Reinvigorating the Study of Opportunism in Supply Chain Management

Lumineau, Fabrice; Oliveira, Nuno

doi:10.1111/jscm.12215

Cited by 67 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Supply chain digitalisation is an emerging field and so far, the overwhelming majority of research has focused on its 'bright side', while to our best knowledge, there are only a few papers discussing its potential dark side (e.g., Lumineau and Oliveira, 2020). Similarly, with regards to partner opportunism, the small number of existing studies, which are mostly conceptual in nature, have suggested that supply chain digitalisation (e.g., IoT and blockchain) would play a game-changing role in controlling partner opportunism by reducing information asymmetry and uncertainty related to exchanges (Saberi et al, 2019;Schmidt and Wagner, 2019).…”

Section: Theoretical Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, the majority of research in this area has investigated the promises and benefits of supply chain digitalisation; in contrast, few studies have examined the dark sides of supply chain digitalisation, such as digital capability asymmetry and resulting increase in partner opportunism (Lumineau and Oliveira, 2020). In addition, the existing literature has acknowledged weak governance as a potential reason for such asymmetric gains in supply chain digitalisation (Bjorkdah, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The dark side of supply chain digitalisation: supplier-perceived digital capability asymmetry, buyer opportunism and governance

Son

Kim

Hur

et al. 2021

IJOPM

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PurposeIn this paper, the authors seek to contribute to the supply chain digitalisation literature by investigating a potential dark side of supply chain digitalisation from the viewpoint of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers, namely digital capability asymmetry and the partner opportunism of more digitally capable large buyers against SME suppliers. The authors seek to contribute further to the governance literature by investigating the effectiveness of the governance mechanism (legal contracts and relational contracts) in suppressing partner opportunism of this nature.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data collected from 125 Korean SMEs, the authors employed a hierarchical regression method to test a set of hypotheses focussing on the dark side of supply chain digitalisation and the effectiveness of the governance mechanism.FindingsThe study’s findings suggest that supplier-perceived digital capability asymmetry, wherein a buyer has a superior digital capability than its SME supplier, increases the SME supplier's dependence on the more digitally capable buyer, with the result that it is more exposed to buyer opportunism. Moreover, the results suggest that only relational governance is effective in protecting SME suppliers from buyer opportunism of this nature.Originality/valueSo far, the overwhelming majority of supply chain digitalisation research has debated its “bright side”. On the contrary, from the resource dependence theory perspective, this paper explains its dark side by providing empirical evidence on (1) the links between supplier-perceived digital capability asymmetry and a buyer's opportunism through an increased supplier's dependence and (2) the effectiveness of different types of governance in opportunism suppression.

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Section: Theoretical Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dark side of supply chain digitalisation: supplier-perceived digital capability asymmetry, buyer opportunism and governance

Son

Kim

Hur

et al. 2021

IJOPM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In our analyses, we found it both useful and impartial to turn opportunism into something to be established empirically instead of being assumed (cf. John, 1984; Lumineau & Oliveira, 2020). In the context of Indian Railways in particular, and risky long‐term contracting in general, we find it unfathomable that exchange partners would enter into a potentially long‐term relationship, but at the same time, assume that the other party is inclined to intentionally distort data and make self‐disbelieved promises.…”

Section: The Case Of Indian Railwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral dependency and supplier performance ambiguity in supply chain contracting: Evidence from the railroad industry

Bhardwaj

Ketokivi

2020

J of Ops Management

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Research on supply chain relationships tends to focus on power and asymmetric dependency. Our objective is to complement this by examining contractual challenges in the context of bilateral dependency. Our specific empirical focus is on how Indian Railways, one of the largest railroads in the world, manages warranty claims related to engine failures. Warranty resolution is complex, because failures typically involve the simultaneous failure of several engine subsystems provided by different suppliers, giving rise to supplier performance ambiguity. Through a combination of theoretical reflection rooted in transaction cost economics and an empirical analysis of Indian Railways' supply chain, we argue that in the case of bilateral dependency, “the benign approach” is more efficient than “the muscular approach,” to use Oliver Williamson's terminology. Specifically, while the latter is founded on unilateral decisions by the comparatively more powerful party, the former is based on voluntary long‐term cooperation, and calls for mutual credible commitments and joint problem‐solving. Additionally, we highlight that even if dependency is asymmetric at the outset, it can develop bilateral features over time. Theoretically, our research offers an enhanced understanding of trust in buyer–supplier relationships, emphasizing its organizational as opposed to personal basis.

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“…The methods used to evaluate and measure opportunistic behaviors at corporate enterprises for labor relations are discussed in detail in Popov and Ersh (2016); Pletnev and Kozlova (2020b). Lumineau and Oliveira (2019) carried out the detailed analysis of empirical studies of opportunism and proposed some solutions to improve the existing methods used to measure opportunism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%