Prior research has suggested that the key to industrial purchasing success lies in the time development and maintenance of long‐term relationships between buyers and sellers. Good relational exchanges can lead to higher product quality and better coordination with the suppliers. As such, the purpose of this article is to explain how the change of these relationships over time is critical to successful purchasing, especially in understanding the factors that influence the relational change.
Three mini case studies are presented as an attempt to capture the subtle development of buyer‐seller relationships in the Asian printed circuit board industry. The approach used in this paper is to treat the relationship development as a process through time using Ford's model from 1980. Ford's model is appropriate as it allows the examination of time effects in relationships, factors influencing the change and the implications of having close linkages.
Initial results suggest that technological, social, time and actual distances, other than the quality of the relationships, can impact relationship development.
The results of this study suggest that buyers should consider carefully the influence of the geographical proximity of suppliers. As such, buyers could seek the services of personnel or departments who are more attuned to the supplier's local culture.
