A process theory of relationship ending

TLDR

The ending of business relationships, particularly buyer‑seller ties, has recently attracted research attention, focusing on what constitutes an ending, why it occurs, and how a relationship dissolves. The study develops a process model to understand how dissolution advances in a professional service context and discusses managerial implications and future research directions. The model addresses gaps in prior work by distinguishing three categories—relationship type and ending, influencing factors, and the ending process itself—to explain dissolution in professional services. The study concludes that the ending process is temporally and contextually embedded, largely actor‑driven, and idiosyncratic rather than deterministic.

Abstract

This research is about the ending of business relationships: what that is, why it happens, and how an extant relationship dissolves. Ending of buyer‐seller relationships has very recently attracted increased research attention. This article adds to the existing knowledge by developing a process model to understand, in particular, how dissolution advances in a professional service context. The model aims to attend the major shortcomings of existing research and distinguishes three conceptual categories: the type of relationship and its ending, the factors that influence the process, and the ending process per se . It is concluded that the ending process is always both temporally and contextually embedded and to a significant degree actor‐driven; a picture of idiosyncrasy rather than deterministic development. The article ends by discussing managerial implications and making suggestions for future research.