In Search for Impregnable Exchange Relationships with Buyers: Insights for Suppliers

This study investigates supplier attributes that enable suppliers to form impregnable exchange relationships (IERs) with buyers. The central thesis is that suppliers should possess the attributes that concurrently create economic necessity, relational ties, and emotional connections with buyers, which are important conditions to form IERs with them. Through repertory grid technique, we found that helpfulness, friendliness, uniqueness, and flexibility are primacy attributes helping suppliers to satisfy those three IER conditions, thus offering suppliers sustained long-term benefits. Our findings further suggest that suppliers, if lacking such primacy attributes, can alternatively attain IERs with buyers through certain combinations of lower-level attributes.

Autor:

Clauß, Thomas & Tangpong, Chanchai