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Benefits and antecedents of the preferred customer status in a buyer-supplier relationship: a case study at the Royal Netherlands Navy

Geerlings, M. (2013) Benefits and antecedents of the preferred customer status in a buyer-supplier relationship: a case study at the Royal Netherlands Navy.

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Abstract:Recently, the preferred customer status has received more attention in academic literature. Theories were developed about the preferred customer status, the benefits of the preferred customer status and the antecedents of the preferred customer status. Recent studies also showed a shift in the importance of attractiveness from the supplier towards the buyer, meaning that it has become more important to know as a buyer what attracts suppliers. This case study aims to give more insight into the concept of the preferred customer status in practice, especially in its benefits and antecedents. Besides seeking to confirm to the theory, this case study also presents some new elements. The case study shows that benefits mentioned in the literature, such as more favourable prices and reduced lead times, are applicable in practice and found another unmentioned benefit. This benefit is the advantage that a buyer can get from a supplier in the form of additional maintenance service. The antecedents that were found within this case study show that the elements of customer attractiveness, supplier satisfaction and preferred customer mentioned in the available literature are visible in practice to a great extent. However, it also discovers that some elements of customer attractiveness were not yet mentioned in the literature. These elements are the status or good reputation that a buyer can have, a strategic fit between the buyer and supplier or a guaranteed payment for the supplier. This case study cannot confirm or reject all the theory available. If there is to be more certainty of the preferred customer status theories, more case studies need to be done.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration BSc (56834)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63751
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