Multidimensionality of Actors in Business Networks: The Influence of Social Action in Pharmacy Networks in Finland

In the markets-as-networks approach business networks are conceived as dynamic actor structures, giving focus to exchange relationships and actors’ capabilities to control and co-ordinate activities and resources. Researchers have shared an understanding that actors’ actions are crucial for the development of business networks and for network dynamics. However, researchers have mainly studied firms as business actors and excluded individuals, although both firms and individuals can be seen as business actors. This focus on firms as business actors has resulted in a paucity of research on human action and the exchange of intangible resources in business networks, e.g. social exchange between individuals in social networks. Consequently, the current conception of business networks fails to appreciate the richness of business actors, the human character of business action and the import of social action in business networks. The central assumption in this study is that business actors are multidimensional and that their specific constitution in any given situation is determined by human interaction in social networks. Multidimensionality is presented as a concept for exploring how business actors act in different situations and how actors simultaneously manage multiple identities: individual, organisational, professional, business and network identities. The study presents a model that describes the multidimensionality of actors in business networks and conceptualises the connection between social exchange and human action in business networks. Empirically the study explores the change that has taken place in pharmaceutical retailing in Finland during recent years. The phenomenon of emerging pharmacy networks is highly contemporary in the Nordic countries, where the traditional license-based pharmacy business is changing. The study analyses the development of two Finnish pharmacy chains, one integrated and one voluntary chain, and the network structures and dynamics in them. Social Network Analysis is applied to explore the social structures within the pharmacy networks. The study shows that emerging pharmacy networks are multifaceted phenomena where political, economic, social, cultural, and historical elements together contribute to the observed changes. Individuals have always been strongly present in the pharmacy business and the development of pharmacy networks provides an interesting example of human actors’ influence in the development of business networks. The dynamics or forces driving the network development can be linked to actors’ own economic and social motives for developing the business. The study highlights the central role of individuals and social networks in the development of the two studied pharmacy networks. The relation between individuals and social networks is reciprocal. The social context of every individual enables multidimensional business actors. The mix of various identities, both individual and collective identities, is an important part of network dynamics. Social networks in pharmacy networks create a platform for exchange and social action, and social networks enable and support business network development.

The Quest for Well-being in Growth Industries: Contexts, Research Design and Methodological Development

This Working Paper reports the background to the first stage of the ongoing research project, The Quest for Well-being in Growth Industries: A Collaborative Study in Finland and Scotland, conducted under the auspices of the Academy of Finland research programme The Future of Work and Well-being (2008-2011). This collaborative project provides national and transnational data, analysis and outputs. The study is being conducted in the Department of Management and Organisation, Hanken School of Economics, Finland, in collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University, University of East London, Heriot-Watt University and Reading University, UK. The project examines policies and practices towards the enhancement of work-related well-being in growth industries, and contradictory pressures and tensions posed in this situation. The overall aim is to evaluate the development, implementation and use of work-related well-being policies in four selected growth industries. These sectors – electronics, care, finance and accounting, and tourism – have been selected on the basis of European Union and national forecasts, and demographic and socio-economic trends in employment. In this working paper we outline the background to the research study, the initial research plan, and how the survey of employers has been constructed. The working paper concludes with a brief discussion of general ongoing research issues arising in the project.