The study aims to explore what kind of roles major system suppliers may have for their business customers, what factors may change the supplier's role for the customer during the relationship, and to analyze how the system supplier can manage his roles for the customer.
The paper provides a multi‐company, international case study.
The study identifies three roles for system suppliers: equipment/material supplier, solution provider, and performance provider. The potential role the supplier may try to achieve is suggested to depend on the knowledge gap between the supplier and the customer, and on the strategies they adopt. The supplier can maintain and extend his role for the customer though carefully coordinated and integrated, proactive actions.
The developed structures on business dynamics need more empirical evidence, especially in terms of longitudinal analyses.
The models give various tools for top executives in industrial companies to develop more interactive and profitable customer relationships.
The developed frameworks provide an articulated theory of the creation and implementation of the system supplier's business strategy.
