Digital love – inviting doubt into therelationship: the duality of digitalization effects on business relationships

• Purpose – This study aims to hypothesize that the implementation of information technology (IT) in industrial business relationships entails bothpositive and negative effects for the relationship’s continuation. The purpose is to study the digitalization of business relationships with a focus oneffects on commitment in context with uncertainty and cooperation.Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are tested with data from 353 customer relationships in the industrial market. The model suggeststhe impact of IT on business relationship commitment.Findings – The results show that IT use in industrial relationships has a direct impact on commitment, as well as an indirect effect via uncertaintyand cooperation, which both can increase as a result of IT use. When IT use increases uncertainty, it negatively impacts commitment, and when itincreases cooperation, the effect on commitment is positive.Research limitations/implications – IT use in industrial relationships has a direct impact on commitment, as well as an indirect effect viauncertainty and cooperation, which both can increase as a result of IT use. When IT use increases uncertainty, it negatively impacts commitment,and when it increases cooperation, the effect on commitment is positive.Practical implications – Awareness of the effect of IT use and the factors involved entails working with cooperative activities to counteract thenegative impact there may be if the IT leads to increased uncertainty. Companies need to have knowledge regarding the effect of IT use in each oftheir business relationships to manage them according to their given situation.Originality/value – This study contributes to industrial marketing by demonstrating that digitalization can increase uncertainty and cooperation(differently), and they have different effects on commitment, thus that there is a “bright,” as well as “dark” side to it, evident in the businessrelationship dynamics.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Digitalization

IT-use

Commitment

Cooperation

Uncertainty

Business relationship

industriell ekonomi och organisation

Industrial Economics and Organisations

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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art (ämneskategori)