Value synergy and value asymmetry in relationship marketing programs

Prior research advocates a positive, linear association between relationship investments and relationship performance. Our study challenges this conventional wisdom and advances the extant literature by investigating the potential curvilinear effects of suppliers' different relationship marketing programs (i.e., social, financial, and structural) on dyadic perceptions of relationship value. From an analysis of 113 buyer-supplier dyads, we found that social programs enhance relationship value synergy, but their effect on relationship value asymmetry between suppliers and buyers follows a U-shaped curve. On the other hand, we observe a positive and increasing returns-to-scale effect of financial programs on relationship value synergy and its inverted U-shaped association with supplier's relationship value asymmetry. Interestingly, structural programs increase relationship value synergy and have a stronger effect on increasing relationship value for the supplier than for the buyer. In addition, we find that structural programs are more effective in creating value in long-term relationships than in short-term relationships; therefore, as the relationship with a buying firm ages, managers should consider investing more in structural programs to develop their relationship. However, in long-term relationships, managers should avoid investing too much in financial programs because financial programs are less effective in increasing creation of relationship value as a relationship ages.     

Managing interdependencies in supplier networks

Building and managing a supplier base has been referred to in the literature as a key aspect of supplier management. Scholars have proposed a number of models aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of supplier network management, mainly based on a portfolio approach. In the IMP tradition of research, those models are often criticized as they ignore the interdependencies between the different existing dyadic relationships of a focal buyer company and its suppliers. Such interdependencies are the main focus of this paper, which has four objectives: (1) To analyze the types of relationships linking suppliers, (2) to understand the factors and dynamics underlying the creation and management of these relationships (3) to uncover existing links between buyer-supplier and supplier-supplier relationships, and (4) to clarify how different configurations of supplier relationship interactions impact on the performance of the actors involved. The paper discusses two empirical case studies, using the supplier networks of two focal buyer companies. We find that supplier interdependencies are mainly a by-product of the buyer-supplier dyads. Furthermore, the nature and dynamics of these dyads are a strong determinant of the scope and frequency of supplier connections and the corresponding effects on performance.     

Different roles of control mechanisms in buyer-supplier conflict: An empirical study from China

Using transaction cost economics and contemporary insights from the literature on relationship contracts as a base, this paper focuses on how control mechanisms (contracts and trust) affect relationship conflicts in buyer-supplier relationships, and investigates the moderating effects of environmental uncertainty. Based on a sample of 162 Chinese buyers, this paper shows that contracts have a U-shaped effect on destructive conflict and an inverted U-shaped effect on constructive conflict, while trust has a negative effect on destructive conflict and a positive effect on constructive conflict. In addition, environmental uncertainty strengthens the U-shaped effect of contracts on destructive conflict, but weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of contracts on destructive conflict and strengthens the effect of trust on both types of relationship conflict. Our findings reveal the “double-edged sword” nature of contracts, especially the “dark side”, and highlight the importance of trust in buyer-supplier relationships in contexts of environmental uncertainty. These findings also have important implications for buyer-supplier relationship management research and managerial practices, particularly in regard to governance structure and conflict management in dynamic contexts.     

Treat me well and I may leave you kindly: A configurational approach to a buyer's relationship exit strategy

Research shows that the choice of relationship exit strategy by the instigator of exit can have significant negative consequences for the party that is being dropped. In this study we focus on what we coin as kind exit, where the risk of harm to the supplier as a result of the buyer's relationship termination is low. In line with current research, which is suggesting that the characteristics of a buyer-supplier relationship play a critical role in the instigator's choice of exit strategy, we examine the link between the buyer's perception of its relationship with the supplier and the manner in which the buyer-supplier relationship ends. We posit that this phenomenon is causally complex and context dependent, and as such, there will be multiple types of buyer-supplier relationships that will lead to a kind exit. To uncover these types, we examine 315 terminated buyer-supplier relationships in manufacturing and service sectors in the UK, employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our results show that contrary to extant literature, there is not one relationship type that leads to a kind exit; instead, we uncover four alternative equifinal configurations of relationship dimensions and two exogenous factors.     

