Emphasizing symmetry issues in business interaction analysis and IOS

This paper argues for the need to thoroughly understand the issue of symmetry and asymmetry, when analysing business interaction supported by inter-organisational information systems (IOS). Business interaction can be defined as consisting of business communication and exchange of value. Business action theory (BAT) divides business processes into six generic phases encompassing generic, interactive actions between a seller and a buyer. Different types of exchange occur in these phases. However, the BAT phases do not, in the present version, take the issue of symmetry and asymmetry (power between suppliers and customers) into enough account. In this paper, we elaborate the concepts of symmetry and asymmetry in business interaction in order to reach a better understanding of different types of relationships. We also highlight IOS as an important means that can both facilitate symmetry and cause asymmetry in a business interaction. The aim of the paper is to enhance the applicability of BAT for business interaction analysis by including and emphasising the notion of symmetry and asymmetry.

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