The Antecedents of Relationship Phase Affect in Alliances

Abstract

The primary aim of this paper is to extend the interfirm exchange relationships’ literature by examining antecedents of the transitions that take place in the life cycles of business relationships. While making an appeal to the relational exchange theory, transaction cost economics, (network) bargaining power theory, and the organizational control model, the author proposes a (theoretical) model that takes an account of the antecedents of changes that take place in the firms’ states of affect during different phases of the development/evolution of their exchange relationships with other firms. It has been theorized that the varying extents of relational governance, relationship quality, interorganizational commitment, relational investments, behavioral uncertainty, bargaining influence, and perceived control affect changes in the affective states of exchange partners across different phases/stages of development/evolution of their exchange relationships. The paper sets an agenda for the future research to regard phases of business relationship life cycle as a (behavioral) outcome construct and explain its antecedents instead of merely considering it as a moderating condition as has been done in the interfirm relationships’ literature in the last few decades.