Business relationships on different waves: Paradigm shift and marketing orientation revisited

Relationships with customers, also referred to as inter-organizational relationships, are a growing theme in marketing. The increased interest in these concepts has triggered views that a paradigm shift from mass marketing toward relationship marketing has taken place over the last 20 years and that only a relationship orientation secures firms' success. In this paper, we promote the idea that relationships exist along different orientations and paradigms. We identify five different orientations and the logic of a buyer-supplier relationship in each of these waves. Furthermore, we argue for a dyadic view of orientation, i.e., the supplier orientation must match the buyer orientation in order to allow smooth interactions.     

基于共同演化范式的代工企业GVC升级机理研究与代工策略启示——基于二元关系的视角

GVC嵌入中的我国代工企业升级与伪升级命运迥然各异,其背后机理既有的理论缺乏解释,代工企业面临代工策略的决策困境。本文认为,二元关系的视角下代工企业的GVC升级命运,是代工能力建构与GVC知识治理共同演化的结果。基于共同演化范式,对多层次嵌入情境、初始条件、演化机理以及GVC升级或伪升级演化结果等进行了分析。结论认为,代工能力的专有性是升级演化的主要动力,其处于主导的条件下,适度进行关系专用性投资将起着助推升级的积极作用。但是,当代工能力处于专用性主导时,关系专用性投资将使代工企业进一步陷入伪升级泥潭。据此结论,为代工企业提出寻求GVC升级的相关代工策略与政策建议。     

Relationship stability, trust and relational risk in marketing channels: Evidence from China

This paper provides an integrated framework for examining effects of relationship stability and trust on relational risk and for exploring the moderating effects of guanxi on the relationships between trust and relational risk in marketing channels. The framework is tested with 225 dyads of questionnaires about buyer-supplier relationships in the Chinese household appliances sector. The results indicate that relationship length and dyadic solidarity can reduce the relational risk perceived by buyers through goodwill trust in their suppliers, but can increase the perceived relational risk through trust in their competence. Guanxi helps to weaken the positive relationship between a buyer's trust in suppliers' competence and its perceived relational risk, and dyadic solidarity can directly lower relational risk. This paper makes clear that buyers locked in a stable relationship will face relational risk, and it further identifies the specific variables which impact on the relational risk and the paths from which relational risk comes.     

Boundary spanner relational behavior and inter-organizational control in supply chain relationships

Boundary spanner relational behavior is considered critical in the successful management of buyer–supplier relationships and may help avoiding high costs of more formal inter-organizational controls. Yet, the influence of partners' boundary spanners on effective supply chain collaboration has had much less inquiry than the influence of broader inter-organizational controls. We use survey data of 200 buyer–supplier relationships to examine how these individual and organizational control mechanisms influence the performance effects of interfirm collaborations that vary in scope of activities undertaken. Findings show that collaboration scope as well as boundary spanner relational behavior and inter-organizational controls are positively associated with performance. The effect of collaboration scope on firm performance, however, also depends on both mechanisms but in opposite directions: while its influence on performance is enhanced by inter-organizational controls, relational behavior of partners' boundary spanners has a negative moderating effect, indicating that such behavior contributes more to the effective management of collaborations of narrow scope than those of broader scope.     

Examining institutional effects on B2B relationships through the lens of transitioning economies

Our study addresses the limited attention paid to the role of indigenous institutional environments in framing the legitimate forms of governance used to shape buyer-supplier exchanges. Drawing on institutional theory and marketing channel literature, the study suggests that the emphasis in buyer-supplier exchanges on communication modalities and norms has much to do with the effectiveness of legal systems in a buyer's country. Three contexts for legitimacy are conceptualized from an examination of exchanges in developed economies with strong formal institutions and transitioning economies with underdeveloped institutions. Using surveys of US buyers to represent strong formal institutional environments, we conclude that buyers heavily influenced by regulative enforcement place a relatively greater emphasis on formal information sharing in their partnership efforts to build trust and enhance supplier performance. From surveys of buyers in India and China, we conclude that buyers place a relatively greater emphasis on informal information sharing when their legitimacy derives from the endogenously enforced moral codes of their private networks. Finally, surveys administered in Brazil and Russia revealed that buyers in environments pressured by the familial loyalty practices of their private networks place a relatively greater emphasis on the norm of solidarity to build trust in their suppliers.     

