Abstract preview 1 Re-organising relationship interaction by stabilising a new interaction form

Interaction within relationships is central to the rhetoric of the IMP tradition. Yet the empirical observation which led to the well-known Interaction Model (Håkansson 1982)- that companies have long term, stable relationships- is hardly new. More recent work has called for a re-examination of the interaction approach in light of changed business conditions (Leek et al 2003; Ford 1998; Valla and Salle 1997) and indeed the trend in general business marketing literature and within IMP is to investigate the dynamics of relationships and networks (Narayandas and Rangan 2004; Johnston et al 2006; Schurr 2007; Geersbro and Ritter 2007). In terms of relationship dynamics, the few conceptual studies available centre upon investigating types of interaction episodes and their link to relationship development (Schurr 2007), e.g. through mapping and analysing patterns of episodes (Schurr et al 2008), and by investigating individual action in relationship development processes (Mainela and Tähtinen 2007), while empirical work centres upon relationship dissolution and to a lesser extent, the initiation of relationships (Tahtinen 2002). In this paper we investigate how two firms try to re-organise their relationship interaction processes by introducing and stabilising a new form of interaction over multiple episodes. We follow the interactions at multiple levels of the dyad, along with the factors/conditions that support and constrain the focal firms in their efforts. The case study underpinning the paper is based on multiple, sequential episodes within the ongoing relationship between a product-developer Scranton and sub-contractor JP within the Scandinavian Electronics Industry. The empirical data wa