Towards a systematic analytical framework of resource interfaces

In this paper, we posit that current Industrial Marketing and Purchasing literature on resource interaction and resource interfaces is hampered by fragmentation and conceptual imprecision, hindering scholars to build systematically on each other's works. To rectify this, a systematic analytical framework acknowledging the empirical variation of resource interfaces along a coherent conceptualization of resources and resource interfaces is suggested to enable further scholarly development. A case study focusing on a central product and the network surrounding the product is used to illustrate the analytical framework. We employ the analytical framework to show how interaction through resource interfaces of a European rail logistics network play out. Our findings suggest that the analytical framework has the capacity to fruitfully distinguish between the multitude of empirical manifestations and the need for a coherent conceptual framework. It also enables explanations of what may seem paradoxical by exploring the deeper cores of the phenomena.