Adaptive behavior in buyer-supplier relationships

Abstract

It is a feature of business-to-business markets that individual buyer-supplier relationships can assume great importance for both the buying and the selling organization. In such relationships both firms, to a greater or lesser extent, make specific adaptations. Such adaptive behavior may be designed to meet some specific need of the partner, or to nurture and develop the relationship itself: The article, which is based on case studies collected at both ends of 13 buyer-supplier relationships, examines motivations and decision-making processes underlying adaptive behavior in buyer-supplier relationships. As an increasing number of firms espouse an explicit "partnering" approach to buying and selling in business markets, the question is addressed of the extent to which the explicit strategy of the firm (relationship marketing or partnership sourcing) is likely to be reflected in concrete adaptive behavior