Innovation Performance in New Product Development Teams in China's Technology Ventures: The Role of Behavioral Integration Dimensions and Collective Efficacy

In emerging markets, technology ventures increasingly rely on new product development (NPD) teams to generate creative ideas and to mold these innovative ideas into streams of new products or services. However, little is known about how behavioral integration (a behavioral team process) and collective efficacy (a motivational team process) jointly facilitate or inhibit team innovation performance in emerging markets—especially in China, the world's largest emerging‐market setting with collectivist and high power distance cultures. Drawing on social cognitive theory and behavioral integration research, this article elucidates the relationships between behavioral integration dimensions (i.e., collaborative behavior, information exchange, and joint decision‐making) and innovation performance and also examines how collective efficacy moderates these relationships in China's NPD teams. Results from a sample of 96 NPD teams in China's technology ventures reveal that information exchange is positively associated with innovation performance. Collaborative behavior positively but marginally influences innovation performance, whereas joint decision‐making does not relate to innovation performance. Moreover, collective efficacy demonstrates an important moderating role. Specifically, both collaborative behavior and joint decision‐making are more positively associated with innovation performance when collective efficacy is higher. In contrast, information exchange is less positively associated with innovation performance when collective efficacy is higher. This study makes important theoretical contributions to the literature on team innovation and behavioral integration in emerging markets by offering a better understanding of how behavioral and motivational team processes jointly shape innovation performance in China's NPD teams. This study also extends social cognitive theory by identifying collective efficacy as a boundary condition for the overall effectiveness of behavioral integration dimensions. In particular, this study highlights the condition under which behavioral integration dimensions facilitate or inhibit NPD team innovation performance in China.     

Social capital in buyer-supplier relationships: A review of antecedents,benefits, risks,and boundary conditions

The concept of social capital advocates that the goodwill available from relations is a valuable resource that can facilitate collective actions. Although social capital has recently gained momentum in the buyer-supplier relationship (BSR) literature, there is a surprising lack of consensus about its antecedents, benefits, risks, and boundary conditions in such relationships. To address this void, a systematic literature review of seventy articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2002 and 2018 was undertaken. The review identified and discusses two types of antecedents that can give rise to social capital in BSRs, namely intrafirm-level and relationship-level antecedents (i.e., structural and relational). It reveals that social capital can lead to a variety of benefits, in the form of direct performance improvements (e.g., operational) and relationship benefits (e.g., knowledge sharing), however that these benefits may vary depending on a number of boundary conditions in BSRs (e.g., contract specificity). The review also highlights that although social capital can generate benefits, it can also lead to risks that can undermine the performance and evolution of BSRs (e.g., reduced exploratory learning), suggesting a ‘double-edged sword’ effect. The paper concludes by summarizing current research gaps and outlining promising directions for future research.     

Legitimizing actions in dependence-asymmetry relationships: A comparison between Chinese and Western firms

To overcome the negative outcomes of dependence, disadvantaged parties in exchange relationships characterized by dependence asymmetry seek effective strategies to rebalance their dependence. Obtaining legitimacy in the eyes of the advantaged party through legitimizing actions is a novel way to influence the advantaged party's exchange and conflict management approaches toward the disadvantaged party. However, a disadvantaged party's preference between external and internal legitimizing actions varies across cultures because culture influence the character if the relationship management preference. Drawing on the individualism–collectivism framework, we argue that facing dependence asymmetry, a Chinese firm is more likely to seek legitimacy through external legitimizing actions than a Western firm. In contrast, a Western firm is more likely to seek legitimacy through internal legitimizing actions than a Chinese firm when facing dependence asymmetry. We also predict a positive relationship between legitimizing actions, both external and internal, and the disadvantaged party's performance. We test these hypotheses by collecting dyadic survey data of exchange partners in Chinese-owned and Western-owned firms. The results support most of our predictions. Theoretical and managerial implications for partners in dependence-asymmetric relationships are discussed based on these findings.     

