TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic options available to a weaker actor to counteract the dominance of a stronger actor in a buyer-supplier relationship, and identifies those factors that influence the choice of individual options. Design/methodology/approach– Following a systematic literature review methodology, a five-phase approach of planning, searching, screening, extraction and synthesis was rigorously employed. In total, 48 studies were used to draw conclusions about the phenomena of interest. Findings– Captured in an integrated conceptual framework, this study identified five strategic options available to the weaker actor in order to counteract a power dominance of a stronger player, which were underpinned by seven influencing factors. Research limitations/implications– The proposed conceptual framework requires first qualitative empirical validation using an abductive multi-case strategy, followed by a theory testing phase, employing a configurational approach. Practical implications– The proposed framework suggested that the weaker actor in a buyer-supplier relationship has five options to address power dominance. These options were available within as well as beyond a focal dyadic relationship. For the stronger actor, the authors showed that power dominance is a temporary state rather than permanent. Originality/value– This study marks one of the first attempts to present a coherent set of strategic options and underpinning factors to counteract power dominance in a buyer-supplier relationship from the perspective of a weaker actor. Given the underexplored nature of the topic, the study also provides guidelines for further research. VL - 45 IS - 1/2 SN - 0960-0035 DO - 10.1108/IJPDLM-05-2013-0138 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-05-2013-0138 AU - Habib Farooq AU - Bastl Marko AU - Pilbeam Colin ED - Professor Maria Jesus Saenz ED - Dr Xenophon Koufteros PY - 2015 Y1 - 2015/01/01 TI - Strategic responses to power dominance in buyer-supplier relationships: A weaker actor’s perspective T2 - International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 182 EP - 203 Y2 - 2024/04/19 ER -