Are relational ties always good for knowledge acquisition? Buyer–supplier exchanges in China

Abstract

a b s t r a c tRelational ties between manufacturers and their suppliers serve as an important strategic resource for value creation and realization. However, conflicting evidence exists regarding their role in the acquisition of specific knowledge. This study proposes that relational ties have a nonlinear effect on specific knowledge acquisition and that this nonlinear relationship is conditional on contract specificity and competitive intensity. Results from a sample of 385 manufacturer-supplier exchanges in China demonstrate that a buyer's relational ties with its major supplier have an inverted U-shaped effect on specific knowledge acquisition from this supplier; this inverted U-shaped relationship is stronger (steeper) when contract specificity is high and competition is more intense. These findings suggest that managers should understand the benefits and downsides of relational ties in acquiring specific knowledge and avoid building highly embedded ties when they draft detailed contracts or competition is highly intensive.

Relationships between structural social capital, knowledge identification capability and external knowledge acquisition

“…Uzzi, 1997;Lane and Lubatkin, 1998;Maula et al, 2001;Yli-Renko et al, 2001;Inkpen and Tsang, 2005;Presutti et al, 2007;Mu et al, 2008;Zhou et al, 2014). Nevertheless, the results obtained in these research studies are inconsistent with the theoretical statement on a positive and strong connection between structural social capital and knowledge acquisition, especially for tacit and complex knowledge types (Maula et al, 2001;Yli-Renko et al, 2001;Mu et al, 2008;Zhou et al, 2014).…”

“…Although a number of research papers have tried to analyze the influence of structural social capital on knowledge acquisition processes (see e.g. Krackhardt, 1992;Maula et al, 2001;Yli-Renko et al, 2001;Presutti et al, 2007;Zhou et al, 2014), in our view a clear agreement is lacking in two essential aspects. The first of these refers to the structural characteristics that a firm's network should have to optimize its knowledge acquisition processes.…”

“…Similarly, frequent and intense interactions allow companies to develop routines for the exchange of complex information and non-articulated knowledge (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998). Consequently, cohesive relational bonds would make flows of high-quality information and the transfer of tacit knowledge easier for firms in the network (Zhou et al, 2014). This paper proposes knowledge identification capability as a possible solution to this controversy by considering it as a mediating variable in the relationship between structural social capital and external knowledge acquisition.…”

Overcoming institutional voids via arbitration

“…According to transaction cost economics (TCE), (domestic) arbitration helps reduce transaction costs in many settings, such as contractual incompleteness, specialized governance, and expertise in ''filling the [contractual] gaps'' (Williamson, 1975(Williamson, : 75-77, 1985. These discussions tend to take place within a domestic context, where the assumption of ''one law, one court in one country'' naturally makes sense (Argyres & Mayer, 2007;Lumineau & Oxley, 2012;Poppo & Zenger, 2002;Weber & Mayer, 2011;Zhou et al, 2014). Given that the assumption no longer holds in a crossborder setting, firms engaged in IJVs have a unique opportunity to decide between domestic courts and BICA (Drahozal, 2006;Drahozal & Ware, 2010;Kapeliuk, 2012).…”

Institutional Legitimacy, Cross-Border Trade and Institutional Voids: Insights from the Cocoa Industry in Ghana

“…First, by examining how supply chain opportunism and illegality are manifest, our study responds to the calls by operations management scholars to examine the dark sides of relational ties (Villena et al, 2011;Zhou et al, 2014).…”