Adaptive versus exchange interactions by individuals in an industrial network

Abstract

That firms undertake strategies in conjunction with each other is central to a relationship and network framework. However, the decisions to allocate resources and undertake activities are necessarily based upon the abilities of individuals who jointly and individually direct the firms’ actors, activities and resources. Early empirical work by IMP researchers distinguished between interaction as exchange and adaptation. These two forms of interaction are evidently differentiated with regard to ‘time’: with exchange being bound in the ‘present’ and interaction to achieve adaptation occurring in the present, but focused on the ‘future’. The interactions of the managers of Alfa, a filleting firm in the Norwegian fish processing industry, are examined to determine the relative weight of interaction focus on the present versus the future. A clear distinction was found between exchange and adaptation interaction, with people in top management positions undertaking external communication relatively more on “influence” purposes, while lower managers focused relatively more on “transaction” issues.