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Three types of industrial buyer-seller relational process models are available: joining theory, stage theory, and state theory. However, historically, these models have developed based on the knowledge and cultural context of the Western world. Several researchers note that national culture may have an impact on international industrial buyer-seller relationships. Including culture in the models is highly important, especially as the business environment is increasingly more global and different countries have different business cultures. The goal of this paper is to define the most suitable industrial buyer-seller relational process models for describing relationships in various contexts. The paper includes a through literature review and a single case study in order to reach this objective. A new state theory model evolved during the research. It consists of two beginning states: searching and starting; four purely middles states: constant/static, decline, growth, and troubled; and a purely end state: termination. The state of dormant/inert is both a middle state and an end state, that is, when the relational actors are not in contact does not mean that the relationship has ended, but instead, for example, new legislation may have been implemented, which requires the actors to evaluate their relationship and its future. A relationship goes through the two beginning states in the order mentioned above, but after that, any state may occur.

This study investigates how direct cultural interaction between a supplier country’s personnel and host country purchasing decision makers (HCNs) occurring during the exporting of professional, high-contact services can help shape the latter’s perception of the image of the supplier country and their willingness to buy its services or products. The article develops a theoretical framework that identifies those key drivers and their relationship.

This is a conceptual paper based on a comprehensive review of the literature complemented by a pilot study with offshore executive MBA programs.

A conceptual model is developed with a series of testable propositions.

The framework should help companies and organizations involved in the exporting of such services devise programs to bolster the image of their country as a provider of these and other services and products.

Trade in services is becoming a lifeline for many developed countries that have seen their manufacturing industries relocate to low labor-cost countries. Thus, it is imperative for these countries to bolster their COO to gain competitive advantage. Developing countries can also use such a framework as a means of improving the overall image of their own country and its products.

This research complements those rare studies done on the acculturation of HCNs by examining, for the first time, this process in the context of the exporting of professional services and on how it can lead to changes in the perception of the HCNs vis-à-vis the image of the supplier country.

This paper reports the development of the Hong Kong consumer satisfaction index (HKCSI) – a new type of consumer‐oriented economic performance indicator representing the quality of products (commodities and services) sold in Hong Kong as evaluated by Hong Kong consumers – as well as the findings of HKCSI from 1998 to 2000, each year with more than 10,000 successful telephone interviews on about 60 products. According to Hong Kong's special economic structure, the HKCSI is constructed from a consumption point of view concentrating on products and the products’ consumers, rather than from the popular production point of view focusing on firms and the firms’ customers. Key features of HKCSI include: the direct introduction of consumer characteristics (such as age, education, and income) in model construction; the wide coverage of services, especially free services; and the adoption of a product weighting system based on consumer price index (CPI), not on gross domestic product (GDP). In this paper, a theoretical framework of consumer satisfaction is first presented after investigating the relevant literature, and then the large‐scale consumer survey scheme adopted to collect the data and the structural equation modeling technique employed to estimate the indexes are discussed. New considerations in the HKCSI in such areas as model structure, indicator and questionnaire design, and product classification are elaborated upon. Next, the estimated results are analyzed focusing on the reliability and validity of the model, on the relationships among consumer satisfaction and its antecedents and consequences, and especially on the effects of consumer characteristics on consumer satisfaction and the implications of such effects for marketing practice. The results are generally consistent across different products, broadly acceptable and in agreement with previous findings, and are also relevant to Hong Kong's special situation. The paper concludes with a summary and some remarks on problems in the present study and future research directions.

Based on a review of the Chinese ethic of bao (reciprocity), this paper aims to study the issue of reciprocity of trust at firm level by analyzing multiple-source data while controlling for the effects of several contextual variables.

The authors collected data from the supplier–buyer partnerships in China’s automotive industry. Hierarchical linear regression approach is adopted to test the hypotheses.

The data show that reciprocity of trust between parties involved has a significantly positive effect on the stability of the supplier–buyer partnership, and that this reciprocity also moderates the relationship between trust itself and stability. In addition, several contextual variables, i.e. the suppliers’ sensitiveness to their buyer’s need, personal contact of top managers, motivation to develop symbiotic partnership and firm location, can also have significant and positive effects on the stability of the supplier–buyer partnership.

This study presents empirical evidence on how the Chinese ethic of bao may influence the stability of the supplier–buyer partnerships, suggesting that examining this Chinese cultural element is a useful exercise. Related to this issue, the data show that the level of trust between the parties in business transactions differs, and that this difference influences the stability of the partnership. In addition, the study suggests that several other factors have significant and positive effects on the stability of the partnership. Interestingly, the data suggest that these effects are more likely to be observed when the reciprocity of trust or bao between the partners is taken into account. By demonstrating empirically the significant direct and moderating effect of bao or reciprocal trust, this study makes an important contribution to the literature on trust and the stability of the supplier–buyer partnership.

This paper seeks to explore how and via what tools music students are identifying, locating, and accessing music materials – specifically scores and recordings – for use in their music studies. It also aims to examine similarities and differences in the information seeking behavior of students in various music sub‐disciplines and students at different points in their academic tenure.

The study employed survey and focus groups methodologies.

It was found that students use myriad library and non‐library tools to discover and access scores and recordings. It identified the frequency and specificity with which students seek scores and recordings. There are more similarities between performers and music educators than musicologists or other areas, and graduate and upperclass students have different behaviors than underclass students, who are more likely to use library resources. This study also identified some of the reasons students become frustrated in searching for music materials and from where they seek help.

The response rate to this survey was only 11 percent and surveys are not the best indicator of actual behavior. While the use of focus groups did offset this to a degree, a more widespread survey and user studies would be merited to understand any wider patters of music student behaviors.

With the findings from this study libraries serving music students can tailor their instruction and marketing efforts. They can also focus their collections and resources appropriately for the various types of patrons served by their library.

Little previous research has been done on the general information seeking behaviors of music students. Other work has focused on music faculty, specific sub‐disciplines in music, or on issues specific to finding music in library catalogs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians’ information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis.

The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity.

The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors’ approach “musical creativity” is treated as a musician’s aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician’s information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world.

An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice.

A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons’ macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians.

Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks.

A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

Provide explanations to why firms subcontract.

Theoretical analysis based on current and specific conditions of the construction sector and empirical indicators.

Attributes potentially influencing the subcontracting decision are updated.

The paper will only focus on the make-or-buy decision of the main contractor and not the client.

Contributing to coming analysis on the subcontractor decision.

Updated transaction cost analysis on the construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to study and quantify musicians' creativity in order to tune music library services and pinpoint potential musical creative activities.

Webster's conceptual framework for the creative thinking process in music is informing our survey while the analysis adopts a multiple criteria method for quantifying musical creativity. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is also adopted developing strategic decisions based on musicians' creativity behaviours.

Mental representations of the music heard (listening) is the most important dimension for creative thinking in music while dimensions such as recorded improvisations (improvisation), written analysis (analysis) and composed music scores (composition) follow. SWOT analysis provides further indications for music library services development based on musicians' creativity behaviours.

This study proposes a novel research vein based on multicriteria analysis within the contexts of musical creativity for managing music library services.