Managing networks of interorganizational linkages and sustainable firm performance in business-to-business service contexts

Abstract

Purpose Current marketing theory and practice have recognized that exchanges between buyers and sellers are frequently embedded in social relationships. Despite the vast body of research on interorganizational exchange, there has been little effort to address the role of larger social networks in which business-to-business services firms operate. This paper seeks to present a model of how social network theory can help in understanding why some services firms manage to reinvent themselves and continue to succeed in a business-to-business environment, while others are slow to change and decline. Design-methodology-approach Drawing on 81 in-depth interviews conducted with general managers-chie..