Analyzing commitment dimensions in a long business relationship: a processual and dyadic approach of a French-Japanese case

Eléonore Mandel (1, 2)

1 IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion
2 Métis Lab EM Normandie

This paper builds on the commitment mix theory, to show how commitment evolves over time in a business relationship. Commitment is a major ingredient for building collaborative business relationships. However, it is generally studied 1) in a static way, not in a dynamic approach, 2) in a unilateral perspective, not in a dyadic approach 3) rarely in international contexts. Our processual analysis uses a retrospective and real time longitudinal study of a long-term French-Japanese business relationship. The data is collected on both sides of the dyad and consists of triangulating from in-depth interviews, archives and field notes. The main findings show that commitment dimensions follow a complex dynamic process. They are culturally-bound, often unconscious, implicit and therefore not necessarily perceived by the other party or attributed a different meaning. Managers can therefore decide to make some commitment evidences more explicit and understand how these are perceived by their foreign partners.

Mots clés: France; culture; commitment; Japan; B-to-B relationship

Domaines: Gestion et management

Eléonore Mandel. Analyzing commitment dimensions in a long business relationship: a processual and dyadic approach of a French-Japanese case. European Academy of Management Conference (EURAM), Jun 2014, Valencia, Spain. ⟨hal-01125143⟩