Knowledge acquisition in supply chain partnerships: The role of power

Abstract

Knowledge is recognised as an important source of competitive advantage and hence there has been increasing academic and practitioner interest in understanding and isolating the factors that contribute to effective knowledge transfer between supply chain actors. The literature identifies power as a salient contributor to the effective operation of a supply chain partnership. However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining how power among actors influences knowledge acquisition and in turn the performance of supply chain partners. The aim of this research is to address this gap by examining the relationship between power, knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance among the supply chain partners of a focal Chinese steel manufacturer. A structured survey was used to collect the necessary data.Two conceptually independent variables -'availability of alternatives' and 'restraint in the use of power' -were used to assess actual and realised power respectively. Controlling for contingencies, we found that the flow of knowledge increased when supply chain actors had limited alternatives and when the more powerful actor exercised restraint in the use of power.Moreover, we found a positive relationship between knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance. This paper enriches the literature by empirically extending our understanding of how power affects knowledge acquisition and performance.

Supply Chain Power Configurations and Their Relationship with Performance

“…Power, which is the ability to influence the behavior of another (Drea, Bruner & Hinsch, ; He, Ghobadian & Gallear, ), is the foundation of relationships between people or firms (Dapiran & Hogarth‐Scott, ), including firms in a supply chain. It can be intentionally activated or have an effect simply because of the knowledge that it exists (Ireland & Webb, ).…”

A Social Networking Strategy for Improving Knowledge Management and Communication in the Travel Industry

“…He, Ghobadian and Gallear [9] explained that it is the process of accessing and absorbing knowledge through direct or indirect contact or interaction with knowledge sources, including customers. Grant [10] added that the ability of a company to successfully capture knowledge is relative to its organisational performance.…”

Inter-Organizational Cooperative Innovation of Project-Based Supply Chains under Consideration of Monitoring Signals

“…According to eqs. (8) and (15), the professional sub-contractor's choice of optimum behaviour based on the maximization of its interest is independent of the fixed compensation  in the payment function, no matter if it is under revenue sharing motivation mechanism only or also considering monitoring signals. That means fixed compensation exerts no motivation to the professional sub-contractor's choice.…”

“…Therefore, some scholars have studied inter-organizational cooperative innovation of project-based supply chains. He et al [8] argued that the ability of acquiring knowledge has an impact on knowledge innovation and influences future supply chain performance. Ramanathan [9] simulated the innovation performance in supply chain coordination based on real data of organization size, organization number and investment level.…”