title: Distribution loyalty: Towards a conceptual model

authors: McMillan, David G

abstract: Despite the increasing importance of business-to-business loyalty, distributor loyalty (loyalty between a distributor and a supplier) has attracted very limited academic research. This these develops and test the construct of distributor loyalty through a synthesis of the related fields of customer loyalty and commitment. 
The thesis comprises seven chapters that outline three phases of research. Phase one involves the development of a provisional conceptual model through a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. The second phase describes the process and results of developing and testing measures for use in the model. The final phase outlines the empirical testing of the model on a sample of 151 respondents (27% response rate). 
The research uses a positivist ontological paradigm, and adopts a foundationalist epistemological perspective that means the majority of the data analyses are empirically based. Initial tests validated the conceptual model. However, refinement of the model resulted in improved performance, with the explanation of variance rising to 58%. 
The revised model comprises: a) three antecedents (trust, satisfaction and shared values); b) a moderating variable (contractual obligations); and c) a two-part dependent variable, where the behavioural component (repeat purchase behaviour [RPB]) mediates the relationship between the antecedents and the attitudinal component of the dependent variable (absolute attitude). Significant interactions were confirmed between: a) satisfaction and contractual obligations, b) trust and RPB, and c) shared values and RPB. 
The research represents an important start to the development of a robust theory of distributor loyalty in three ways: a) the related fields of customer loyalty and commitment have been synthesised to identify contributions to the conceptualisation of distributor loyalty; b) how distributor loyalty is perceived and conceived from a practical perspective has been determined by interviewing industry suppliers and distributors; and c) a conceptual model of distributor loyalty has been developed and empirically tested. 
The study concludes that further research into distributor loyalty is imperative if we are to build a comprehensive theory about the nature and components of distributor loyalty. Further research is especially important because it will investigate a research field that is in its infancy.

text: Distribution loyalty: Towards a conceptual model Despite the increasing importance of business-to-business loyalty, distributor loyalty (loyalty between a distributor and a supplier) has attracted very limited academic research. This these develops and test the construct of distributor loyalty through a synthesis of the related fields of customer loyalty and commitment. 
The thesis comprises seven chapters that outline three phases of research. Phase one involves the development of a provisional conceptual model through a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. The second phase describes the process and results of developing and testing measures for use in the model. The final phase outlines the empirical testing of the model on a sample of 151 respondents (27% response rate). 
The research uses a positivist ontological paradigm, and adopts a foundationalist epistemological perspective that means the majority of the data analyses are empirically based. Initial tests validated the conceptual model. However, refinement of the model resulted in improved performance, with the explanation of variance rising to 58%. 
The revised model comprises: a) three antecedents (trust, satisfaction and shared values); b) a moderating variable (contractual obligations); and c) a two-part dependent variable, where the behavioural component (repeat purchase behaviour [RPB]) mediates the relationship between the antecedents and the attitudinal component of the dependent variable (absolute attitude). Significant interactions were confirmed between: a) satisfaction and contractual obligations, b) trust and RPB, and c) shared values and RPB. 
The research represents an important start to the development of a robust theory of distributor loyalty in three ways: a) the related fields of customer loyalty and commitment have been synthesised to identify contributions to the conceptualisation of distributor loyalty; b) how distributor loyalty is perceived and conceived from a practical perspective has been determined by interviewing industry suppliers and distributors; and c) a conceptual model of distributor loyalty has been developed and empirically tested. 
The study concludes that further research into distributor loyalty is imperative if we are to build a comprehensive theory about the nature and components of distributor loyalty. Further research is especially important because it will investigate a research field that is in its infancy.

