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

1.3 Outline of the studyThe study starts with a general introduction into the topic area. I present the wider societalcontext that the research problem relates to and frame the research problem within both awider theoretical context and a more pragmatic discussion on the ongoing trends onindustrial markets. Here I present the research questions, chosen research approach, anddefine the most important concepts.The research method is described in chapter two. The chapter on research approachand method includes a discussion about the pre-understanding, questions related to thescientific philosophical orientation of the work, the research strategy, and design. Thechapter includes a discussion about qualitative research in general and about conductingqualitative interviews. In this chapter I discuss the role of the researcher and the challengeof developing models out of empirical, qualitative data. I also touch upon questions relatedto reliability and validity of qualitative studies.Chapter three deals with the core concept of the study, namely value. I present a literaturereview on the concept of value in business studies and go more deeply into how the concepthas been used in the field of industrial marketing. The chapter ends with a conceptualizationof how I use value in the study.Chapter four deals with theoretical cornerstones of the study. The underlyingtheoretical arguments for studying relationships in the b-to-b context will be provided. Aliterature review on how the concept value has been used in business literature is presentedin this chapter. The different ways of using and understanding the concept are reviewed,followed by an overview of how the concept has been used in the IMP literature. Thechapter ends with a discussion about how the value is understood in this study, dealing witha specific b-to-b context of dyadic, buyer-seller relationships.Chapter five contains a description of the empirical context where the study issituated. Here I present the major characteristic of the cruise ship and the diesel engineindustries followed by a more detailed description of the two studied companies.Chapter six gives a detailed description of the focal dyad and the development of therelationship over time. The description involves the actors, the activities, the major events inthe relationships, and the process of interaction between the two companies. The interactionis here viewed through the lenses of value co-creation. Chains of incidents are identified andthe dynamics of value co-creation and how it relates to interdependence are discussed.Chapter seven contains the analysis of the empirical material, presenting the empiricalfindings and major results of the study. Here I provide an analysis of the empirical resultsby using theoretical concepts introduced in the study.20