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

4.5.1 Types of interdependencies and value creating processesThe process of value creation is defined as: “ the process by which the capabilities of thepartners are combined so that the competitive advantage of either the hybrid or one or moreof the partners are improved” (Borys & Jemison 1989, p 241). The definition supports theassumption that value creation is a joint effort – that value creation is something that noneof the parties could do alone. As argued above, this results in interdependence betweencompanies – interdependence that is a prerequisite for value co-creation potential. Differenttypes of interdependencies influence value creation possibilities - each type ofinterdependence represents different value creation opportunities (Håkansson & Persson2004).In a conceptual exploration of the concept of exchange in marketing Håkansson andPrenkert (2004) argue that “ it is through exchange that the potential services of resourcesare released and value arises” (Ibid. p 91). Value arises from the realization of the potentialservices that lies in the resources - the process of realizing the potential is dependent on thecontext where exchange occurs (Snehota 1990).Different categorizations of interdependence can be found in literature. Borys andJemison (1989) use Thompson’ s (1967) typology of technological interdependence forcategorizing interdependence when they discuss the management of strategic alliances.Three types of interdependence:• Sequential (or serial) interdependence• Pooled interdependence• Reciprocal interdependenceSequential interdependence implies that one partner gives to another (Borys & Jemison1989). The output of one activity is the input of another. The rationale for sequentialinterdependence is that economies of integration can be gained. These can be associatedwith technology or administration, and have a positive impact on costs as well as increasedservices in relation to a specific counterpart. The logic of a supply chain lies in exploitingsequential interdependencies (Thompson 1967, Håkansson & Persson 2004).Pooled interdependence implies that the alliance provides a pool of resources and thatthe parties both draw from this pool of resources (Borys & Jemison 1989). The parties areeither related to a third activity or share a common resource and together they form atechnological or managerial system. The efficient exploitation of this type of74