A multi‐theoretic perspective on trust and power in strategic supply chains

Abstract

Strategic supply chains serve as a potential source of competitive advantage for firms. The ability of a strategy supply chain to engender cultural competitiveness, or joint entrepreneurship and learning aimed at filling market gaps, is a key path through which a strategic supply chain may become a competitive advantage. A balance of trust and power within the supply chain offsets uncertainty and risks associated with the behaviors underlying cultural competitiveness. Using a multi-theoretic perspective, we discuss four strategies that firms use to balance a climate of trust and power in a strategic supply chain. Identifying an authority, generating a common supply chain identity, utilizing boundary spanning ties, and providing procedural and interactive justice are the strategies we discuss. #

The exercise of power in inter-organisational relationships in response to changes in the institutional environment: cases from the European automotive industry

“…Strong power difference may be problematic in that the powerful firm may act opportunistically to extract a higher share of the exchange surplus (ibid. ), but excessive exploitation of power imbalance can jeopardize inter-organizational trust (Ireland and Webb, 2007). Supporting these claims, Akpinar and Vincze (2016) provide evidence from the case of the Volkswagen Group and Porsche that strong power difference leads to increased competition which may end the relationship with an acquisition.…”

Empirical Result on Firms’ Cluster Integration: Should Firms Evolve beyond Their Region?

“…These criteria could lead to a position far away from the structure, that should be selected under the criteria of the transaction cost and property rights theories i.e., selecting the most efficient structure [3]. As [2]- [7] conceptualized, the pursuit of greater joint value could require the use of government network structures, which are less efficient from a transaction cost perspective.…”

Learning: The interface of quality management and strategic alliances

“…Empirical research also supports that development of trust between alliance partners affects knowledge sharing between them ( [Uzzi, 1996] and [Uzzi, 1997]). From the social capital theory, trust allows for greater benefits of knowledge sharing and joint learning (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998;Ireland and Webb, 2007). Therefore, it is proposed that P4: Trust positively affects cooperative learning in strategic alliances.…”