TY - JOUR AB - Purpose The evolution of the business-to-business (BtoB) realm toward solution business calls for a better understanding of how relationships develop over time in such a renewed context. This paper aims to propose a phase model for solution relationship development, considering triadic relationships in complex engineering solutions.Design/methodology/approach To depict how relationships develop in solution business, the authors adopt a qualitative approach which allows to detail the episodes of interactions between the actors. A case study approach in an extreme sector – the aerospace industry – allows highlighting certain key traits. Extending conventional dyadic analysis, this empirical study focuses on the aerospace industry, using a case study approach to analyze relationship developments between a worldwide leading aircraft manufacturer, one of its customer and four providers of products and services. The authors adopt a triadic perspective in the selection of cases, considering a total of four manufacturer-provider-customer triads.Findings Four dynamic phases which track solution provision dynamics and involving dyadic and triadic relationship evolution are identified: matching; combining; mixing; and sharing. Each phase calls, from a management perspective, for specific competencies and resources of the actors in interaction.Originality/value This paper contributes to the gap about solution relationship development in a changing BtoB landscape. Considering the lens of a triadic approach, the paper also helps to fill the as-yet unattended to gap between dyads and triads in the literature. VL - 32 IS - 5 SN - 0885-8624 DO - 10.1108/JBIM-12-2014-0269 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-12-2014-0269 AU - Ferreira Fabiana Nogueira Holanda AU - Cova Bernard AU - Spencer Robert AU - Proença João F. PY - 2017 Y1 - 2017/01/01 TI - A phase model for solution relationship development: a case study in the aerospace industry T2 - Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing PB - Emerald Publishing Limited SP - 625 EP - 639 Y2 - 2024/03/29 ER -