Jan Johanson - Böcker

Emerging global markets and rapid technological development make strong demands on the ability of companies to develop and utilize knowledge. In order to handle the knowledge management problem, firms have to search for new collaborative ways of organizing internationalization and technical development. This is reflected in a growing interest among both businessmen and academics in business networks. Business networks have been defined as networks of connected business relationships between firms, where a business relationship is a lasting relation between two firms doing business with one another. Business network relationships are particularly interesting since they allow the companies to interact more closely with each other and thereby handle critical problems in a way that is beneficial in the long run for the parties involved. It has been demonstrated that business networks are closely related to company learning. First, learning is an important element in business network development. Second, learning is an effect of interaction in business networks relationships. Third, learning can be a part of interaction in relationships. Against this background, the objective of this volume is to discuss learning in business network settings.

For marketers, the Internet is increasing in importance. One important marketing issue is how to initiate, develop, and manage relationships with customers through the Internet. This holds true for marketing of goods and services, in domestic as well as international markets. This book aims to improve our knowledge on utilization of the Internet in marketing. The book will supply theoretical as well empirical knowledge on managing customer relationships on the Internet. This book also contributes to the development of theory to explain the internationalization process of Internet firms by proposing that models that emphasize knowledge and network are suitable for this purpose. In doing so, the book answers questions such as: What types of business relationships are possible to establish and develop on the Internet? How much face-to-face contact do we need in business relationships? What are the key driving mechanisms in Internet-based relationship development? It is a true international comparative management book, including data from Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Finland. The book contains 14 chapters. The evidences supplied in the book are based on research in industries such as health care, bio-technology, information technology, and the air-lines. The contributors to this book are active researchers in the field of internet and marketing. The material supplied in this book is new and original. This series: provides an international perspective to the study of business, with a special emphasis on management and marketing issues; deals with such topics as globalization, international business negotiations, cross-cultural communication, entry strategies, doing business in different regions, and future trends; and, also focuses on the development of international business theory, methodological issues, the results of empirical studies and the findings of practitioners.

This book expands the business network view on managerial issues in multinational corporations. Specifically, it scrutinises the importance of a subsidiary's external and internal business network for its strategic and organizational role within the corporation.The internationalisation of firms in terms of management issues and headquarters control, the influence of subsidiaries on decisions and learning processes within multinational corporations are examined in detail. It is argued that to understand these issues, it is necessary to analyse the context of the multinational corporation in terms of the subsidiaries' external and internal business networks. The authors also explore the extent to which subsidiaries are embedded in close relationships with other business partners and the ability of headquarters to retain control if their subsidiaries are given the opportunity to influence decisions concerning strategic investments. The theoretical elements of the book are underpinned by illustrative cases from an extensive database of 20 multinational corporations.Grounding its analyses and conclusions on unique and extensive data on specific business relationships at the subsidiary level in multinational corporations, this book will be invaluable to students, researchers and lecturers focusing on management and international business.