BUYER-SELLER RELATIONSHIPS IN THE WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY

During the past decade, organizational partnerships have emerged as a significant form of relationship structure, spawning a concomitant inc rease in the volume of marketing literature devoted to better understa nding these relationships. While research has identified a number of f actors thought to enhance partnership success, empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that the ingredients for successful relationships m ay vary, even within remarkably similar channel systems. This article explores the relationships between one distributor and two operational ly similar suppliers. While both relationships are characterized by jo int marketing programs and coordinated activities, the norms and outco mes are vastly different. The results indicate that the hey to underst anding effective working partnerships is not necessarily the degree of formal interaction, but the norms developed within the relationship. A full discussion of study findings and the implications for partnersh ip management are presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.