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Buyer’s dependence on its key supplier for critical resources and capabilities is generally considered as creating a disadvantageous position for the buyer and undermining its business performance. This study aims to invoke arguments from resource dependence theory (RDT) to examine if this adverse effect of buyer’s dependence is moderated by the buyer’s absorptive capacity and a long-term relationship with the key supplier.

Using a data set drawn from 204 manufacturing firms in Australia, this study tested the proposed model using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

The finding shows that buyer’s dependence on its key supplier by itself has no significant effect on the buyer’s business performance. However, the link between buyer’s dependence on its key supplier and performance is positively moderated by the level of the buyer’s absorptive capacity, as well as by the joint effect of buyer’s absorptive capacity and a long-term relationship with the key supplier.

As buyer’s dependence is often difficult to avoid, the finding of this study is instructive in showing managers how to strategically mitigate the effect of their firm’s dependence on a key supplier; indeed, turn it into a positive outcome.

This is the first study, which integrates the internal and external resources in mitigating the effect of buyer’s dependence on the supplier.

Power is central to inter-organizational relationships. The literature distinguishes between structural power (i.e. dependence) and behavioral power (i.e. use of power), yet few studies considered them simultaneously. Opportunism is generally linked to use of power, but it remains unclear whether use of power deters or invites opportunism. In this study, the authors treat dependence as a driver of use of power and opportunism as its outcome, and empirically test relationships among dependence, power, and opportunism from both buyer and supplier perspectives. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study examines how buyer and supplier dependence influence the other’s and their own use of coercive and non-coercive power, which lead to opportunism of two parties, based on data from 240 companies in China on their perceived relationships with major suppliers.

Results show that buyer/supplier dependence is positively related to supplier’s/buyer’s use of coercive and non-coercive power. Buyer’s and supplier’s use of coercive power also positively influences their opportunism. Buyer’s use of non-coercive power is negatively related to both partners’ opportunism, whereas supplier’s use of non-coercive power is not significantly related to either partner’s opportunism.

This study contributes to literature in two ways. First, the authors distinguish the structural aspect of power from its behavioral aspect and demonstrate that dependence, which represents structural power, generates different patterns of influence on use of coercive and non-coercive power when considered from buyer’s and supplier’s perspectives. Second, the authors reexamine relationships between use of power and opportunism and show that buyers and suppliers react differently to use of different types of power.

This study aims to investigate how the relationship factors, including equity, shared responsibility and relationship dependence leverage the value co-creation. The research studies the value co-creation process in a business-to-business (B2B) context between suppliers and customers and provides empirical evidence of the underlying effects.

Using social exchange theory, the research uses a mixed-method of in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys. The sample of the survey has 123 business customers.

The findings suggest that equity not only positively affects but also mediates the effect of shared responsibility on value co-creation. The mediation effect is further moderated by the relationship dependence that buyers have on the seller.

The cross-sectional survey used cannot establish causality relationships. Although the goal was not to establish causality, it could limit the rigor of the study. The longitudinal design could be used in the future to better address this deficiency. While the paper is the initial step to analyze the factors influencing value co-creation empirically, more studies could examine other commonly discussed constructs.

This empirical study enriches the value co-creation literature by examining the antecedents’ detailed mechanism that facilitates value co-creation in a B2B context.

In 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.

Using 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.

The 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.

So 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.

To examine the conditions under which the proposed benefits of collaboration between a firm and its suppliers will occur.

This paper examines buyer‐supplier relationships from the point of view of the buying firm. The paper is based on a Swiss sample of OEM‐supplier relationships. The research question is empirically tested employing a sample of 135 Swiss buyer‐supplier relationships and using structured equation modelling as well as multi‐group comparison to test for quasi‐moderation effects. In this paper it is investigated under which condition collaboration with key suppliers is beneficial for buyers. By linking collaboration with key performance measures and contrasting its effects with relational constructs like trust and dependence it is hoped to add to the growing literature on inter‐organizational relationships in supply chain contexts.

The results demonstrate that supplier collaboration has a positive effect on buyer performance both in terms of innovative capability and financial results. As expected, trust and dependence play an important role in supplier relationships.

This research is based on a single country (Switzerland) multi‐industry study. Generalizability to other industries or countries may be limited.

Supplier relationships need governance modes that balance control and relational elements. Relationship controlling is an important element in building successful supplier relationships. In order to be able to reap the benefits of collaboration for the entire company, the purchasing department needs incentives that support relationship building. Managers leading a purchasing department can learn what structural elements and processes are necessary to obtain optimal benefits from their supply base.

From a manager's viewpoint, this paper will provide additional insight into when and how collaboration can improve financial performance, enhance innovation, and reduce transaction costs..

Major crises such as the global financial crisis 2007–08 or the COVID-19 crisis increase the level and likelihood of supplier financial distress. This research expands the understanding of how cooperatively, respectively, uncooperatively buying firms might respond to suppliers who suffer from financial distress in the course of major crises.

