Paper info: Lasting Relationships Despite Project Ending
Title
Lasting Relationships Despite Project Ending
Authors
Anna Bengtson
Uppsala University
Sweden
Susanne Åberg
Uppsala University
Sweden
Virpi Havila
Uppsala University
Sweden
Place of Publication
The paper was published at the 27th IMP-conference in Glasgow, Scotland in 2011.
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Abstract
Abstract
Ending of business-to-business relationships has got increased interest among researchers during the last decade. Even though research on business-relationship ending has increased, still little attention has been devoted to the relationship ‘aftermath stage’, i.e. what happens when trading has stopped in a business relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to elaborate further on the business-relationship aftermath stage. We focus especially on business relationships that are designed to end at a specific time, and ask why some of these relationships are re-activated again.
The empirical base consists of a study of two different construction projects, which were located in different regions but involved the same building contractor, and were ordered by the same buyer (a retail chain). In the two construction projects totally 81 material suppliers or sub-contractors we involved. Of these 5 suppliers and 5 sub-contractors were the same in the two projects. The ending date for the first project (Project Stockholm) and the start date for the second project (Project Uppsala) was about one year, thus making it possible to study the aftermath stage for the ten relationships that were re-activated for the second project.
Keywords
Ending, business relationships, aftermath, project
Ending of business-to-business relationships has got increased interest among researchers during the last decade. Even though research on business-relationship ending has increased, still little attention has been devoted to the relationship ‘aftermath stage’, i.e. what happens when trading has stopped in a business relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to elaborate further on the business-relationship aftermath stage. We focus especially on business relationships that are designed to end at a specific time, and ask why some of these relationships are re-activated again.
The empirical base consists of a study of two different construction projects, which were located in different regions but involved the same building contractor, and were ordered by the same buyer (a retail chain). In the two construction projects totally 81 material suppliers or sub-contractors we involved. Of these 5 suppliers and 5 sub-contractors were the same in the two projects. The ending date for the first project (Project Stockholm) and the start date for the second project (Project Uppsala) was about one year, thus making it possible to study the aftermath stage for the ten relationships that were re-activated for the second project.
Keywords
Ending, business relationships, aftermath, project