year: 2006

title: Research tropospheres: assemblages of cows, sharemilkers and researcher in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Adams-Hutcheson, Gail

abstract: Cresswell (2011) broadens mobility studies to include non-human objects and structures, but rarely, non-human animals and the weather. I add here both livestock and the more literal atmospheric conditions of sun, wind and rain which are largely missing from mobilities studies. Weather is ubiquitous, yet hard to ignore – it impacts on both researcher and the researched. I visited farms and was: jumped-up-on by dogs, rode on 4-wheel bikes, got licked by calves [happy/sunny], felt hot, got covered in dust [tired/sweltering], stood still in the milking-shed [tension/cold], and was blasted by freezing winds and slopped through thick mud [depression/winter wet]. For Ash (2013a, 35) "the body is a kind of living or somatic memory, which is composed of various retentional apparatuses", which become ignited by alignment of senses. In this paper I argue for attention to be paid to sharemilking and the materiality of atmospheres to draw attention to the 'centrifugal' forces of mobile rural dwelling. Sharemilking is a largely unique agrarian practice in New Zealand which is embedded in the notion of mobility. Sharemilkers typically own the livestock and machinery, but not the land and enter into contract with landowners on a share profit basis. Contracts are finished and new ones are taken up on a set day, the 1st June which is often termed colloquially as 'Gypsy-day'. The contract nature of sharemilking stimulates a cascade of mobilities and enabling infrastructures (assemblages) as farmers move on a stuttering schedule of contract renewals.

text: Research tropospheres: assemblages of cows, sharemilkers and researcher in Aotearoa New Zealand Cresswell (2011) broadens mobility studies to include non-human objects and structures, but rarely, non-human animals and the weather. I add here both livestock and the more literal atmospheric conditions of sun, wind and rain which are largely missing from mobilities studies. Weather is ubiquitous, yet hard to ignore – it impacts on both researcher and the researched. I visited farms and was: jumped-up-on by dogs, rode on 4-wheel bikes, got licked by calves [happy/sunny], felt hot, got covered in dust [tired/sweltering], stood still in the milking-shed [tension/cold], and was blasted by freezing winds and slopped through thick mud [depression/winter wet]. For Ash (2013a, 35) "the body is a kind of living or somatic memory, which is composed of various retentional apparatuses", which become ignited by alignment of senses. In this paper I argue for attention to be paid to sharemilking and the materiality of atmospheres to draw attention to the 'centrifugal' forces of mobile rural dwelling. Sharemilking is a largely unique agrarian practice in New Zealand which is embedded in the notion of mobility. Sharemilkers typically own the livestock and machinery, but not the land and enter into contract with landowners on a share profit basis. Contracts are finished and new ones are taken up on a set day, the 1st June which is often termed colloquially as 'Gypsy-day'. The contract nature of sharemilking stimulates a cascade of mobilities and enabling infrastructures (assemblages) as farmers move on a stuttering schedule of contract renewals.

year: 2017

title: Adult education within a circular migration scheme. A case study from New Zealand

authors: Morrison, Sandra L.

subjects: adult education

abstract: This article examines the adult education and learning that occurs between a Māori business and the workers they employ from the Pacific nation of Tonga through the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, a seasonal labour strategy allowing for the temporary entry of migrant workers in the horticulture and viticultural industries, with a preference for workers from the Pacific nations.. Māori are indigenous to NZ but their historical ties extend back to Polynesia in the Pacific and therefore common historical narratives exist between Māori and those from Tonga. A case study approach is used to highlight how adult education is embedded. Central to the success of this case study is the validation and implementation of indigenous knowledges and rituals.

text: Adult education within a circular migration scheme. A case study from New Zealand This article examines the adult education and learning that occurs between a Māori business and the workers they employ from the Pacific nation of Tonga through the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, a seasonal labour strategy allowing for the temporary entry of migrant workers in the horticulture and viticultural industries, with a preference for workers from the Pacific nations.. Māori are indigenous to NZ but their historical ties extend back to Polynesia in the Pacific and therefore common historical narratives exist between Māori and those from Tonga. A case study approach is used to highlight how adult education is embedded. Central to the success of this case study is the validation and implementation of indigenous knowledges and rituals.

year: 2015