The authors build on a collaborative project with a German automotive OEM, analyze OEM internal “financial quick check data”, questionnaire data and longitudinal supplier financial data and apply regression, mediation and difference-in-difference estimation analyses.

The results show that the stronger the dependence on the distressed supplier, the more cooperative the buying firm's response. Furthermore, a more cooperative response of the buying firm has a strong positive influence on the suppliers' financial performance and hence recovery from the distress situation. Insights from supplier financial distress in the course of the financial crisis 2007–2008 can serve as learnings for the COVID-19 crisis.

The study fills a gap in the scholarly literature on “response to risk incidents” and response formation. Resource dependence theory and resource dependence dynamics offer a strong rationale for the type of response buying firms are likely to choose.

Besides offering the first menu of response options, this study can help practitioners in figuring out the most appropriate response to distressed suppliers. The findings can assist buying firms in their decisions how to deal with suppliers during major economic and financial crises.

This research is the first to conceptualize buying firms' response options to financially distressed suppliers, to investigate the influence of dependence on buying firm's response and to reveal the consequences of the buying firm's response for the supplier's financial recovery.

The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a methodology to evaluate suppliers using portfolio analysis based on the analytical network process (ANP) and environmental factors.

The authors develop a three‐step process, first by evaluating influence/power and performance scores of suppliers using ANP. They include environmental dimensions in this analysis, then map these suppliers onto a portfolio grid. Recommendations are also made on how to manage suppliers depending on what part of the portfolio they appear based on the scores.

The technique is useful and versatile. The paper clearly discerns various characteristics of the suppliers and produced recommendations on supplier management for an exemplary case scenario.

The technique was applied for an illustrative example. Validation and application in a real world setting is required. There are many additional opportunities to further integrate other modeling tools into this process.

Managers can use this technique to help them more effectively deal with suppliers. The portfolio is a good tool for operational and strategic management of suppliers.

This tool is the first to apply ANP to supplier portfolio analysis. It is also the first tool to integrate and apply the portfolio supplier management approach to an environmentally oriented decision environment.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a RELQUAL‐construct and to test its impact on satisfaction in Norwegian business relationships.

This study is based upon a survey and random sample of small and medium‐sized companies in Norway. Initially, respondents were contacted by phone and a total of 581 surveys were mailed. A total of 212 surveys were returned, a response rate of 36.5 percent.

Two principal findings are: business relationships characterized by commitment/continuity and coordination/cooperation indicate a higher degree of a company's perceived satisfaction of the supplier; and business relationships characterized by opportunism/distrust and dependence indicate a lower degree of a company's perceived satisfaction of the supplier.

The RELQUAL‐construct and its impact on satisfaction in business relationships appears to be accurate for those Norwegian business relationships studied, but only further work in examining other companies will verify its universal applicability if it is to be seen as a valid and reliable measurement for other companies' business relationships too. Suggestions for further research are provided.

This study is of managerial interest to executives since it provides a framework of dimensions to be considered in corporate efforts in maintaining satisfactory levels of relationship quality in business relationships.

The RELQUAL‐construct makes a contribution to theory since it proposes a higher order‐construct and measurement instrument for the benefit of other researchers and practitioners in the field.

This work aims at integrating materials management with project management in the context of manufacturing of complex products which require a variety of items. To achieve this, we propose two prioritization measures of items: material criticality (MC) at activity level and overall criticality (OC) at project level by incorporating project network characteristic through activity criticality (AC) values.

The costs or penalties which determine criticality of items are hidden in nature and are difficult to measure and model mathematically. Hence, Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), which captures experts’ tacit knowledge in the form of linguistic If‐Then rules has been used.

OC obtained can be used as a measure to prioritize items for procurement aligned with on‐site build strategy and as a surrogate measure of shortage cost coefficient for inventory models. The analyses of output to observe the effect of AC on OC values of items, clearly demonstrate the novelty and importance of incorporating project network characteristics in materials management decision making.

In this work, we are able to leverage managerial tacit knowledge derived through years of experience and convert it into a readily usable quantitative parameter OC for prioritization of items to be procured. For identifying the input parameters for OC, we brought in the new perspective of including project network characteristics to align materials and project management.

The work presented in this article is part of an action research project carried out in collaboration between Bang & Olufsen (B&O) and the Center for Industrial Production (CIP) of Aalborg University. The aim of the project is to investigate how end‐manufacturers can source new technology via innovative NPD‐related supplier relationships. Whereas prior work on buyer‐supplier relationships is dominated by a product‐oriented view, the present research has adopted a resource‐based (competence) view to develop a framework to guide companies in developing and handling competence‐based relationships with technology suppliers. The framework suggests four different types of inter‐organisational competence development, two of which will be illustrated using empirical data obtained through two in‐depth case studies of innovative partnership projects between B&O and some of its sub‐suppliers.