University of Twente Student Theses
Antecedents and benefits of the preferred customer status in a buyer-supplier relationship: a multiple case study at Siemens Nederland and three of its key suppliers
Wolf, V. de (2013) Antecedents and benefits of the preferred customer status in a buyer-supplier relationship: a multiple case study at Siemens Nederland and three of its key suppliers.
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| Abstract: | In recent years, the preferred customer status as a means of achieving competitive advantage has received an increasing amount of attention from academics. However, the current body of literature is mostly limited to theoretical propositions derived from the fields of social exchange theory, social capital theory and transaction cost economics. Using the results of a dyadic multiple case study at Siemens Nederland, this paper outlines the benefits and antecedents associated with a preferred customer status from a more practical perspective. In addition, besides providing a large amount of theoretical concepts with practical confirmation, it also presents several new and unexpected findings. Growth opportunities through business with the customer firm, a large purchasing volume and open communication were, among other factors, confirmed as essential drivers of a preferred customer status, while the study also showed that a company’s reputable status may be an important motivation for suppliers to award a customer with a preferred customer status, an element not previously mentioned in scientific discourse. If more similar case studies follow, the scientific foundation of the preferred customer status can be truly substantiated, after which managers can be provided with meaningful and actionable tools for acquiring preferential supplier treatment in the future. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration BSc (56834) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63737 |
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