Industrial relationships and the effects of different types of connections

Emphasizing the primary and secondary functions in business networks, this paper is based on the presumption that the primary function of the focal dyadic relationship is connected to business, political, ancillary and competitive relationships, i.e. what has been denoted as the secondary function. The question is how these secondary functions affect the primary function. The conceptual view developed for the focal dyadic relationship is founded on the two key relationship concepts of trust and commitment. The empirical study is based on a survey of 353 firms and their most important customer relationships. The analysis examines nine hypotheses through a structural model in LISREL. Conclusions from the statistical test show the heterogeneity in the impacts of these different types of connections on trust and commitment. Knowledge of the impact of these connections can aid the further understanding of relationship connections and also assist business firms in developing strategies towards these units.