A case study of buyer-seller relationships during the industrial product development process

Developing buyer-seller relationships is increasingly seen as an important factor for success in industrial marketing (Spekman and Johnston, 1986). This relationship goes back way before the industrial product is offered for sale and may actually take place while the product is being developed. In this paper, we present a case study of the interactions and relationships between an industrial buyer and two of its suppliers during the product development process in the application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) industry. Relevant implications for industrial marketing are drawn.