Relational focus in long duration buyer-seller relationships

There is limited research on the effects of accumulated shared experience on the nature or character of buyer‐seller relationships that have extended beyond a few short years. The evidence presented here suggests that when buyer‐seller exchanges are sustained over the long‐term, the direct effect of duration on relational choice changes in buyer‐seller relationships over time. Further, this study suggests that duration moderates the effects of several environmental variables drawn from resource dependency theory and transaction cost economics on relational focus. In light of this evidence we argue that duration must be integrated into contract theory to help us understand how organisations adapt to change.