TY - JOUR
T1 - How startups become attractive to suppliers and achieve preferred customer status
T2 - Factors influencing the positioning of young firms
AU - Tessaro, Juliano Afonso
AU - Harms, Rainer
AU - Schiele, Holger
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Achieving preferred customer status with suppliers helps startups to mobilize suppliers' resources. However, in purchasing, startups also compete against large buyers for suppliers' resources. Furthermore, their newness is a liability that suppliers find unattractive. Consequently, attracting and maintaining relationships is a challenge for startups' procurement. This paper investigates the strategies that startups use to attract large suppliers, improve mutual business relationships, and receive preferential supplier treatment. Based on the preferred customership literature and world café data from 15 startup buyers and suppliers, we identified seven factors that explain how startups attract suppliers, maintain relationships with them, and achieve preferred customer status. These factors are strategic compatibility, innovation potential, startup network, credible growth opportunity, profitability, memorable experiences, and purchaser sellership.
AB - Achieving preferred customer status with suppliers helps startups to mobilize suppliers' resources. However, in purchasing, startups also compete against large buyers for suppliers' resources. Furthermore, their newness is a liability that suppliers find unattractive. Consequently, attracting and maintaining relationships is a challenge for startups' procurement. This paper investigates the strategies that startups use to attract large suppliers, improve mutual business relationships, and receive preferential supplier treatment. Based on the preferred customership literature and world café data from 15 startup buyers and suppliers, we identified seven factors that explain how startups attract suppliers, maintain relationships with them, and achieve preferred customer status. These factors are strategic compatibility, innovation potential, startup network, credible growth opportunity, profitability, memorable experiences, and purchaser sellership.
KW - Customer attractiveness
KW - Preferred customer status
KW - Startups
KW - Supplier relationship
KW - UT-Hybrid-D
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161682096&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.024
DO - 10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.05.024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85161682096
SN - 0019-8501
VL - 113
SP - 100
EP - 115
JO - Industrial marketing management
JF - Industrial marketing management
ER -