Adaptive behavior in buyer-supplier relationships

It is a feature of business-to-business markets that individual buyer-suppl ier relationships can assume great importance for both the buying and the s elling organization. In such relationships both firms, to a greater or less er extent, make specific adaptations. Such adaptive behavior may be designe d 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 d ecision-making processes underlying adaptive behavior in buyer-supplier rel ationships. As an increasing number of firms espouse an explicit "partnerin g" approach to buying and selling in business markets, the question is addr essed of the extent to which the explicit strategy of the firm (relationshi p marketing or partnership sourcing) is likely to be reflected in concrete adaptive behavior. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.