potential factors mediating the success of supplier integration.

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study method was used, in which interviews and participative observations were conducted with a timber supplier and BMs in the UK.

Findings – The likelihood that a supplier and a retailer will implement supplier integration is positively affected by the retailer’s format as a large chain with several product categories represented in its stores and the retailer’s trust in the supplier. Effectiveness and efficiency of supplier integration is mediated by the number of different retail formats represented by the retailers, the ability of the supplier to determine cost drivers in its operations and a homogeneous market, meaning that local circumstances have limited effect on demand.

Research limitations/implications – The findings are exploratory and further testing of the propositions, using a wider empirical sample, is required. The paper extends theories relating to resource complementarity and suggests that a resource complementarity framework can be applied in relationships other than alliances.

Practical implications – This paper suggests when incorporation of supplier resources is possible to implement and when it is likely to succeed.

Originality/value – This paper uses a contingency perspective to explore supplier integration and targets individual buyer-supplier relationships. It uses a dyadic perspective and considers how supplier integration affects the dyad, rather than only the buyer.

Previous research on collaborations within networks report both positive and negative outcomes of collaborations. Resource alignment, or how resources of collaborating actors affect each other, has consequences for the utilization of the resources in a network. More research is however needed to determine how resource alignment works. Retailers’ category management includes activities that span several actors and where the resources of the network become important. The main actors that contribute to category management are the central organization of the retailer, the individual stores and the suppliers of the products in the category. An interesting sector for understanding how resources contribute to the success of category management is the builders’ merchants sector, where mainly professional builders buy the products they need for performing their trade. The aim of this paper is therefore to explore resource alignment among actors involved in the category management of builders’ merchants. The paper is based on an interview study of top managers in four Swedish builders’ merchants. Three propositions are formulated that suggest explanations for how supplementary and complementary resources are interrelated and how the network influences the need for supplementary resources. 

Different builders’ merchants demand a variety of products, and no effort has yet been made to coordinate these demands. Therefore, suppliers of timber to builders’ merchants are facing a problem in terms of requirements for a product range that is too extensive. Timber is a commodity product that is sold at low margins, which means that the costs of keeping such a wide range threaten the economies of scale in timber suppliers’ operations. A suggested solution to this problem is for timber suppliers to use proactive range management (PRM), meaning that the supplier influences the product assortments offered by the builders’ merchants. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to explore the concept of PRM in the dyad between a timber supplier and a builders’ merchant. To fulfil this purpose, research questions are formulated regarding the drivers and prerequisites for PRM, and how suppliers can use it.

A broad theoretical perspective that considers roles, exchanges and power is used to explore PRM. Data has been collected through a single case study of a timber supplier, its builders’ merchant customers, and the customers of the builders’ merchants.

The driver for PRM is the timber suppliers’ potential knowledge about costs and demand in the supply chain. The knowledge can be used to coordinate the supply chain, and thus increase efficiency and effectiveness; it also creates a power base for the suppliers, enabling them to increase the share of value gained from the dyads between themselves and the builders’ merchants.

There are several prerequisites for PRM to be realised. The suppliers must possess a power base in the form of knowledge about costs and demand in the supply chain, and be able to communicate the value of this knowledge. The suppliers and builders’ merchants are also required to have close relationships. Further, the builders’ merchants must trust the suppliers and be open to influence from them.

When using PRM, different degrees of influence can be exerted depending on the extent to which the prerequisites for PRM are fulfilled. In addition, suggestions on how to manage the product assortment can be either individualised for the builders’ merchant, or take the form of a more general suggestion, depending on which builders’ merchant is approached. The degree of influence and the individualisation of the suggestion create a 2x2 matrix, in which four different ways of using PRM are proposed.

This paper deepens the understanding regarding the practical usability of CM models for purchasing decisions, and provides a framework for determining a desired complexity of cost management in different purchasing environments.

A supplier to a retailer that influences what products customers are buying, with the aim to achieve an increased cost-efficiency in the distribution channel, can be said to have a proactive range management (PRM) offering. In implementing this offering, new requirements appear for the supplier as new responsibilities appear that are usually unfamiliar for passive product suppliers. By applying a business model perspective, an effort is made to identify these new requirements. The ARA model is then used for structuring the requirements. It is concluded that the transition from being a traditional product supplier to implementing a PRM offering implies significant changes in what activities to perform, what resources to hold and what actors, or customers, to approach with the new offering. The business model construct has also appeared as useful for identifying these requirements. The managerial implication is that the decision of implementing a PRM offering and influencing the product range of customers implies major changes for the business and has to be supported by the overall structure of the firm.

This conceptual study contributes with an understanding of the dynamic effects of power in buyer-seller relations and how power can be used to increase share of profitability from a buyer-seller relation. It is concluded that coercive and non-coervice power bases can be used for fundamentally different purposes, but at the same time they are closely related to each other. Non-coercive power is used for achieving changes which are unresisted by the influencee, meaning that the change is welcomed by the influenced actor. As no resistance is overcome the influencer is not losing any power – it is only redistributed to other power sources. A change caused by a non-coercive power base may therefore create a coercive power base for the influencer. A coercive power base is used for achieving resisted changes, meaning that the change is unwanted by the other actor. One type of resisted change is a change in how value is shared. With this reasoning, it is concluded that an increased share of profitability is achieved through exerting power from a coercive power base. This power base can have appeared from changes caused by exertions of non-coercive power bases. By understanding the mechanisms behind how power can be used, managers are aided in their decision making and analyses of negotiating situations.