Stress in business relationships

Abstract

PurposeOne of the causes of change in business relationships comes from incidents that deviate in a positive or negative way from the expected and normal relationship pattern. This introduces the concept of stress that captures the effect of negatively deviating incidents in business relationships.Design/methodology/approachPresents a technique, the negative critical incident mapping (NCIM), for measuring this kind of stress. The technique is used in an industrial service and a business service setting to measure stress in a dyadic manner.FindingsThe results show that not only were all studied relationships burdened with stress to a varying extent but there were also substantial differences in the degree and content of stress. The relationships showed significant differences when seller‐buyer pairs of stress perceptions were matched. Operator‐level perceptions of stress in the relationships corresponded better than manager‐level perceptions. Research and management implications from the new relationship stress concept conclude the paper.Originality/valueThe new relationship‐stress concept is useful for relationship‐dissolution and relationship‐strength researchers since it reveals a hidden risk factor to a business relationship that complements current understanding. For managers the value lies in being able to diagnose relationships at risk of being lost or to detect fundamental relationship problems.

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