Business mating: Who chooses and who gets chosen?

Abstract

What is the interrelation between the characteristics of two firms that form a relationship with each other, especially successful relations? Surprisingly there is little work addressing this issue. This paper reviews and interrelates previous literature on assortative mating among people and animals, the theory of sexual selection that underlies it, and theories of relational balance the complement these. We then apply this to business relation formation and present the results of an analysis of the relations of firm characteristics those involved in customer–supplier relations, using the IMP2 European database. The results indicate that partners in relationships that are performing well have characteristics which are similar and complementary, i.e., effectively combining different attributes into a relationship also matters. Similarities in the business environment faced and market position with respect to innovativeness and technology are consistently important for relationships that perform well. Diverse complementarities across a range of market position factors also characterise relationships that perform well. Overall, the results demonstrate the appropriateness and value of combining theories of assortative mating, sexual selection, and relational balance to explore the characteristics of business relationships.