The link above discusses how a nation’s or corporation’s culture can affect buyer seller relationships and whether a buyer repurchasing with a particular seller is affected by culture. The researcher’s surveyed various corporations in the United States and Latin America.

This is not to say that key characters such as strength of ties between two companies, trust, and reliability are not important. On the contrary, these are paramount to the decision as to whether a buyer purchases a product from a seller. If a buyer is getting a good deal or if other companies recommend a particular seller, the buyer is not likely to choose another seller. However, the paper found that there are some aspects of a nation’s or corporation’s culture that affect whether a buyer repurchases (or starts purchasing) from a seller. Many times, a nation’s culture will determine a buyer or seller runs the business. For instance, in Europe there may be more of a break during the work day than in the United States. Buyers are more likely to purchase products from people who have a similar mindset when running a business. This is not limited to national culture, corporate culture also affects whether a buyer purchases a good. A large corporation’s prime purpose may be to make capital and thus they always take the best deal regardless of the relationship with the seller. Smaller companies may pay more, but have a reliable relationship with the seller.

In its conclusion, the paper found that there are a few cultural characteristics that may lead a buyer to purchase from a seller. Among these are cultures that allow risk taking, understand the importance of social hierarchies and have a philosophy that thinks about the future.

This paper led me to think about how so many businesses are different and how many different reasons there are why a relationship forms or breaks apart. Some times a relationship may not form as a result of the buyer and seller being on two different sizes. Some companies stay with a neutral relationship even though a better one may be just two edges away. A company may form a relationship with another company through a hatred for a competitor (ie: a merger). Today, the number of reasons a relationship between companies form is growing. With the creation of the internet, a great deal of companies can stay connected, when otherwise cultural barriers may block them.