Josef Wieland – författare

This book introduces the research agenda of relational economics as a political economy for the governance of local and global economic transactions in modern societies. It analyses the mechanisms of global value creation and production networks by studying cooperation in intra- and inter-firm networks, intersectoral stakeholder management, and transcultural leadership.

The author develops a categorical taxonomy for private and public value creation based on the effective and efficient interlinking of, and interaction between, a range of resources and abilities. In contrast to mainstream economics, which largely focuses on the laws of discrete and dyadic exchange transactions, this book assesses the polyvalent characteristics of relational transactions.

The chief categories involved in an economic theory of the relations between events are the relational transactions and their various forms of governance; the polycontextual cooperation between economic, political andcivil society agents; and the factor incomes and relational rents that relational transactions produce. Today, relational transactions are the rule, not the exception, in modern economies and their global value creation networks. Given its scope and focus, this book will appeal to scholars of economics, economic sociology, organisational studies and related fields.

This book explores the conceptual and practical implications of applying a relational view to cultural complexity. The authors take the findings of an international and interdisciplinary Delphi study on transcultural competence as a starting point and offer further analysis and interpretation from their specific perspectives. Written by experts from a variety of disciplines, the book discusses the potential contributions of a relational approach to understanding and strengthening individuals and organizations in their contexts. Through various conceptual chapters, case studies and field reports, it explores the role and nature of commonalities for cooperation in contexts of cultural complexity and discusses the relationship between differences and commonalities, as well as the implications for relational leadership and management.

The book is divided into four parts, the first of which introduces readers to the relational view. In turn, the second part elaborates on transcultural competence, while the third presents various case studies and field reports on experience-based learning and relationality in culturally complex settings. Finally, the fourth part sheds new light on relational leadership and the role of commonalities in organizational practice. As such, this book will appeal to scholars and practitioners in the areas of cultural and relational economics, intercultural communication, business strategy and leadership, and organizational studies.

This volume embarks on a research journey that focuses on the processes of economic and social value creation in the 21st century. Given that value creation is increasingly organized in networks consisting of businesses, governments, academia, civil society, and other societal stakeholders, the contributions address various aspects of and challenges in governing cooperation in value-creating networks. Exploring topics such as relational rationality, cultural complexity, shared value creation, and relational contracts, this book reveals the mechanisms and processes involved in governing the complexities of inter-sectoral relationships in a networked society. Given its scope and focus, this book will appeal to scholars of economics, economic sociology, organizational studies, and related fields.

This book lays the groundwork for a relational theory of the firm as a network of stakeholder resources and interests. Drawing on the author’s earlier publications on relational economics as the political economy of a global cooperative economy or stakeholder capitalism, it explores the governance and managerial implications of a relational economy for firms, while also critically revisiting the traditional and resource-based view of the firm. In turn, it explains concepts such as relational governance, relational costs, relational spaces, rent from cooperation, and shared value creation, as well as a dynamic and process-oriented relational business model. The book discusses the epistemological and methodological prerequisites of a relational theory of the firm and addresses their theoretical taxonomy. A relational theory of the firm is a work in progress; the book represents an invitation to join this theoretical and empirical undertaking.

Over the last years, “Creating Shared Value” has become a much discussed concept in business practice as well as in management theory and especially in the context of corporate social responsibility. This book offers a contribution to the current academic discussions on the well-received article of Michael Porter and Marc Kramer in Harvard Business Review in 2011. In the light of the increasing references to the shared value concept, it develops a critical discussion on its fundamentals and its implications for the relationship between economy and society. By that, the book seeks to shed light on the understanding of the role and the nature of the firm in a globalized economy. The result is a collection of interdisciplinary academic reviews which offer interdisciplinary reflections on “Creating Shared Value” to illuminate theoretical, conceptual and practical challenges of the topic. Within the fields of Business Ethics, Theory of the Firm, Management and Philosophy, researcher, students and practitioners will be given a deeper insight on how to approach to the concept in a conceptional and philosophical way.