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Business Netquakes: Analysing Relatedness of Events in Dynamic Business Networks

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Book cover Extending the Business Network Approach

Abstract

One crucial, recurring challenge for business managers involves taking the right action when pressured to change from resource investment in a business relationship to the pausing or termination of such, which, in some situations may dissolve the relationship completely. In that ongoing quest, a substantial part of the information necessary for the managers’ choice of path of action stems from the past, current and potential future in the specific business relationship. However, to rely solely on the available information in the relationship is, in most situations, insufficient to select appropriate managerial action. The notion that business relationships are better understood as part of business networks is well established (see, e.g., Ford et al. 2002; Håkansson and Snehota 1995), consequently suggesting that further information, potentially vital for the choice of managerial action, can be sourced within the immediate surrounding business network.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is a Swedish proverb referring to a chain of events.

  2. 2.

    Ancient Greek used three words for time: Chronos meaning time as the actual passage of time, Kairos meaning time as the ‘right’ time in relation to circumstances, and Schole meaning time as free or spare time.

  3. 3.

    We are aware that geology and seismology are not our fields of study. The analogies of a business netquake and an earthquake made in this chapter are based on layman’s view.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Peter Thilenius & Virpi Havila

  2. Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden

    Peter Dahlin

  3. Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden

    Christina Öberg

Authors
  1. Peter Thilenius
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  2. Virpi Havila
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  3. Peter Dahlin
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  4. Christina Öberg
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Peter Thilenius

  2. Department of Business Studies, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

    Cecilia Pahlberg

  3. Department of Business Studies, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

    Virpi Havila

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Thilenius, P., Havila, V., Dahlin, P., Öberg, C. (2016). Business Netquakes: Analysing Relatedness of Events in Dynamic Business Networks. In: Thilenius, P., Pahlberg, C., Havila, V. (eds) Extending the Business Network Approach. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53765-2_18

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