Buyer-supplier relationships in a servitized environment: An examination with Cannon and Perreault's framework

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine a buyer's adoption of servitization and the associated implications for the relationships with its suppliers. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use the case study approach to examine the tripartite relationship between a manufacturing company and two of its two suppliers. The paper explores the perspectives of employees on multiple organisational levels, and collects evidence on both sides of a relationship. The authors use template analysis utilising Cannon and Perreault's relationship connectors framework to analyse the data. Findings: There are overarching implications of servitization adoption for buyer-supplier relationships. The implications are notable in all five relationship connectors. Parties expected more open exchange of information, operational linkages were strengthened and changes in the structural arrangements of relationships were witnessed. Legal contracts are complemented by relational norms. The authors also observed a departure away from a win-lose mentality and increased levels of supplier adaptation to support the buyer's provision of integrated solutions. Research limitations/implications: The findings are confined to this tripartite relationship and to an extent are context specific. Practical implications: The study unveils buyer-supplier relationships in a servitized context and provides managers with a better understanding of some of the potential implications that the adoption of a servitization strategy may have for managing buyer-supplier relationships. Originality/value: This is the first empirical study that explores the implications of servitization on buyer-supplier relationships. It advances the understanding of the implications that the adoption of servitization has on the manner in which two parties interrelate and conduct commercial exchange. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

A genetically mediated bias in decision making driven by failure of amygdala control.

Genetic variation at the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with altered amygdala reactivity and lack of prefrontal regulatory control. Similar regions mediate decision-making biases driven by contextual cues and ambiguity, for example the "framing effect." We hypothesized that individuals hemozygous for the short (s) allele at the 5-HTTLPR would be more susceptible to framing. Participants, selected as homozygous for either the long (la) or s allele, performed a decision-making task where they made choices between receiving an amount of money for certain and taking a gamble. A strong bias was evident toward choosing the certain option when the option was phrased in terms of gains and toward gambling when the decision was phrased in terms of losses (the frame effect). Critically, this bias was significantly greater in the ss group compared with the lala group. In simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data, the ss group showed greater amygdala during choices made in accord, compared with those made counter to the frame, an effect not seen in the lala group. These differences were also mirrored by differences in anterior cingulate-amygdala coupling between the genotype groups during decision making. Specifically, lala participants showed increased coupling during choices made counter to, relative to those made in accord with, the frame, with no such effect evident in ss participants. These data suggest that genetically mediated differences in prefrontal-amygdala interactions underpin interindividual differences in economic decision making.

The influence of 1D, meso- and crystal structures on charge transport and recombination in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

We have prepared single crystalline SnO2 and ZnO nanowires and polycrystalline TiO2 nanotubes (1D networks) as well as nanoparticle-based films (3D networks) from the same materials to be used as photoanodes for solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. In general, superior photovoltaic performance can be achieved from devices based on 3-dimensional networks, mostly due to their higher short circuit currents. To further characterize the fabricated devices, the electronic properties of the different networks were measured via the transient photocurrent and photovoltage decay techniques. Nanowire-based devices exhibit extremely high, light independent electron transport rates while recombination dynamics remain unchanged. This indicates, contrary to expectations, a decoupling of transport and recombination dynamics. For typical nanoparticle-based photoanodes, the devices are usually considered electron-limited due to the poor electron transport through nanocrystalline titania networks. In the case of the nanowire-based devices, the system becomes limited by the organic hole transporter used. In the case of polycrystalline TiO2 nanotube-based devices, we observe lower transport rates and higher recombination dynamics than their nanoparticle-based counterparts, suggesting that in order to improve the electron transport properties of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, single crystalline structures should be used. These findings should aid future design of photoanodes based on nanowires or porous semiconductors with extended crystallinity to be used in dye-sensitized solar cells. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.