A study of atmosphere in international inter-firm relationships

To date little empirical research has been undertaken into relationship atmosphere, yet the literature leads one to the conclusion that this is a key or central factor in developing the relationship between firms and in shaping the characteristics of that relationship over time.Given that the dimensions of atmosphere are only observable by the individual from a subjective standpoint, and that therefore emotion and subjective perception will inevitably intercede, this omission is startling to say the least.The aim of this study is to respond to this research gap and explore the nature and importance of perceptions of relationship atmosphere in business markets.In order for this exploration to be effective, a research methodology was designed to gather data, and three research questions were identified as having implications for the study of relationship atmosphere. The findings as reported in this thesis present a new view of relationship atmosphere and its role in inter-firm relationships. In view of the findings, a submariner analogy is presented to represent accordant and discordant perceptions of atmosphere in individual relationships. Additionally a revised interaction model is proposed to represent the new view of relationship atmosphere as a product of the perception of the individual parties to the relationship