Maximizing buyer–supplier relationships in the Digital Era: Concept and research agenda

• This article provides an overview of the changing nature of buyer–supplier relationships in the Digital Era.
• Buyer–supplier relationships have increasingly become more dependent on new technologies, such as PRM and CMC.
• Aligning new technologies across supply chains members is crucial to technology deployment success.

As technology continues to advance and new products emerge, the interactions between buyers and suppliers have changed. The management of buyer–supplier relationships has increasingly become more dependent on new technologies, such as Partner Relationship Management (PRM) systems and computer-mediated communications (CMC). Furthermore, when new technologies emerge, suppliers are expected to educate their buyers about the benefits of the technology, train them on how to use it, and aid with the integration of the technology into pre-existing work processes. Given these issues, this special issue of Industrial Marketing Management explores the changing nature of buyer–supplier relationships in the Digital Era. This article presents a snapshot of the changes in buyer–supplier relationships brought on by new technology, provides an overview of the selected articles in this special issue, and offers a few directions for future research.