مدیریت معاوضه بین روابط و شبکه های ارزش. به سوی یک رویکرد مبتنی بر ارزش مدیریت ارتباط با مشتری در بازار بنگاه به بنگاه

The management of buyer–seller relationships was an early antecedent to the development of customer relationship management (CRM) concepts. Currently, CRM concepts are being challenged by the rise of value networks. Value networks can and, often, do interfere with customer relationships and thereby call for a broader range of concepts to analyze and understand relationship management and the influence of value networks on relationships. This introductory article describes the nature of the problem between relationships and value networks, reviews the current state of research, and describes the contributions of the articles presented in this special issue on CRM in business-to-business markets.

Business marketing has been a key driver in the development of relationship-based concepts, such as relationship marketing or customer relationship management (CRM). The notion that value can be created by cooperation has led marketing managers to search for “win–win” positions as a way to enhance profitability through collaborative value creation Anderson et al., 1994 and Kanter, 1994. Academic research has shifted attention from the narrow focus on market transactions posed by microeconomic theory and transaction-based marketing concepts to the study of the antecedents of value creation bred in buyer–seller relationships (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). Although management and research focused initially on buyer–seller relationships (Dwyer, Schurr, & Oh, 1987), pioneers of relationship management concepts predicted the evolution of value networks early on (Anderson et al., 1994). Then, it was common sense that the growing interconnectedness of business processes would call for an understanding of how value is created through cooperation (Hunt & Morgan, 1994). With the growing usage of the Internet in the business world and the enhanced coordination of companies through supply chain and value network concepts, the requirement to understand this interconnectedness has manifested itself on a broader scale (Kelly, 1998). However, it remains unclear what the direct implications are for relationship-based marketing concepts. Concepts such as relationship marketing or CRM are used with a variety of sometimes contradictory connotations. For instance, a higher degree of interconnectedness is not necessarily best addressed by an exclusive focus on buyer–seller relationships, which was traditionally suggested by relationship marketing concepts. Given the current market situation, even the most brilliantly managed buyer–seller relationships can be and, often are, undermined by the complex dynamics of networks (Christensen, 1997). In this special issue on CRM in business-to-business markets, we explore the challenges that the growing complexity of value networks bear for the management of buyer–seller relationships and for the well-established research frameworks in the relationship field. As Parvatiyar and Sheth (1999) argued, relationship marketing has not developed to a discipline yet. This issue further explores the current challenges for relationship concepts posed for buyers and sellers in a value network context.