a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 4 October 2015
Received in revised form 27 April 2016
Accepted 1 May 2016
Available online 31 May 2016
Focusing on the Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) sector, this paper presents the owner manager (OM)
process of evaluating business to business (B2B) relationships facing dissolution. Although research has brought
new insights to the dissolution of relationships, few researchers have empirically examined how B2B relationships
facing dissolution could be evaluated with a view to changing the negative state of the relationship into a
positive one. Using SME OM experiences of evaluating relationships facing dissolution, the purpose of this
paper is to extend dissolution research through the use of the critical incident technique to explore and interpret
theOMevaluation process. The findings extracted fromfifty-one critical incidents recounted by twenty-fiveOMs
suggest that theOMs evaluation of B2B relationships facing dissolution is a dynamic process whereOMs evaluate
both past interactions and anticipated future interactions in the context of the state of the relationship before the
critical incident occurs. These evaluations concentrate on relationship closeness, current and future relationship
rewards and costs and relationship performance. During the process of evaluationOMs consider the relative state
of the relationship: close relationships are those where mutual cooperation at interpersonal and B2B levels' is
nurtured whereas arms-length relationships are those where satisfaction, trust and commitment is low.
Depending on these different relationship states, the evaluation produces different outcomes regarding the
OM's evaluation of past interactions and on the future of the relationship. If the outcome is that future interactions
are expected to result in a positive net value to the SME OM, the relationship continues. In contrast
where the evaluation outcome is a negative net value, the dissolution of the relationships proceeds now or in
the future. The key contribution of this paper is that this is the first documented exploration and interpretation
of the OM evaluation process when facing the dissolution of a B2B relationship.
a b s t r a c tArticle history:Received 4 October 2015Received in revised form 27 April 2016Accepted 1 May 2016Available online 31 May 2016Focusing on the Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) sector, this paper presents the owner manager (OM)process of evaluating business to business (B2B) relationships facing dissolution. Although research has broughtnew insights to the dissolution of relationships, few researchers have empirically examined how B2B relationshipsfacing dissolution could be evaluated with a view to changing the negative state of the relationship into apositive one. Using SME OM experiences of evaluating relationships facing dissolution, the purpose of thispaper is to extend dissolution research through the use of the critical incident technique to explore and interprettheOMevaluation process. The findings extracted fromfifty-one critical incidents recounted by twenty-fiveOMssuggest that theOMs evaluation of B2B relationships facing dissolution is a dynamic process whereOMs evaluateboth past interactions and anticipated future interactions in the context of the state of the relationship before thecritical incident occurs. These evaluations concentrate on relationship closeness, current and future relationshiprewards and costs and relationship performance. During the process of evaluationOMs consider the relative stateof the relationship: close relationships are those where mutual cooperation at interpersonal and B2B levels' isnurtured whereas arms-length relationships are those where satisfaction, trust and commitment is low.Depending on these different relationship states, the evaluation produces different outcomes regarding theOM's evaluation of past interactions and on the future of the relationship. If the outcome is that future interactionsare expected to result in a positive net value to the SME OM, the relationship continues. In contrastwhere the evaluation outcome is a negative net value, the dissolution of the relationships proceeds now or inthe future. The key contribution of this paper is that this is the first documented exploration and interpretationof the OM evaluation process when facing the dissolution of a B2B relationship.
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