Table 5 Summary of the theoretical... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

Summary of the theoretical contributions of the study regarding the roles of the third actors in the BSRI within turbulent business networks

Macro-role	Micro-roles	Contribution to the literature	Literature background
Behind-the-scenes operator The third actor operates behind the scenes to enable the sudden emergence of a business relationship, often without the explicit awareness of the focal actors involved	Opportunity seeker	New role that draws upon the scouter role observed in a stable business network In a turbulent business network, the third actor cannot perform a scouter role since there is no time to look for potential feasible partners, but only to seize opportunities; therefore, from scouting, the third actor moves on to seeking available opportunities in the business network at a specific point in time	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018), Fraboni et al. (2024)
	Need booster	New role that draws upon the need creator role observed in a stable business network Rather than creating a need for buyer and seller in a turbulent business network, the third actor reinforces the One they already perceive: the need to develop multiple new business relationships to counteract the unpredictability of the business context	Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018), Zafari et al. (2023)
	Awareness builder	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor awareness builder role in a turbulent business networkBehind the scenes, the third actor decides which parts should be brought to whose attention to get the business relationship started immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Matchmaker	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor’s matchmaker role in a turbulent business network Behind the scenes, the third actor chooses the parties to be brought together based on the fact that these parties have such a fit that the business relationship can begin immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
Expectation setting The third actor supports both parties in their interpretation of the future of the emerging business relationship, serving as a proxy to set reciprocal expectations	Evaluation assistant	Already observed in the stable business network The study confirms the unfolding of the third-actor evaluation assistant role in a turbulent business networkThe third actor assesses in advance what the future outcomes of the nascent business relationship might be and whether the expectations of the counterparties are consistent to favour the initiation of the business relationship from the first contact between the parties	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Power equaliser	New role that draws upon the ‘power balancer’ role observed in the stable business network With respect to the power balancer role, in a turbulent business network, the third actor does not enter the bargaining process to help set fair conditions for the emerging business relationshipThe business actors do not have time for this, so the third actor assumes the role of guarantor such that both actors will set fair conditions because of the trusting relationship they already have with it	Fraboni et al. (2024)
	Advocate seller/buyer	New role that draws upon the ‘advocate seller’ role observed in the stable business network Compared to the stable business network, the third actor advocates not only for the seller but also for the buyer because both are in a vulnerable position and both need to develop new business relationships in the immediate future to counteract emerging threats	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
Trust transfer In turbulent networks, the third actor facilitates an immediate transfer of trust between parties, acting as a proxy to replace the gradual trust-building process	Provider of concrete evidence	Already observed in the stable business network The study confirms the unfolding of the third actor’s ‘provider of concrete evidence’ role in a turbulent business networkThe third actor shares evidence of both counterparts, allowing the business relationship to begin immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018); Valtakoski (2015)
	Risk initiation avoider	New role that draws upon the ‘risk-reducer’ role observed in the stable business network Given the unpredictability of business network turbulence, the third-party actor cannot guarantee its long-term success or mitigate relational risks; rather, it can only reduce the risk of not immediately initiating the business relationship, which, if it were to happen, would waste time and resources for the firms involved, potentially harming them in their struggle to survive the turbulence of the business network	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Zafari et al. (2020)
	Personal bonds sharer	New role It entails the third actor’s efforts to enact and share its personal bonds with almost One of the emerging dyad’s business counterparts to favour the trust-transfer process	Poblete et al. (2022), Salmi and Halinen (2024)
Deal maker The third actor accelerates the formation of the business relationship, bypassing conventional information search phases and creating the conditions for the sudden beginning of the business relationship	Commitment creator	New role A new micro-role that explains how the third actor’s involvement in the BSRI process motivates business parties to reciprocate with commitment, as they are driven by the social bonds they share with the third actor	Salmi and Halinen (2024), Zafari et al. (2020, 2023)
	Accelerator	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third-actor accelerator role in a turbulent business network. In turbulent business networks, the third actor creates the conditions for the sudden beginning of the business relationships	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Access provider	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor access provider role in a turbulent business network In turbulent business networks, the third actor provides immediate access to the counterparts to let the business relationship begin suddenly	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)

