Quality management in business relationships: The role of brands in an open source environment

This article reviews buyer-seller relationship quality from the viewpoint of the open source phenomenon. It specifically considers the perspective that open source ( OS) brands can bring to the quality of buyer-seller relationships in circumstances where relationships are highly networked, not simple, not merely two-way and are non-linear. A discussion of the functions of brands is made. Based on a 2 x 2 matrix, insight is given into how OS positions itself at the final stage in the evolution of brands, and three theoretical frameworks are proposed to help understand this phenomenon. These frameworks assist in our comprehension of the open source brand as an arbiter of relationship quality. It is argued that the OS brand is a post-modern phenomenon and that the brand as an indicator of relationship quality should be understood from this perspective. The article concludes by identifying avenues for future research and implications for managers.