It is often assumed that everyone intuitively shares the same understanding of what a buyer- seller partnership is (Lemke et al., 2003). Generally, there is an agreement that the term refers to relationships that are closer than any other (Lambert et al., 1996). However, studies of partnerships lack coherent explanation: the definitions appear to be vague (Lemke et al., 2003), and the outlined attributes of partnerships show limited acceptance across the studies. In addition, quite little is known about the motives and conditions that are specific to buyer- seller partnerships. When considered, motives and conditions are usually addressed in the light of a particular theory. Different approaches provide different results, which opens the question of whether actors’ engagement in partnerships is motivated by a particular factor or a combination of these. In addition, there is a gap in information on whether the actors have similar motives for partnering, since most studies focus either on a buyer’s or on a seller’s perspective. This article seeks to extend understanding of buyer-seller partnerships in business markets by reviewing contemporary literature and integrating several theoretical approaches into a joint framework for studying partnerships. The following sections provide a definition of a partnership, discuss motives for partnering and suggest directions for future research.