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The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of cooperative purchasing on buyers’ purchasing power. Purchasing in the humanitarian sector has traditionally been characterized by a low level of coordination due to inter-agency competition for funding, diverging mandates and other organizational differences. Relationships with commercial suppliers have also remained arm's-length and often dormant due to high levels of uncertainty and strict public procurement rules and regulations. However, recent pushes for increased efficiency and effectiveness are driving humanitarian agencies toward cooperative purchasing – a purchasing strategy that is claimed to be highly beneficial for members of the purchasing consortium not least for its ability to increase buyers’ purchasing power. In reality, the effectiveness of the strategy in increasing purchasing power is unclear.

The authors study a single case of several humanitarian organizations aiming to increase their leverage in buying freight forwarding services by joining forces.

Following several incidents during the process, the cooperative purchasing initiative did not contribute to increased power in the case. It was found that in addition to increased volumes, the effect of the strategy on other sources of power such as interconnections is also of importance.

The research is limited to the boundaries of a single case study including the perceptive view of respondents interviewed.

The findings of the study provide insights for organizations aiming to practice cooperative purchasing.

The findings of the study provide insights for organizations aiming to practice cooperative purchasing.

Firms are subject to power from both upstream and downstream partners; those partners may have different or even opposing impacts on supply chain relationships and financial performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate how upstream and downstream dependence structures affect a firm's financial performance through upstream and downstream relational depth (DEP) and relationship extendedness (EXT).

Data representing both upstream and downstream supply chain perspectives was collected using a multiple-respondent survey and was further augmented using financial performance data from an archival database.

Dependence advantages (ADVs) and disadvantages from upstream and downstream partners affect relational mechanisms and firm performance differently. Only downstream ADV will enhance a firm's DEP and EXT and subsequently affect firm's revenue and profit. Contradictory to widely held belief, the results reveal that firms that maintain long-term relationships with buyers and suppliers may experience lower revenue/profit.

This research represents a significant step in understanding the economic ramifications of dependence by (1) highlighting the difference between upstream and downstream supply chain dependence structure and (2) understanding the indirect effects of dependence structure on financial performance.

Purpose – Interorganizational cost management among companies can lead to significant cost reductions. However, the determinants of the implementation and long-term use of open book accounting as a tool in interorganizational cost management still remain unclear. We contribute to the academic literature by examining the influence of different determinants on the propensity to use open book accounting.

Design/methodology/approach – We conduct an experiment and use a covariance-based structural equation model to analyze the influence of the amount of the initially offered cost information, the offer of a relation-specific asset, and the relative power structure. The model introduced in this paper also integrates aspects of user acceptance that are derived from the Technology Acceptance Model.

Findings – The results demonstrate that both groups of variables have a significant effect on the willingness to use open book accounting. We also show that users of a management device are influenced in their choice by the perceived ease of use of the instrument; yet the extent to which open book accounting can help them achieve their goals (perceived usefulness) has an even stronger influence.

Research limitations/implications – Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the determinants that lead to the successful implementation of open book accounting as an interorganizational cost management tool, and help companies to avoid pitfalls during the implementation process.

Originality/value – This is the first study to analyze the simultaneous influence of different situational and attitudinal determinants on the propensity to engage in interorganizational cost information exchange.

Power has become an important contextual factor in electronic commerce adoption. Persuading trading partners can mean using persuasive power. Hence, the way power is used to influence trading partners will determine the extent to which trust is encouraged during the adoption and integration process. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impact of power in EDI adoption. The findings of a case study within an automotive manufacturer indicate that negative (coercive) power left smaller suppliers in a situation of uncertainty, and even conflict, whereas positive (persuasive) power resulted in open communications between smaller suppliers and their buyers, thus building trading partner trust and long‐term trading relationships.

The purpose of this viewpoint is to analyze the emergence of a modified equilibrium in the relationship between buyers (“shippers”) and suppliers (“providers”) of logistical services. In the 1990s, the logistical service providers (LSPs) had relatively little power and were often asked to perform basic operations. The situation has evolved as a result of proactive strategies implemented by some forward-thinking LSPs. In this viewpoint, the emphasis is on the strategies developed by shippers which the authors labeled the “ramp effect”.

The authors discuss the impact of the ramp effect on LSPs’ innovation processes. This viewpoint is based on the authors’ experience in the field, on a literature review focused on the logistics industry and on the purchasing strategies applied to logistical services.

The authors show that the buyers of logistical services have lost some of their power because of two main factors: LSPs’ embeddedness in the shipper’s supply chain and the transformation of LSPs into orchestrators (labeled fourth-party logistics). This viewpoint discusses the relational disequilibrium between shippers and LSPs rather than the cooperative relationships between them.

