Relationship value: an impact on relationship strategy – a longitudinal perspective

Abstract

Value and value creation in an interactive context is one of the core topics of IMP research (e.g. Corsaro 2013, Håkansson et al. 2004, Ford et al. 2011). There are fewer publications about the value of business relationships. However there are only fewer publications dealing with the relationships between the relationship strategy and the value of business relationship. This question could be more interesting if we could investigate in a longitudinal perspective, in such a period where a crisis also occurs. Applying a research model based on the rapport between business relationship value and relationship strategy the paper investigates the questions how relationships strategies are changing in the period of the crises? What kind of changes could be revealed in executive’s attitudes to the customer and supplier relationships and in their perception about characteristics of valuable business relationships? The paper investigates these questions based on analyses of the empirical databases of Competitiveness Research Program, studied in the context of Hungarian companies. Data collections have been done in 2004, 2009 and 2013 using the same questions about business relationships, which allow us to make a longitudinal analysis. There are 180 companies in the analyzed sample of each year investigated. A model Relationship value – Relationship strategy were developed based on the results of factor analyses used for each period in order to explore relationship strategy and valuable relationships characteristics perceived by executives. Dimensions identified by factor analyses are similar in each period: four dimensions of relationship strategy are partnership type, institutional relationships, long term relationships, and delivery performance. Concerning valuable relationships, four dimensions identified which are supplier networking, nature of supplier relationship, customer networking and nature of customer relationship, where networking attitudes give more emphasis on network position and network advantages, while relationship attitudes are based mainly on reliability. A longitudinal effect on the model relationship value and relationship strategy was analyzed. The findings suggest that there is a longitudinal effect on relationship strategy and also on relationship value. Relationship strategy developed with all types of partners between 2004 and 2009 and narrowed between 2009 and 2013 with slope more important than for the previous period. After the crisis, firms have less cooperative and less committed to the long term relationships. To develop relationship, firms use more supplier side than the customer side between 2004 and 2009 and it is inverse between 2009 and 2013, and especially when the customer network is considering.