Why do firms re-establish previously dissolved relations with other firms? In this paper we explore this phenomenon in a customer-supplier context. Organization and strategy theorists have focused primarily on the formation, evolution, and dissolution of interfirm ties, but few have examined their reconstitution, despite evidence that tie reconstitution can have benefits for firms. We address this gap through an examination of strategic customer-supplier relations among 26 Scandinavian firms. Based on 95 open-ended interviews with executives of these firms, we show that four factors promote the reconstitution of previously dissolved ties: the existence of relation-specific investments in the earlier tie, accompanied by a history of reliability and coordination; concerns regarding the uncertainty and risk associated with the initiation of a new relation from scratch; the maintenance of social ties between firm officers during the period of dormancy; and a major structural change such as a reorganization, merger, or acquisition in one or both firms. The results suggest that reconstituted interfirm relations represent a type distinctly different from newly-formed, currently active, or repeated ties. Successful reconstitution requires that the firms overcome whatever difficulties led to the cessation of their relation in the first place. How the ties were dissolved has an impact on their reconstitution at a later stage. A dormancy stage may provide new and unexpected knowledge, novel information, and other new resources that can lead to substantial benefits after the firms achieve a successful reconstitution.

为什么公司要重新建立与其他公司先前解散的关系？在本文中，我们在客户-供应商的背景下探讨了这一现象。组织和战略理论家主要关注公司间联系的形成、演变和解散，但很少有人研究它们的重组，尽管有证据表明联系重组可以为公司带来好处。我们通过检查 26 家斯堪的纳维亚公司之间的战略客户与供应商关系来解决这一差距。基于对这些公司高管的 95 次开放式访谈，我们表明四个因素促进了先前解散的关系的重建：早期关系中存在特定于关系的投资，伴随着可靠性和协调的历史；对与从头开始建立新关系相关的不确定性和风险的担忧；在休眠期间维持公司官员之间的社会联系；一个或两个公司的重大结构变化，例如重组、合并或收购。结果表明，重组的公司间关系代表了一种与新形成的、当前活跃的或重复的关系明显不同的类型。成功的重组要求公司首先克服导致其关系终止的任何困难。关系如何解散会影响它们在后期的重建。休眠阶段可能会提供新的和意想不到的知识、新信息、