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

Möller and Halinen-Kaila (1999) criticize dyadic studies because they fail to take intoconsideration the complexity of dyadic interaction due to embeddedness and connectedness.However, as the focus of this study is to explore value co-creation between buyer and seller,the dyadic approach can be justified although an obvious limitation from viewing the widercontext. Still it should be recognized that a dyad is embedded in a larger network, andsimultaneously connected to a number of actors in a network.An alternative perspective would have been to include the network approach, i.e.buyers´ customers and suppliers´ suppliers. However, in this study the focus is on the buyerand the seller in order to get a deep understanding of the relationship and the dynamics ofvalue creation in the focal dyad. The study does not deal with issues related to portfoliomanagement, assessing the value of different relationships or studying a wider network. Thestudy is limited to examine one exchange relationship, in order to explore how value is cocreatedin a relationship between a buyer and a seller.Regarding research method the study is a qualitative, exploratory case study. Thischoice rules out direct applicability on other cases or a representative sample for statisticalpurposes. However, this choice allows the researcher to go deeper into the subject andexplore something new and unique.Concerning time, the study is limited to study a period of 30 years in general and morespecifically the last 7-8 years of the relationship. The research process itself took placeduring the years 2003-2004. Geographically the study is limited to study a Europeansupplier and an American buyer, both of which operate worldwide.The perspective taken in the research is subjectivist, meaning that the story told is a“ story” created by the researcher. Moreover this means that the value concept is seen assomething subjective - there is no value if it is not value for someone. The parameters forvalue are different in different contexts. Human beings are the ones who set the parametersand who make the judgment on whether something is of value or not. Throughout this studyvalue should be considered as “ perceived value” i.e. there is no value if it is not value forsomeone - the judgment is always subjective and context dependent - something that will bediscussed further later on in the text.1.2 Defining key conceptsThe use and meaning of concepts, especially abstract concepts in exploratory work, candiffer widely depending on the context where they are used. The following sections will gothrough the use of the central concepts that I use in the study and throughout the text.16