The Dark Side of Team Social Cohesion in NPD Team Boundary Spanning

Although team boundary spanning is conducive to achieving new product (NP) competitive advantage, these actions may not always deliver the expected performance. The current study makes an initial attempt to examine factors that undermine team boundary spanning positive effects on NP competitive advantage by proposing and testing a negative moderating effect of team social cohesion on the relationship between team boundary spanning and NP competitive advantage. Furthermore, the current study expects team social cohesion to have a stronger negative moderating effect on the relationship between team boundary spanning and NP competitive advantage when external task interdependence and project newness are high than when they are low. Data for this study come from 140 NPD projects developed and commercialized by Spanish manufacturing firms in high‐ and medium‐high‐technology sectors. The study’s results reveal a positive effect of team boundary spanning on NP competitive advantage. Furthermore, high levels of team social cohesion are shown to reduce the positive effect of team boundary spanning on NP competitive advantage. Finally, we found that project newness and external task interdependence accentuate the negative moderating effect of team social cohesion on the relationship between team boundary spanning and NP competitive advantage. The current study makes several contributions to the literature. First, findings from this study give us new insights into the significance of team boundary spanning to the success of NPs by revealing that boundary‐spanning activities are beneficial to achieving NP competitive advantage. Second, the study departs from existing research in that it exposes a dark side of team social cohesion for NPD teams engaged in boundary spanning activities. Last, the study expands extant research by proposing and demonstrating that project newness and external task interdependence bring about situations in which external groups present a threat to the collective identity of socially cohesive groups.     

Does buyers' financial slack promote or inhibit suppliers' circular economy performance?

Extant research examining the link between slack resources and performance offers few insights into how buyer firms' financial slack influences suppliers' circular economy (CE) performance. We collect secondary data from 290 buyer-supplier dyads of listed firms in China during 2006–2018 from CSMAR database. Using panel data analysis, we find a nonlinear (U-shaped) relationship between them. In addition, some relationship-specific contextual factors, i.e., buyer power and technology capability, have positive moderating effects, while buyer-supplier geographical distance has negative moderating effects on the main U-shaped relationship. Our study contributes to the literature on the slack-performance debate confirming the CE performance effect of financial slack in the business-to-business (B2B) relationship.     

Unlocking the link between relationship duration and product De-listing in retail channels: The role of market orientation and brand diffusion

The literature on retailers' range rationalization is limited and focuses primarily on the consequences thereof from a consumer perspective. Drawing on the extant research on buyer-supplier relationships, brand management, and market orientation (MO) in business-to-business (B2B) markets, our research explores the antecedents of product de-listing in retail channels. It unlocks the link between relationship duration and product de-listing by examining the role of MO and brand diffusion. Using a combination of primary data with both objective and perceptual measures and proprietary objective data from a sample of suppliers to a large British supermarket, we find that the supplier's brand diffusion is an essential means of utilizing relationship duration between suppliers and retailers to reduce product de-listing in retail stores. Additionally, we find that MO plays opposite moderating roles in the links between relationship duration, brand diffusion, and product de-listing. It strengthens the negative influence of relationship duration on product de-listing, while it weakens the positive influence of relationship duration on brand diffusion. Our study contributes to research on marketing channels and B2B marketing by highlighting the limitations of relational view theory and unveiling the role of brand diffusion and MO in explaining the outcomes of buyer-supplier relationships in retail channels.     

