Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Business Networks and Cooperation in International Business Relationships

  • Chapter
Knowledge, Networks and Power

Abstract

The growing academic interest in cooperative strategies in international business has, during the last decades, focused mainly on formal cooperation as reflected in studies on international joint ventures, licensing, management contracts and strategic alliances [Contractor and Lorange 1988]. Parallel to this development, however, there has been a surge of interest in cooperative business relationships between supplier firms and customer firms in business markets. This interest has been manifested in studies in marketing [Anderson and Narus 1990; Dwyer, Schurr and Oh 1987], organization [Larson 1992; Powell 1990], accounting [Johnson 1992], and economics [Carlton 1986]. In all of these fields, the cooperative business relationships between suppliers and customers have been considered very important. It is surprising that, to our knowledge, no research on international business relationships has yet been presented in international business literature. This is even more surprising, when we consider that Toyne [1989] proposes international exchange as the foundation for theory building in international business. The relational exchange in business relationships is a very basic form of international exchange. Without questioning the relevance of received research on cooperative strategies in international business, we believe there is a need for studies on cooperation in relational exchange. This paper presents an empirical study of cooperation in international business relationships.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achrol, Ravi S., Torger Reve & Louis W. Stern. 1983. The environment of marketing channel dyads: A framework for comparative analysis. Journal of Marketing, 47(Fall): 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alter, Catherine & Jerald Hage. 1993. Organizations working together. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, James C. & David W. Gerbing. 1988. Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3): 411–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, James C, Håkan Håkansson & Jan Johanson 1994. Dyadic business relationships within a business network context. Journal of Marketing, 58(October): 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, James C. & James A. Narus. 1990. A model of distributor firm and manufacturer firm working partnerships. Journal of Marketing, 54(January): 42–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Astley, W. Graham. 1984. Toward an appreciation of collective strategy. Academy of Management Review, 9(3): 526–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod, Robert. 1984. The evolution of cooperation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Axelsson, Björn & Geoffrey Easton, editors. 1991. Industrial networks: A new view of reality. London, U.K.: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beamish, Paul W. 1988. Multinational joint ventures in developing countries. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blankenburg, Desirée. 1995. A network approach to foreign market entry. In K. Möller & D. Wilson, editors, Business marketing: An interaction and network perspective, 375–405. Boston, Mass.: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, Peter M. 1964. Exchange and power in social life. New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, Kenneth A. 1989. Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, Peter J. & Mark J. Casson. 1988. A theory of cooperation in international business. In F.J. Contractor & P. Lorange, editors, Cooperative strategies in international business, 31–53. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlton, Dennis W 1986. The rigidity of prices. American Economic Review, 76(4), 637–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contractor, Farok J. & Peter Lorange, editors. 1988. Cooperative strategies in international business. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, Karen S. & Richard M. Emerson. 1978. Power, equity, and commitment in exchange networks. American Sociological Review, 43(October): 721–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, Malcolm T & Eric Homse. 1986. Controlling the marketing-purchasing interface: Resource development and organisational implications. Industrial Marketing and Purchasing, 1(2): 3–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, F. Robert, Paul H. Schurr & Sejo Oh. 1987. Developing buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51 (April): 11–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, Richard M. 1972. Exchange theory, part I: Exchange relations and network structures. In M. Zelditch & B. Anderson, editors, Sociological theories in progress, 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, Richard M. 1981. Social exchange theory. In M. Rosenberg & R. Turner, editors, Social psychology: Sociological perspectives. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiol, C. Marlene & Marjorie A. Lyles. 1985. Organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10: 803–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, David, editor. 1990. Understanding business markets: Interaction, relationships and networks. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren, Mats & Ulf Olsson. 1992. Power balancing in an international business network. In M. Forsgren & J. Johanson, editors, Managing networks in international business. Philadephia, Penn.: Gordon and Breach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren, Mats, Ulf Holm & Peter Thilenius. 1996. Network infusion in the multinational corporation. In I. Björkman & M. Forsgren, editors, The nature of the international firm: Nordic contributions to international business research. Copenhagen, Denmark: Copenhagen Business School.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frazier, Gary L., Robert E. Spekman & Charles R. O’Neal. 1988. Just-in-time exchange relationships in industrial markets. Journal of Marketing, 52(October): 52–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, Mark. 1985. Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91 (November): 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gundlach, Gregory T., Ravi S. Achrol & John T. Mentzer. 