a b s t r a c tRelational ties between manufacturers and their suppliers serve as an important strategic resource for value creation and realization. However, conflicting evidence exists regarding their role in the acquisition of specific knowledge. This study proposes that relational ties have a nonlinear effect on specific knowledge acquisition and that this nonlinear relationship is conditional on contract specificity and competitive intensity. Results from a sample of 385 manufacturer-supplier exchanges in China demonstrate that a buyer's relational ties with its major supplier have an inverted U-shaped effect on specific knowledge acquisition from this supplier; this inverted U-shaped relationship is stronger (steeper) when contract specificity is high and competition is more intense. These findings suggest that managers should understand the benefits and downsides of relational ties in acquiring specific knowledge and avoid building highly embedded ties when they draft detailed contracts or competition is highly intensive.

This article explores the effects of two cultural dimensions, face consciousness and risk aversion, on consumers' decision-making styles. Data from China and the United States show that consumers in the United States differ from their counterparts in China in decision-making styles. Face consciousness and risk aversion appear to contribute to such divergence. Implications for future research are discussed. ᭧

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This research adds to the growing body of literature in consumer socialization by examining intergenerational influence on brand preferences and consumption orientations in parents and young-adult offspring. Two factors suggested in past research to affect intergenerational influence are investigated: conformity to peers and communication effectiveness. A new rigorous method is introduced to demonstrate intergenerational similarity in mother/daughter dyads, distinct from an incipient level of similarity that may occur by chance. Results indicate that communication effectiveness is positively related to intergenerational agreement in all six consumption domains studied, whereas daughter's conformity motivation is related only to prestige sensitivity. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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