Toward a typological view of buyer–supplier relationships: Challenging the unidimensional relationship continuum

Building on the configurational approach to buyer–supplier relationships (BSRs), we attempt to define a parsimonious framework for relationship integration to create a holistic understanding of relational configurations. Following the principles of typological theory building, this study aims to understand the mechanisms underlying relationship integration and type-specific performance. To that end, we use the relational governance theory to build a three-dimensional (economic, structural, and social) framework that distinguishes BSRs. Using the dimensions from previous BSR-typologies, we propose eight relational configurations, which we test against empirical data from 246 dyadic industrial BSRs. Our results show eight distinct BSR-configurations with varying levels of operational performance. Our work contributes to the BSR literature by providing a unified framework of relational configurations and by demonstrating the link between relational configurations and performance.     

Triadic embeddedness,sources of relational rents,and interfirm performance

Interorganizational research has largely ignored how dyadic relationships are embedded in a wider network context. Responding to this research gap, we study how triadic embeddedness – cooperating firms structurally and mutually embedded in a network of triads – affects the sources of relational rents and interfirm performance. Using a unique combination of interfirm network- and survey data, we find that triadic embeddedness affects two sources of relational rents – relationship learning and trust-based governance. Learning and trust-based governance, in turn, increase two indicators of interfirm performance – cost reductions and end-product enhancements. The study contributes to a broader understanding of the relational view by showing that triadic embeddedness has direct positive effects on the sources of relational rents and indirect positive effects on interfirm performance.     

Interpersonal guanxi and partner extra-role behavior: Mediating role of relational and transactional governance strategy

This paper identifies interpersonal guanxi between boundary spanners as an individual-level antecedent of partner firms' extra-role behavior (ERB) in interfirm relationships. Drawing on interfirm governance and the guanxi literature, we propose that guanxi between boundary spanners at the operational level may promote partner firms' ERB through two governance strategies: interfirm trust and relationship-specific investment. We analyze 268 pairs of sales managers and salespeople in a variety of industries in China, and we find that guanxi between boundary spanners positively affects partner firms' ERB and that this positive relationship is strengthened by interfirm ownership homogeneity. Moreover, the relationship is mediated by interfirm trust and relationship-specific investment, and the mediation effect of interfirm trust is stronger than that of relationship-specific investment. These findings provide new insights into the relationship marketing and guanxi literature by highlighting the effects of guanxi between operational-level boundary spanners on partner firms' ERB.     

The relationship between buyer and a B2B e-marketplace: Cooperation determinants in an electronic market context

“Stop thinking like a supplier and start thinking as a customer.”

The authors argue that cooperation may be achieved by augmenting the core product with technology-based services. Given the growing importance of real time information exchange and interactivity, a better understanding of the use of technology to the establishment and development of the buyer-supplier cooperative relationships is essential for knowledge advancement. This paper argues that firms should aim to put themselves into their customers' shoes and use the “voice of the customer” to take their major relationship management decisions. To do so, the authors use a sample of nearly 400 SMEs' purchasing managers, to better understand cooperation determinants from the buyers' perspective. The study reveals that in an electronic marketplace, cooperation is positively affected by termination costs, supplier relationship policies and practices, communication and information exchange, and negatively affected by product prices and opportunistic behavior. Moreover, both relationship commitment and trust play a major role in mediating the relationships between these five determinants and cooperation. Surprisingly, resources relationship benefits do not show a significant impact on either commitment or cooperation. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Perceptual gaps and similarities in buyer-seller dyadic relationships

The research aims to develop a conceptual framework to explore dyadic relationships across a range of industries, involving firms of different size (Medium Sized Enterprise (MSE) suppliers and Multinational Enterprise (MNE) buyers). The purpose is to explore dyadic views of three different relationship durations, identify where perceptual gaps may exist at the various stages, and address these in order to improve relational exchange. A triangulated methodology is implemented with data initially obtained from fifty-four dyads. These findings suggest: a) similar views are associated with the performance and importance attached to four relationship dimensions measured, b) significant perceptual differences are more apparent in shorter term relationships, c) overall suppliers have stronger views of the relationship, and d) relationships may not necessarily follow a linear development path over time. Three case studies offer qualitative insights, several managerial implications are extracted, and a strategic matrix developed related to the management of different typologies of relationship exchange.