Dynamic effects of business cycles on business relationships

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to identify the effects of business cycles on industrial business‐to‐business relationships within extremely volatile industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is an in‐depth case study on Outotec plc, a leading provider of technologies for the mining and metal industries.

Findings

The study identifies the changes in a business relationship during a business cycle as the dominance between the parties and the cooperative and the competitive nature of the relationship alternate.

Practical implications

The study identifies ways to smooth the effects of business cycles in extremely volatile industries from the viewpoint of a project‐based technology provider.

Originality/value

While a significant amount of macroeconomic research on cycles and a few studies on industry‐specific business cycles can be found, this study is a rare example of company‐specific research on surviving business cycles.

Citation

Alajoutsijärvi, K., Mainela, T., Ulkuniemi, P. and Montell, E. (2012), "Dynamic effects of business cycles on business relationships", Management Decision, Vol. 50 No. 2, pp. 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741211203579