Macro-role	Micro-roles	Contribution to the literature	Literature background
Behind-the-scenes operator The third actor operates behind the scenes to enable the sudden emergence of a business relationship, often without the explicit awareness of the focal actors involved	Opportunity seeker	New role that draws upon the scouter role observed in a stable business network In a turbulent business network, the third actor cannot perform a scouter role since there is no time to look for potential feasible partners, but only to seize opportunities; therefore, from scouting, the third actor moves on to seeking available opportunities in the business network at a specific point in time	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018), Fraboni et al. (2024)
	Need booster	New role that draws upon the need creator role observed in a stable business network Rather than creating a need for buyer and seller in a turbulent business network, the third actor reinforces the One they already perceive: the need to develop multiple new business relationships to counteract the unpredictability of the business context	Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018), Zafari et al. (2023)
	Awareness builder	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor awareness builder role in a turbulent business networkBehind the scenes, the third actor decides which parts should be brought to whose attention to get the business relationship started immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Matchmaker	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor’s matchmaker role in a turbulent business network Behind the scenes, the third actor chooses the parties to be brought together based on the fact that these parties have such a fit that the business relationship can begin immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
Expectation setting The third actor supports both parties in their interpretation of the future of the emerging business relationship, serving as a proxy to set reciprocal expectations	Evaluation assistant	Already observed in the stable business network The study confirms the unfolding of the third-actor evaluation assistant role in a turbulent business networkThe third actor assesses in advance what the future outcomes of the nascent business relationship might be and whether the expectations of the counterparties are consistent to favour the initiation of the business relationship from the first contact between the parties	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Power equaliser	New role that draws upon the ‘power balancer’ role observed in the stable business network With respect to the power balancer role, in a turbulent business network, the third actor does not enter the bargaining process to help set fair conditions for the emerging business relationshipThe business actors do not have time for this, so the third actor assumes the role of guarantor such that both actors will set fair conditions because of the trusting relationship they already have with it	Fraboni et al. (2024)
	Advocate seller/buyer	New role that draws upon the ‘advocate seller’ role observed in the stable business network Compared to the stable business network, the third actor advocates not only for the seller but also for the buyer because both are in a vulnerable position and both need to develop new business relationships in the immediate future to counteract emerging threats	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
Trust transfer In turbulent networks, the third actor facilitates an immediate transfer of trust between parties, acting as a proxy to replace the gradual trust-building process	Provider of concrete evidence	Already observed in the stable business network The study confirms the unfolding of the third actor’s ‘provider of concrete evidence’ role in a turbulent business networkThe third actor shares evidence of both counterparts, allowing the business relationship to begin immediately	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018); Valtakoski (2015)
	Risk initiation avoider	New role that draws upon the ‘risk-reducer’ role observed in the stable business network Given the unpredictability of business network turbulence, the third-party actor cannot guarantee its long-term success or mitigate relational risks; rather, it can only reduce the risk of not immediately initiating the business relationship, which, if it were to happen, would waste time and resources for the firms involved, potentially harming them in their struggle to survive the turbulence of the business network	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Zafari et al. (2020)
	Personal bonds sharer	New role It entails the third actor’s efforts to enact and share its personal bonds with almost One of the emerging dyad’s business counterparts to favour the trust-transfer process	Poblete et al. (2022), Salmi and Halinen (2024)
Deal maker The third actor accelerates the formation of the business relationship, bypassing conventional information search phases and creating the conditions for the sudden beginning of the business relationship	Commitment creator	New role A new micro-role that explains how the third actor’s involvement in the BSRI process motivates business parties to reciprocate with commitment, as they are driven by the social bonds they share with the third actor	Salmi and Halinen (2024), Zafari et al. (2020, 2023)
	Accelerator	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third-actor accelerator role in a turbulent business network. In turbulent business networks, the third actor creates the conditions for the sudden beginning of the business relationships	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)
	Access provider	Already observed in the stable business network This study confirms the unfolding of the third actor access provider role in a turbulent business network In turbulent business networks, the third actor provides immediate access to the counterparts to let the business relationship begin suddenly	Aarikka-Stenroos and Halinen (2007), Aarikka-Stenroos et al. (2018)

Source(s): Authors’ own work