Jumped, Pushed or Forgotten? Approaches to Dissolution

Abstract

Not all relationships are destined to last. Although the literature offers a range of causes of dissolution in buyer-seller relationship no clear framework of dissolution categories or company behaviour for each category has been developed. This study takes a conceptual and empirical look at relationship dissolution and offers a typology of dissolution categories. A qualitative approach drawing from nine in-depth interviews of managers of long-term buyer-supplier relationships confirmed that dissolution falls into one of four categories: voluntary dissolution (bilateral agreement to terminate relations), unilateral involuntary dissolution by either buyer or supplier (customer de-selection/supplier de-selection), and bilateral involuntary dissolution (a fading away of relations). Different exit communication styles were employed for each category of dissolution. Voluntary decisions to terminate relations are likely to be communicated by direct but amicable means indicating a potentially revocable state of ...