RECIPROCITY IN INTERFIRM RELATIONSHIPS: A REVIEW AND EXTENSION

摘要

The influence of reciprocity on interfirm relationships is well-documented within the extant literature (e.g., Anderson and Weitz 1992; Jap and Ganesan 2000; Hoppner and Griffith 2011). However, as the number of studies examining reciprocity has increased, our understanding of what reciprocity is and how it operates within interfirm relationships has become increasingly removed from the original conceptualization of reciprocity. Thus, this research reexamines seminal statement on reciprocity underlying the majority of interfirm research (i.e., Gouldner 1960) to discuss the dimensionality and its universality of reciprocity, and empirically evaluate how these elements influence the relationship quality of interfirm relationships (e.g., a characteristic argued to develop from a foundation of reciprocity).