To Örebro University

The importance of resources as an essential component in value co-creation processes is core to multiple perspectives in management and marketing. These include the Resource-Based View, Resource Integration within Service-Dominant Logic (S-DL), Resource Dependence Theory, Resource Advantage Theory, and Resourcing. In this Editorial we compare Resource Interaction in Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) with these other perspectives, stressing both differences and complementarities. The comparison includes an explanation of why Resource Interaction in IMP is unique when utilized to explain the dynamics of change in business networks. We also introduce and synthesize seven new articles included in this Special Issue, all of which combine Resource Interaction in IMP with other theoretical perspectives in addressing themes such as supply chain management, entrepreneurship and innovation management. We conclude with a proposed agenda for further research, which provides extensive suggestions for underexplored empirical and conceptual themes.

Recent work has offered a more nuanced view of incumbent actors' roles in transitions, yet a comprehensive understanding of how reorientation activities and subsequent interaction patterns among different incumbent actor types shape the direction of system reconfigurations remains underexplored. This paper proposes a framework for empirically assessing actors' relational dynamics in response to low-carbon transitions and conceptualises actor interaction types and the nature of their interaction. Through a case study of the low-carbon transition of road freight transport in Sweden, we examine how reorientation dynamics, e.g., coalitions, competition, and contestations, can facilitate and hinder system reconfigurations by creating regime tensions. Our study highlights that incumbency reorientations are multi-dimensional, with actor involvement and strategies varying, leading to divergent actor positions and role constellations as actors attempt to reconfigure the focal regime. Extending beyond the Swedish case, five avenues for future research are outlined.

This study explores the future of Sweden's electric utility network and its transition towards sustainability and resilience by combining traditional scenario analysis with foresighting, an anticipatory, non-predictive approach. The research focuses on potential disruptive innovations and changes within the industry, such as increased electrification, electromobility, and advances in grid infrastructure, using a Delphi study. This approach involves gathering expert opinions from various stakeholders, including industry, academia, and government experts, to anticipate multiple future scenarios and better prepare for potential challenges and opportunities. The interconnected nature of the electric utility network and the relationships between various actors play a critical role in shaping the industry's future. Foresighting allows stakeholders to anticipate and prepare for disruptive changes, such as the increasing role of prosumers, local microgrids, and novel value propositions. By employing the Delphi methodology, the study systematically gathers and synthesizes expert insights, offering a comprehensive understanding of the electric utility network's future development. The findings highlight the importance of improving end-customer relationships and enabling the use of prosumer products and services. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need to address existing challenges within the Swedish power grid and increase transmission capacity to support the introduction of new technologies and a more efficient and sustainable energy system. By integrating the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) network perspective, the study demonstrates that foresighting is more effective in accounting for exceptional events and non-linear growth patterns in the electric utility market. The results also provide insights into the emergence of new business models and the role of emerging technologies, such as energy storage, in shaping the future of the electric utility network.

How can cognitive biases affect the birth and evolution of entrepreneurial ventures? In Entrepreneurial Decision Making (EDM), this lively research question remains largely unaddressed when the world of Unicorns, as a per se entrepreneurial species, is considered. Thus, through this conceptual article, we aim to contribute toward knowledge creation in this context. We start by proposing a conceptual framework of Unicorns’ EDM based on a behavioral approach. Through three propositions, this novel framework advances how the birth, transition, and consolidation of a Unicorn may be explained by the sequentially intertwined occurrence of biases, from which establishment and legitimization eventually emerge. We complement the framework with examples from the social media industry and then discuss its main implications for theory and practice.