Socio-mental adapting in business relationships: A dialogical understanding

In industrial marketing research the approaches to collective sensemaking in business relationships and to understanding network logics have strongly relied upon an individualistic/cognitive viewpoint. This conceptual paper introduces socio-mental adapting as a form of shared sensemaking inside business relationships considered with a dialogical ontological perspective. Our point of departure is the distinction between adaptation and adapting and to re-consider how sensemaking, as adopted within the IMP approach, occurs during elongated relational presents unfolding in human-relational times. Our contribution thus brings individuals as joint constructions (and constructors) to the heart of interactive business relationship change. These elaborations present a dialogical ontology for research of socio-mental adapting, through meaning changes, by human business actors. Socio-mental adapting in B2B relations is strongly future oriented, and always uncertain/incomplete, as new futures are already unfolding. In a proposed research frame, we present related concepts for researchers and managers to handle humanly shared future projections inside business relationships. The dialogical ontology opens adaptive time-spaces for managers, e. g. for developing more sustainable partnerships.