Network pictures and supplier management: An empirical study

Abstract

It has been suggested that "network pictures" are a major factor in the development of companies' strategies and in their interactions with others. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how variations in companies' network pictures relate to their strategies and to their interactions with suppliers and with those suppliers' other counterparts. Four issues are particularly relevant in this context: the limits to the network pictures held by companies of their supplier networks; the consensus between individual and corporate network pictures; the positioning of companies and their expectations of suppliers; and the pattern of interaction between companies and their suppliers' counterparts. Drawing on a comparative analysis between two supplier network cases, the paper shows how companies' different network pictures drive their approaches to supplier networks. These approaches reflect the way that knowledge of suppliers' counterparts is gathered and distributed within companies, and also on the companies' interactions with suppliers' counterparts. The paper suggests that scanning supplier networks strictly on the basis of current pictures may limit the exploration of supplier networks' potential. We also propose the concept of an 'interaction net' as a key tool to enhance the understanding and management of networks.

A New Approach to Manage Welding Quality in Supply Chain Networks: A Supplier Network Complaints Perspective

“…At the same time, companies have to respond to the challenges of globalization of business strategies and demands for sustainability of supply chains [33]. Managing network relationships demands knowledge of the interconnections involved [16]. However, when managing network relationships, there can be a mismatch between the actors that a company sees as relevant and those with whom they interact [4].…”

“…The approach has been considered from a number of different viewpoints, e.g. network pictures complexity [2], relationships to suppliers [14], supplier management [15], [16] and making pictures as organizational sense making [17]. Additionally, researchers have shown growing interest in stepping beyond the concrete to find understanding of sensing of business activities in operational actions rather than building forecasts of its entity [17], [18].…”

Managing Value Co-Creation Through Interfaces with Suppliers

“…In addition, supplier management reflects firms' subjective perceptions of their counterparts' ability to create value (Makkonen & Olkkonen, 2013;Roseira, Brito, & Ford, 2013). To be considered valuable, suppliers' resources and capabilities must be seen as important contributions to the relationships (Johnsen & Ford, 2006, 2008.…”

Business Networks and Local Partners in Global Competition

“…This is not only for the results that are the actual target of the relationship, but also because contact with this company grants access to another system of relationships, i.e. the other company's network which, in turn, reveals opportunities and risks that can be extremely important (Roseira et al 2013). "Buyers must manage their key suppliers in their network contexts.…”