Power, Risk, and Value Sharing in Collaborative Business to Business Relationships

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

In this study we try to explore the concept of business collaborations in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on power, risk, and value sharing in collaborative business to business relationships and its relation with business collaborations. The research also analyzes many aspects of business collaborations and tries to gauge its effect on business relationships.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

ABSTRACTiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1 Background of the study1

1.2 Aim of the research1

1.3 Research Questions1

1.4 Significance of the Research2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW3

2.1 Collaborative Business to Business Relationships3

2.2 Leadership in Collaborative Business to Business Relationships3

2.3 Power in Collaborative Business to Business Relationships4

2.4 Risk in Collaborative Business to Business Relationships4

2.5 Value Sharing in Collaborative Business to Business Relationships5

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY7

3.1 Research Design7

3.2 Literature Search7

3.3 Research Validity8

3.4 Sample Size and Test Selection8

3.5 Research Instrument8

3.6 Limitation of the Study9

3.7 Keywords Used9

REFERENCES10

SCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Collaborative business-to-business relationships represent a wide variety of arrangements that organizations form to develop competitive advantages and to create value through shared resources and knowledge. These include trade associations, voluntary agency federations, joint ventures, joint programs, corporate-finance interlocks, and agency-sponsored linkages. Scholars continue to recognize the importance of business-to-business relationships as a growing phenomenon in contemporary society and as a topic of extensive organizational research. The business-to-business literature is extensive, spanning multiple disciplines and contexts. Subsequent reviews have since helped to synthesize the vast amounts of empirical and theoretical research on business-to-business relationships (Kathryn, Elliott, 2007, pp 21).

1.2 Aim of the research

The research aims to assess the power, risk, and value sharing in collaborative business-to-business relationships.

1.3 Research Questions

The study will be based on the following research questions

How do business to business collaborative relationships form and develop?

What is the impact of power, risk and value sharing on collaborative business to business relationships?

What is the affect of business collaborations on the overall success of a business?

1.4 Significance of the Research

The research will be very useful to assess the power, risk, and value sharing in collaborative business-to-business relationships. Moreover, it will give us a proper idea of the organizations working in the business to business relationships.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Collaborative Business to Business Relationships

Within the broader context of business to business relationships research, an important subcategory consists of collaborative business to business relationships. These are cooperative relationships that develop between organizations in order to leverage resources to solve problems beyond the scope of any single organization. Several definitions of collaboration exist across the literatures of multiple disciplines, but most discuss collaborations as ...