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6 - Economic and technological factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Mari Sako
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
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Summary

What makes one company's relationship with another company more ACR (or more OCR) than another's? What explains the variations in the mode of customer—supplier relationships as discovered empirically and described in the previous chapters? This and the following four chapters provide a systematic analysis of factors underlying companies' choice of trading relationships along the ACR-OCR spectrum.

The present chapter concentrates on those factors which have traditionally preoccupied economists. In theory, the assessment of these factors must be carried out on a ceteris paribus basis, assuming that the surrounding national institutions, people's value preferences and social norms are the same for all. In reality, other things are not equal, while various factors may be subject to multiple and two-way links (see Figure 1.1). This chapter deals in the main with the direct effects of economic and technological factors on the ACR—OCR patterns, while being sensitive to two-way causation. The first section concentrates on technology. In particular, we will examine how inter-industry differences in various types of ‘asset specificity’ and product-development cycles affect the nature of customer—supplier relationships. We will then turn to the importance of market conditions, in particular market structures, the nature of competition, and the pace of economic growth which shape companies' expectations about the future of existing trading relationships. Five propositions are put forward in the course of the chapter.

Type
Chapter
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Price, Quality and Trust
Inter-firm Relations in Britain and Japan
, pp. 145 - 157
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1992

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  • Economic and technological factors
  • Mari Sako, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Price, Quality and Trust
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511520723.007
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  • Economic and technological factors
  • Mari Sako, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Price, Quality and Trust
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511520723.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Economic and technological factors
  • Mari Sako, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Book: Price, Quality and Trust
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511520723.007
Available formats
×