Value Co-Creation in Industrial Buyer-Seller Partnerships ... - Doria

Empirical contributionThe empirical contribution of the study can be summarized in three main points. First of allthe understanding of the logic of buyer-seller partnerships - that it is pure business whereboth parties should gain by working together in the long-run, that partnerships have nothingto do with charity or giving something for free. This notion suggests the opening up of adiscussion for an economic logic, one that does not imply optimization in each transaction,but a more long-term focus where interdependence is a constructive force, and that beinginterdependent is a prerequisite for the existence of potential to co-create value.The second point is that a high-involvement relationship is resource demanding, andthat the pay-offs are often realized after a certain period of time, i.e. there are not quick winsto be expected. The value is created during the process and the risk of involvement lies inthe fact that it is difficult to predict in advance what the outcome of involvement will be.Managers have to rely on imperfect information and a certain degree of intuition in makingthe strategic decision of whether to enter a high-involvement relationship with a partner ornot.The third point is that strong management commitment and vision for the relationshipare needed. People working on different levels in the organization most likely do not see therelationship as one big entity, but look at their own activities and try to optimize them.Therefore the role of management in communicating the objectives and the vision of therelationship is vital for its success. If management fails in communicating the overridinggoals, there will most likely be sub-optimization on different levels, which can be harmfulfor the overall development and success of the high-involvement relationship in the longrun.Managerial implicationsIt is here argued that the exploiting of interdependence is the key to access resources and topotential value co-creation. Being able to do this requires a new managerial mindset of themanagement of companies involved in long-term industrial buyer-seller relationships – tobe able to think of interdependence, as a resource is a major challenge. This is especially thecase in industrial organizations with a strong product focus - delivering the technicallyoutstanding product - rather than focusing on thinking on value creation for the long term.The main managerial implication from the study is that there is a need for a change inmindset from independence and zero sum game, to interdependence and win-win. Anobvious question that comes to mind from the arguments presented is: if the benefits of178