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2.2 Networks as relationships
The industrial network approach portrays industrial markets as networks of
relationships between firms (Johanson and Mattson, 1986). An industrial network is
thus a web of relationships where one actor is connected to others through exchange
relationships. These relationships may have different values, depending on the
connections between resources, the complementarities of activity structures and the
bonds established between individual actors. A change in one of these relationships
may have important repercussions on other relationships. In the industrial network
approach, relationships are one form of economic co-ordination and are often long-
term, rather than based on a short period of time. This long-term interaction is likely
to lead to trust and commitment.
3. WHY DEVELOP A UK/CHINESE JOINT VENTURE?