Value creation in buyer-seller relationships - Theoretical considerations and empirical results from a supplier's perspective

The essential purpose for a supplier and customer firm engaging in a relati onship is to work together in a way that creates value for them. Various im portant functions of business relationships in creating value for the partn er firms are widely assumed in the literature. However, there is a lack of empirical studies due to the absence of conceptual definition. Furthermore, there is a strong concentration on value for customers neglecting that val ue is also created for suppliers. In this study, the authors take the suppl ier's perspective and conceptualize value creation as a set of direct and i ndirect functions of customer relationships. The functions are characterize d with respect to performed activities and employed resources of a customer firm. The findings from an empirical study of more than 200 firms show tha t both direct and indirect functions of customer relationships contribute t o the value perceived by the supplier. The results of this study have consi derable consequences for the management of inter-organizational relationshi ps and networks regarding the process of how value can be created in busine ss markets. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.