Discontinuity in interaction. Findings from two cases in the Italian context

The paper focuses on discontinuity in interaction by investigating the evolving phases in business to business relationships. From the theoretical point of view, the paper deals with the topic of discontinuity considered to be an unexplored aspect of interaction. Methodologically, the paper proposes a comparison between two cases of focal interactions, one in the home appliances sector and one in the fashion industry. In particular, the paper shows the relationship between a focal supplier company and a big and important customer. The paper ends with the proposal of a possible conceptual dichotomy of discontinuity in interaction, by describing two possible concepts to be further developed and studied in future research.