Till Örebro universitet

Natural resource use is core to society yet assumptions of (super)abundance are no longer appropriate because they disregard planetary boundaries. Natural resources have received only limited consideration in the management literature (George, Schillebeeckx, & Lit Liak, 2015, 2018). In this paper, we conceptualise the inclusion of natural resources in analyses of industrial systems using Resource Interaction within the Industrial Network Approach (INA). An extension of Penrose's (1959) distinction between free resources and the services rendered by free resources is developed and used to discuss air as an illustrative example of natural resources. We address three challenges regarding classifying resources, the status of resource interfaces, and the suitability of core assumptions. The contribution is in proposing natural resources as a previously overlooked resource class by including their 'free services rendered' within Resource Interaction. We also add to existing understandings of natural resources through using a different resource perspective than the NRBV (Natural Resource Based View) and RDT (Resource Dependency Theory).

This paper explores the concept of value-in-non-use within industrial business networks, emphasizing the importance of stewardship in managing natural resources and ecosystems. Traditional theories in industrial networks often link resource value to their use in relation to other resources. However, this paper argues that some resources possess intrinsic value in their non-use, which is crucial for sustainability. By examining the relational ontology of resources, the paper proposes a framework for understanding and incorporating non-use values into business network analyses. This approach aims to protect resources from overexploitation while still allowing for economic interactions. The concept of network stewardship is introduced, advocating for institutional arrangements that recognize and preserve the non-use value of resources, thereby contributing to sustainable industrial practices.

Recent work within industrial marketing (e.g., Helkkula & Arnould, 2022; Arnould & Helkkula, 2024) debates how awarding natural resources the status of actors enables human actors to better protect these, rather than operating with an agenda of exploitation. In IMP, we can problematise the interplay between natural resources and natural actors (Harrison & Prenkert, 2023). In other words, the dynamics between being a natural resource now and potentially an actor of the future, or resource-actor transitions. The potentiality of natural actors becoming equivalent to human actors within IMP can hence be debated. In this short paper, we propose four forms of natural actors. The four natural actor forms represent different ways in which a natural resource can change status. The four natural actor forms are (i) a natural resource is re-classified as a natural actor when it has some property rights awarded to it, (ii) a natural actor without human-awarded property rights but demonstrates self-awarded agency, (iii) a natural actor that has property rights and self-awarded agency, and (iv) when natural actors are working together with humans, such as farm animals. The paper ends with a short conclusion about the potential dynamics involved within and across the four forms of natural actor.

Computer-based simulations have become increasingly prevalent in social sciences and management studies, yet their application in industrial business network analysis remains limited. This paper aims to introduce computer-based simulation methods and explore their potential in studying business relationships and network dynamics, thereby supporting managerial decision-making. Despite the challenges posed by the open-system nature of industrial networks, simulation methods such as discrete event simulation (DES), system dynamics simulation (SDS), and agent-based modelling (ABM) offer valuable insights into complex, non-linear, and emergent processes. By leveraging extensive qualitative data from the IMP community, simulations can enhance theory development and address criticisms regarding the lack of systematic theory creation. This paper discusses the possibilities and limitations of these simulation models, emphasizing their role in advancing our understanding of industrial systems.

In this conceptual paper we combine institutionalization, sustainability work, and IMP literatures to understand how pathways to sustainable futures are created in business networks. Our focus is in understanding how individuals construct sustainability through sustainability work within business networks. ‘Sustainability work’ is a novel concept that could help IMP scholars pay more attention to processes through which individuals enact sustainability in networks. Our central argument is that business networks are actively created and reproduced through human activity. Therefore, their (un)sustainable futures are best understood through human enactment, and the interplay between individual and collective action.

There is a growing call for more network-level research on sustainability within marketing that avoids a narrow interorganisational focus. Business networks have a crucial role to play in reorganising and innovating to achieve sustainability and are met with significant challenges because of the scale and scope of changes necessary. We propose connectedness as central to understanding networked, interorganisational responses to the sustainability shift. We contribute by highlighting how systemic interdependence across organisations, which is developed through business network connectedness, is core to achieving sustainable networks and sustainable markets. The text provides an overview of current research on sustainability in business networks before synthesizing six new articles that address multiple sustainability challenges. The editorial concludes with an agenda for further research arranged around four main themes, including network dynamics and measuring and valuing in investigating the transformative change needed by all business sectors.

This study addresses the lack of knowledge about inter-organizational activity coordination in the contemporary economy. Existing understanding of economic coordination within inter-organizational research is based on the three modes of organization, market, and cooperative relationship. We extend the framework of Richardson that analyses specialization and complementarity within the industrial division of labour in terms of these three coordination modes. We propose a novel mode of coordinating economic activity, namely multi-actor arrangements, which is based on the coordination of very dissimilar yet complementary activities, grounded in the principle of distributed control. This fourth mode is necessary to explain contemporary phenomena such as the circular economy and blockchain because these involve interdependencies that were previously framed as too different or unrelated to coordinate. The extension is important because it changes our understanding of mixed-mode coordination. Our proposed fourth mode enables the conceptualization of how activity interdependencies are coordinated within inter-organizational relationships and networks undergoing transformation.

Value co-creation is a core focus area in both B2B marketing and strategy research, necessitating resource utilization within and across organizational boundaries. In the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) group, scholars have focused on the interactions among resources as one important way to analyze central questions about resources in business relationships and networks. This has produced a breadth of investigations and concepts that are locally defined and utilized. This may hamper further theoretical development and inhibit analytical precision. The purpose of this paper is to develop a more general shared understanding of resource interaction by identifying and explicating the key concepts used, and to assess its status as an approach. The paper synthesizes 20 years of research to identify key concepts and the relationships across concepts. This provides both a platform for further conceptual and empirical research within IMP and potential for crossfertilization with parallel B2B areas.