1995. The structure of commitment in exchange. Journal of Marketing, 59 (January): 78–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, Parveen P., Mark W. Dirsmith & Timothy J. Fogarty. 1994. Coordination and control in a government agency: Contingency and institutional theory perspectives on GAO audits. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39(June): 264–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Håkansson, Håkan, editor. 1982. International marketing and purchasing of industrial goods: An interaction approach. London: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Håkansson, Håkan & Ivan Snehota. 1995. Developing relationships in business networks. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallén, Lars, Jan Johanson & Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed. 1991. Interfirm adaptation in business relationships. Journal of Marketing, 55(April): 29–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayduk, Leslie A. 1987. Structural equation modeling with LISREL. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, Charles W.L. 1990. Cooperation, opportunism, and the invisible hand: Implications for transaction cost theory. Academy of Management Review, 15(3): 500–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homans, George C. 1958. Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology 63(May): 597–06.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iacobucci, Dawn & Nigel Hopkins. 1992. Modeling dyadic interactions and networks in marketing. Journal of Marketing Research, 29(February): 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johanson, Jan & Lars-Gunnar Mattsson. 1988. Internationalization in industrial systems: A network approach. In N. Hood & J.E. Vahlne, editors, Strategies in global competition, 287–314. New York: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H. Thomas. 1992. Relevance regained: From top-down control to bottom-up empowerment. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jöreskog, Karl G. & Dag Sörbom. 1993. LISREL 8: Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalwany, Manohar U. & Narakesari Narayandas. 1995. Long-term manufacturer-supplier relationships: Do they pay off for supplier firms?. Journal of Marketing, 59 (January): 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, Harold H. & John W. Thibaut. 1978. Interpersonal relations. A theory of interdependence. New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogut, Bruce, Weijian Shan & Gordon Walker. 1992. The make-or-buy decision in the context of an industry network. In N. Nohria & R.G. Eccles, editors, Networks and organizations, 348–66. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, Andrea. 1992. Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: A study of the governance of exchang relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37: 76–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Chol & Paul W. Beamish. 1995. The characteristics and performance of Korean joint ventures in LDCs. Journal of International Business Studies, 26(3): 637–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Jong W. 1991. Swedish firms entering the Korean market — Position development in distant industrial Networks. Uppsala, Sweden: Department of Business Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levinthal, Daniel A. & Mark Fichman. 1988. Dynamics of interorganizational attachments: Auditor-client relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33: 345–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundvall, Bengt-Ake. 1985. Product innovation and user-producer interaction. Aalborg, Denmark: Aalborg University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madhok, Anoop. 1995. Opportunism and trust in joint venture relationships: An exploratory study and a model. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 11: 57–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, Robert M. & Shelby D. Hunt. 1994. The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58 (July): 20–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell, Walter W. 1990. Neither market nor hierarchy: Network forms of organization. In L.L. Cummings & B. Staw, editors, Research in organizational behavior, 295–336. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ring, Peter S. & Andrew Van de Ven. 1992. Structuring cooperative relationships between organizations. Strategic Management Journal, 13: 483–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thibaut, John W. & Harold H. Kelley. 1959. The social psychology of groups. New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorelli, Hans B. 1986. Networks: Between markets and hierarchies. Strategic Management Journal,7(January-February): 37–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toyne, Brian. 1989. International exchange: A foundation for theory building in international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 20(Spring): 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turnbull, Peter & Jean P. Valla, editors. 1986. Strategies for international industrial marketing. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilier, David & Bo Anderson, editors. 1981. Networks, exchange and coercion. New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zajac, Edward J. & Cyrus P. Olsen. 1993. From transaction cost to transaction value analysis: Implications for the study of interorganizational strategies. Journal of Management Studies, 30(January): 131–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Desirée Blankenburg Holm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kent Eriksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jan Johanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Uppsala University, Sweden

    Mats Forsgren , Ulf Holm  & Jan Johanson ,  & 

Copyright information

© 2015 Desirée Blankenburg Holm, Kent Eriksson and Jan Johanson

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Holm, D.B., Eriksson, K., Johanson, J. (2015). Business Networks and Cooperation in International Business Relationships. In: Forsgren, M., Holm, U., Johanson, J. (eds) Knowledge, Networks and Power. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137508829_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation