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The purpose of this paper is to develop a meta-model that systematically aggregates and organizes research on “partner selection” in interorganizational relationships (IORs), which is scattered across several disciplines, to help future researchers explore various aspects of this control mechanism in a more consistent manner. This paper also aims at critically reviewing each aspect of this control mechanism examined in the prior literature and identifying important research trends.

This paper conducts a comprehensive review and in-depth analysis of the key theoretical and empirical research findings on partner selection in IORs by identifying 172 papers across 46 journals that specifically discuss this control mechanism. A meta-model approach is adopted to review and identify the shortcomings in extant research and provide guidance to future researchers on exploring unanswered research questions. Moreover, maps are constructed using the Luft and Shields’s (2003) approach to graphically present the causal-model forms examined in this topic area.

This meta-model shows how the research on partner selection in IORs is scattered across different disciplines, resulting in its inconsistent evolution with researchers, in many cases, not being able to effectively synthesize contributions from fields that are not their own or not closely allied. The causal-model forms also enable rapid tracing of what has been researched.

There has been considerable research on control mechanisms in IORs till date. However, “partner selection,” which is an important control mechanism, has received little attention and is often neglected. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to develop a meta-model to consolidate knowledge on this topic that is important for further advancement of research.

This paper aims to identify purchasing-related costs through the prism of transaction costs and costs of purchasing management activity.

The authors conducted a survey among 150 medium and large manufacturing companies in the chemical, automotive and electromechanical industries operating in Central and Eastern European countries. The collected data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis.

The studied companies carry out an integrated purchasing-related cost system. The authors found a statistical significance of the covariances between the pretransaction, transaction and post-transaction costs. In addition, costs that are of particular importance in long-term purchasing transactions were identified. Moreover, the authors identified the costs of quality and support actions as the most significant.

This research details the discussion of costs with consideration for the insights of managers of medium-sized and large companies.

The paper contributes to the knowledge of purchasing-related costs through the lens of the total cost of ownership that influences the purchasing management and the decisions within the buyer-supplier relationship.

The absorptive capacity (AC) leads to firm performance and influences the development and evolution of capabilities and routines, but the influence of AC in projects remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of AC on project performance (PP) in the construction industry of Sao Paulo State, Brazil.

The authors conducted a survey questionnaire with project managers and collected 157 responses in the construction sector. They also used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple linear regression techniques to assess the data.

The study provides empirical evidence that realized absorptive capacity (RAC) has a direct and indirect positive effect on PP. Conversely, the potential absorptive capacity (PAC) only indirectly impacts PP through project management practices (PMPs). PAC and RAC positively influence PMPs that in turn positively influence PP. The findings reinforce the relevance of AC to the development of internal knowledge for processes and routines, thereby enhancing PP.

The findings provide practical implications: the AC influences PP by refining and adapting routines. Moreover, the consistent application of accepted practices is not enough for PP, but the ability to adapt, adjust and transform the relevant knowledge into routines.

This paper provides empirical evidence that the knowledge application of PMPs improves organizational performance through PP. However, despite what the literature has discussed, this paper proved that AC has no effect as a moderating factor between PMPs and performance; however, AC's role significantly impacts PP through PMPs.

The paper tests if and to what extent lean management system adoption generates abnormal profitability, and how it accrues over time. Configurational approaches to lean management systems and “S-curve” effects in lean implementation are used to ground the paper's hypotheses and interpret its findings.

Using the emerging view of lean as enterprise-wide management systems, this quasi-experimental study uses a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the abnormal profitability (ROIC) attributable to lean management system adoption. The paper leverages a unique data set of lean adopters nested in a panel data set (19 years) of 2,088 industrial firms matched by industry and firm size. It applies a variety of regression methods (two-way fixed effect panel estimator, propensity score matching, instrumental variable two-stage-least squares) to estimate the size of the abnormal profitability attributable to lean management systems, addressing endogeneity issues related to non-random sampling, omitted variable bias and reverse causation. It also analyzes the cross-firm variability of such abnormal profitability and how it accrues over time.

For the average non-adopter in the sample (44.3 million euro revenues), lean adoption generates abnormal ROIC ranging from 1.4% to 3.9%. These results come into effect approximately three years after starting lean adoption and peak after eight years. While the average abnormal profitability attributable to lean adoption is sizable, it varies significantly across firms and over time. This significant variation is compatible with firms' diverse ability to understand the complex inner workings of lean systems, and to design and implement them so that they improve profitability.

The conceptualization of lean as enterprise-wide management system can be further refined to more effectively categorize the components of lean systems and investigate the nature of their relationships. Lean system adoption measurement can be fine-tuned to better capture cross-firm and longitudinal heterogeneity. Future work can explore other dependent variables of interest to different stakeholders including shareholders' value, employment and environmental and social sustainability.

The financial benefits of adopting lean can be reaped to the extent to which managers embrace lean as a philosophy and implement it pervasively in the organization. A firm can use the study's estimates as a basis for making calculations about the returns of investment in lean adoption. The paper also shows that “getting the lean system right” makes a significant difference in terms of abnormal profitability, which is twice as large for the best lean adopters..

Compared with the promises of many lean proponents and supporters, the paper provides a more realistic view of what to expect from lean adoption in terms of profitability. Adopting lean as a comprehensive, enterprise-wide management system is not a universal panacea, but a complex endeavor, characterized by multiple complex decisions that require considerable capabilities, coordinated efforts and consistency of action.

Differently from extant research, this study does not study the correlation between the adoption of lean operation practices and financial performance but focuses on the abnormal profitability generated by the adoption of lean as a pervasive, enterprise-wide management system. Its research design allows to identify the differential profitability attributable to lean adoption and documents that it accrues non-linearly.

To take full advantage of new technologies (e.g. machine learning), a consistent and more comprehensive knowledge sharing across organisational boundaries is required. The real estate industry often faces this challenge as well. The paper aims to approach this circumstance by analysing the real estate supply chain (RESC) and aims to identify ways to achieve a more disruption-free flow of information.

To answer the research question, a cross-sectional study was conducted using a standardised online questionnaire and structural equation modelling. The majority of the study participants came from German-speaking countries. The structural equation model was used to examine the relationships between the factors inter-organisational relationship, knowledge sharing skills and knowledge sharing.

The authors found that inter-organisational relationship has a significant influence on knowledge sharing and thus on the occurrence of information flow disruptions. Aligning shared goals of parties plays a major role to improve inter-organisational relationship. Control and supervision does not show any significant effect. Knowledge sharing skills in turn have an influence on knowledge sharing.

The alignment of interests and the creation of trust should be established in the future as core elements within the framework of contract negotiations, the lived contract and the contract itself, in order to reduce disruptions in the flow of information.

From the perspective of knowledge sharing, this study attempts to identify necessities within the framework of contractual design options that simplify and promote the inter-organisational use of algorithms to increase transactional efficiency.

This paper aims to propose mechanisms of the dark side of interorganizational relationships from a social psychological perspective. The purpose is to understand the role of boundary spanners’ social psychological processes that may trigger the dark side effects.

Multple mechanisms are developed through three social psychological theories, namely, social identity theory, system justification theory and social learning theory.

Boundary spanners’ social psychological processes can trigger the dark side of interorganizational relationships via mechanisms such as excessive cooperation, reification, system justification and path dependence in learning.

This paper concludes with a discussion that offers a new perspective on research on dark side effects and the managerial implications of the present analysis.

This paper contributes to the current literature by extending the interpersonal social psychological processes that could explain the dark side of interorganizational relationships. This paper is a step forward to answer the calls for multilevel considerations of the dark side effects and inspire future research on the role of social psychological processes in dark side effects.

Trust is an important facilitator of successful B2B relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate affect-based antecedents of both interpersonal and interorganizational trust, and their impact on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The authors ask two research questions: (1) What are affect-based dimensions of interpersonal and interorganizational trust? (2) How do interpersonal and interorganizational trust influence buyers’ operational performance?

The authors use data from an original survey of 156 buyer–supplier relationships between multinational enterprise subsidiaries and local suppliers in the Thai manufacturing sector to develop a structural model in which the authors test the hypotheses.

Consistent with social exchange theory and social psychology, the empirical analysis shows that affect-based dimensions at the individual level, namely, likeability, similarity and frequent social contact, and at the organizational level, namely, supplier firm willingness to customize and institutionalization of cooperation, are important for establishing trust. In addition, interpersonal trust enhances buyers’ operational performance indirectly via interorganizational trust.

Buying and selling firms may develop organizational trust by developing processes that enhance organizational trust. Individuals with purchasing or sales responsibilities may enhance trust in their personal relationship. However, such interpersonal trust needs to be translated to the organizational level to benefit organizational performance.

The findings contribute to the literature on affect-based antecedents and outcomes of trust. Specifically, the authors offer theory and empirical evidence regarding the contribution of salespersons toward affect-based dimensions of trust and its impact on buyer’s operational performance.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between absorptive capacity, relational capital and interorganizational relationship performance and examine the moderating effect of contractual governance on this relationship.

This study used a quantitative design, analyzing data collected through a survey questionnaire. The sampling frame consisted of 111 cross-industry, small and medium-sized manufacturers in Malaysia. The research model was analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results show that interorganizational relationship performance is positively influenced by relational capital and absorptive capacity. While absorptive capacity has a positive effect on relational capital, this study finds empirical evidence that contractual governance weakens the effect of absorptive capacity on relational capital. Furthermore, this study also examines the hitherto under-researched moderating effect of contractual government on absorptive capacity and relational capital and their relationship with interorganizational relationship performance.

This study provides insights into the interorganizational relationship among SMEs and explains the nature of knowledge management in this context. This study shows the potential role of absorptive capacity in building close cross-border interorganizational relationships.

This study aims to investigate the determinant factors as barriers and facilitators of the B2B degree of digital use and customer–brand engagement in travel services by applying technology and behavioral theories.

A face-to-face survey was administered to retail travel agencies offering offline and online services (N = 301). Structural equation modeling using the partial least square method was conducted using Smart PLS 3.0 software to examine the proposed hypotheses in the research model.

The results revealed that the integrated composite model significantly predicts the B2B degree of digital use and brand engagement. The study established that facilitators had positive effects, and barriers negatively impacted the degree of digital use, which positively impacted brand engagement. However, the facilitator perceived cost and barrier lack of critical mass showed the opposite influence. The effects of facilitator customer pressure and barriers, information and communication technology infrastructure problems and security risks were insignificant. The results also established that the buyer firm size moderated the relationships between barriers and facilitators with the degree of digital use.

This study combined technology and behavioral theories to explain the buyer–seller relationship. The expanded framework contributed to understanding B2B digital usages and brand engagement in the seller–intermediary relationship. This study conceptualized firm size as a contingency variable and established its moderating effect. The study defined cost as a formative construct and an organizational factor. The study suggested practical implications for travel agencies and online travel service sellers.

This article aims to examine the influence of emotional intelligence on cross-functional teams, the formation of interorganizational networks and the impact of all three dimensions on operational effectiveness.

The analysis was based on 250 valid questionnaires collected from organizations in the Valle del Cauca region in Colombia in the service sector. The variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify their relationships.

The results suggest that emotional intelligence contributes to establishing cross-functional teams but does not impact the development of interorganizational networks, influencing operational effectiveness only indirectly through the cross-functional teams. Contrary to what the literature suggests, interorganizational networks do not influence the operational effectiveness of organizations. Hence, in the pursuit of competitive advantage, companies in the studied region should encourage the creation of cross-functional teams within their organizations to maximize the returns received through the optimization of operational effectiveness.

Organizations are comprised of individuals whose emotional intelligence competencies and abilities enable them to form effective cross-functional teams. Furthermore, cross-functional teams that effectively establish relationships with other organizations are frequently employed in global, interorganizational collaboration environments like joint ventures and alliances. Cross-functional teams that fulfill their aims have the potential to benefit the organization's performance by boosting operational effectiveness and, therefore, its competitiveness.

The value of this article lies in providing a better understanding of the capabilities and strategies of organizations in the construction of interorganizational networks intended to improve their competitiveness. However, before operational effectiveness and a sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved, the role of the individuals comprising the cross-functional teams should be managed through the appropriate application of the concepts of emotional intelligence.