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In a relationship both sides are important for the development. This is one reason why purchasing has always been as central as marketing in the empirical studies in IMP. The manner in which the features of business networks affect the role of purchasing and the roles of the suppliers and supply management is here in focus. The existence and importance of business relationships have normative consequences for purchasing that are very distinct and break clearly with some of the traditional normative recommendations for purchasing. The authors believe that ‘buying organisations increasingly need to develop interactive interfaces with their suppliers. One reason is that collaborative innovation and therefore the development role of PSM (purchasing and supply management) is becoming more important’. The conclusion is clear: If the buying organisations want to get more out of the suppliers than the supply of a standard product at a certain price, they have to engage in a more extensive interaction and develop a broader and closer business relationship that must be properly managed. That implies giving up some autonomy and accepting dependence on suppliers as developmental partners.

This chapter contains a discussion of interdependencies as an explanatory construct in conceptualising the business world and explaining managerial behaviours. Specific interdependencies that exist in business networks influence the outcomes of business relationships. Such interdependencies can be more or less clearly acknowledged and perceived by the practitioners (managers), who can act upon them and create new interdependencies. Interdependence thus also plays an important role in developing effective explanations and conceptualisations of the business world. Some of the interdependencies are consequences of actions focusing on rationalisations, development or positioning, while other interdependencies are made with the intention of creating a specific position or some other effects. To live with, and be competent in, handling interdependencies is thus imperative in the interactive business landscape; as a consequence interdependencies need to be addressed when theorising the business world and its dynamics.