Buyer–supplier interactions in business services: variety in relational interfaces

Abstract

Business services have become a considerable share of many firms’ external resources. Several service typologies have been proposed. This study explores the underlying dynamic of interaction patterns in business services through the lens of relational interfaces. Five exploratory case studies show the presence of variety in the buyer–supplier interfaces. Thus, the relevance of the interaction patterns to increasing a firm’s productivity or innovativeness may require an assessment of this variety in relational interfaces.