Critical events in time and space when cooperation turns into competition in business relationships

This study aims to improve our understanding of the processes of critical events in time and space that lead from cooperation to competition in dyadic business relationships. Within the business network approach there has recently been a call for research into both time and competition, and research combining both is novel. The study identifies and analyzes critical events in time, their connections with each other and the inner and outer space related to each event. The empirical study is based on four qualitative cases. The findings contribute to existing research by presenting several new perspectives on events and spaces, which improves our understanding of time and process in business networks. Business relationships may evolve from cooperation to competition through chronological events involving information sharing, sales-related and opportunistic activities. In space, these events mostly relate to the focal business relationships, the individual companies and third parties, such as customers.