Trading Companies and Small and Medium‐sized Firms:Functional Roles in International Commercial Relations

Trading companies face global competitive pressures to adapt their roles and strategies. Even Swedish trading companies, although specialised in terms of products and on overseas markets, have experienced more difficult competition. However, little or no research has been done on the commercial interaction of Swedish trading companies in relation to small and medium‐sized firms as potential strategic partners for the future. In this study, therefore, 14 in‐depth case studies were carried out, from a dual perspective, primarily to investigate the functional roles of these partners in their commercial relations. The selection of cases was made from the results of an initial national survey of existing relations. Different role patterns were found, some dominated by firms and others dominated by trading companies. Notably, chi‐square statistical dependencies were found in favour of firms taking responsibility for product generation and trading companies carrying responsibility for sales and contract execution. It is therefore suggested that trading companies take more responsibility for product generation as a future strategy to cope with problems of product complexity and in‐house technical competence.