Revisiting the Business Relationship Concept

Abstract

<p> In this paper we contend that the central notion of &lsquo;a business relationship&rsquo; has largely been taken for granted and remains understudied within IMP research. tIn this paper we interrogate the notion of a &lsquo;dyadic exchange relationship&rsquo; between Org A and Org B. Instead, we identify a dyadic business relationship as multiple entities. The singular version of the multiple business relationship then becomes an outcome of co-ordination or orchestration practices that the participants perform. Hence, research needs first to consider the multiple enactments of such relationships between varying interactants on either side, even including boundary spanners and objects. Second, studies need to pay attention to the practices that aim to produce a singular version of the business relationship. In revisiting the business relationship concept, we will draw on rich empirical accounts and draw attention to the co-ordination or orchestration practices to produce a singular version of the relationship. By conceiving of the enactment of a singular relationship entity as an achievement rather than a starting point we can reveal the multiple and sometimes conflicting efforts to ascribe agency to specific entities and their varying associations. Analytically, we take the starting position that with multiplicity comes, as Law and Mol (2002) suggest, the need for new conceptualisations of what it might be to hold these &lsquo;versions&rsquo; together. We ask: what more could we learn about business relationships by opening the business relationship as &lsquo;black box&rsquo; and examining the variations and multiplicities that reside within it?<br /> &nbsp;</p>