Revisiting the causes of organizational discontinuance: A diffusion theory approach offers new insights

Madhavan Parthasarathy and David Forlani

jbm - Journal of Business Market Management, 2016, vol. 9, issue 2, 650-676

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to develop a framework capable of classifying the reasons behind the discontinuance of supplier-distributor relationships. Using a sample of CEO's who manage intra-national and multi-national firms, a study was run to test a typology of discontinuance built around diffusion theory's source of influence construct (e.g., the origin and valence of the information that initiates a discontinuance decision). The three types are called New Day, Strike 3 and Greener Grass. Results support the proposed typology and suggest that managers indeed terminate relationships with partner firms for three aforementioned theoreticallygrounded and practitioner-relevant reasons. Managers can use the framework to better understand their past and current relationships, as well as a tool for engineering future relationships. Finding a tendency toward one discontinuance type can help managers identify issues or weaknesses that if addressed, could improve the quality and longevity of such relationships.

Keywords: Organizational discontinuance; Channel relationships; Diffusion theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:fubjbm:162846

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