The ramp effect as a source of innovation and proactive strategies for LSPs has never been covered in the management literature. This viewpoint provides both academics and practitioners with a different perspective of the relational disequilibrium between buyers and sellers of logistical services.

To provide an overview of research published in the management accounting literature on methods for cost management in new product development, such as a target costing, life cycle costing, component commonality, and modular design.

The structured literature search covered papers about 15 different cost management methods published in 40 journals in the period 1990–2013.

The search yielded a sample of 113 different papers. Many contained information about more than one method, and this yielded 149 references to specific methods. The number of references varied strongly per cost management method and per journal. Target costing has received by far the most attention in the publications in our sample; modular design, component commonality, and life cycle costing were ranked second and joint third. Most references were published in Management Science; Management Accounting Research; and Accounting, Organizations and Society. The results were strongly influenced by Management Science and Decision Science, because cost management methods with an engineering background were published above average in these two journals (design for manufacturing, component commonality, modular design, and product platforms) while other topics were published below average in these two journals.

The scope of this review is accounting research. Future work could review the research on cost management methods in new product development published outside accounting.

The paper centers on methods for cost management, which complements reviews that focused on theoretical constructs of management accounting information and its use.

The purpose of this paper is to examine what kind of supplier relationship management activities can be seen as value-creating activities and how those might affect the buyer’s dependence on its suppliers. Power and dependence provide specific insights into the supplier relationship management and value creation in supply chains.

The study utilizes a survey data with 165 cases collected in Finland. The concepts are tested by means of regression analysis.

The findings of the study indicate that the value-creating activities of inter-firm learning and early supplier involvement increase buyer’s dependence, but a supplier orientation does not have similar effects.

The results have implications for supply chain managers and practitioners in terms of shedding light on the approaches of dependence and value creation at the same time. Managers need to understand the factors that create dependence, but which also have a substantial influence on value creation in supply chains and networks.

The literature review reveals that the supply chain situations in which the supplier is strategically important and its role in the value-creation process is significant, and when the buyer is dependent on the supplier, have rarely been discussed. Moreover, by focusing on the supplier relationship management activities that can be seen as value-creating activities and by combining this to the dependence perspective, this study aims to narrow the research gap identified from the previous research.

A firm's ability to cascade sustainability requirements further down to lower-tier suppliers might be affected by inter-firm power relations. This study aimed to identify the power sources of focal firms and first- and lower-tier suppliers and to investigate how they may affect their ability to cascade sustainability requirements along multi-tier supply chains.

A multiple case study of 24 companies was conducted to investigate the sources of power in multi-tier supply chains. In total, 42 informants from five focal companies, ten first-tier suppliers and nine lower-tier suppliers were interviewed.

Differences were found between the sources from which focal firms and first- and lower-tier suppliers drew power. Findings revealed that firms' power sources may increase or impair their ability to cascade sustainability requirements to lower supply chain tiers. Furthermore, multi-tier supply chain-level power sources constitute a significant determinant of firms' ability to disseminate sustainability requirements to lower-tier suppliers.

The results can help companies and purchasing managers understand how their own and suppliers' power may affect their ability to cascade sustainability agendas to lower-tier suppliers. In particular, the results can be useful for supplier selection and the development of supplier relationship management strategies for fostering sustainability in multi-tier supply chains.

This study places traditional power perspectives in the context of multi-tier sustainable supply chain management, broadening the view beyond dyadic relationships that have traditionally been the focus of the supply management literature.

Despite numerous examples of benefits when adapting supplier relationship management in the manufacturing industry, the construction industry still lags behind in such areas as long‐term relationships with suppliers and continuous cost‐reductions. This may be because the characteristics of the construction industry differ from those of the manufacturing industry due to their project‐based structure, its inherent tendency for sub‐optimization and the vast number and variety of suppliers. The purpose of this study is to identify criteria for achieving efficient contractor‐supplier relations in the construction industry and for large contractors.

The paper draws on the literature on efficiency and differentiation of efficient buyer‐supplier relationships as well as a two‐year case study based on participatory observations and interviews with strategic purchasers at a large Swedish contractor.

As it is not always possible to increase efficiency in the interface‐related value‐creating processes by only aiming the development and improvement efforts directly at these processes, relationship enablers such as total cost focus, aligned core values as well as willingness and capability for collaboration and development must first be in place. In order to achieve this, the contractor has to adopt a long‐term orientation towards the relationship with the suppliers, which is a decision for the management to make.

Drawing from the findings, this paper elucidates the connection between increased efficiency and input variables in the contractor‐supplier relationship, which might be difficult for contractors to see. Furthermore, contractors need to take responsibility over their own processes in order to be an attractive customer to the supplier.

Even though research within construction has focused on relations between different actors, mostly client and contractor, this paper widens the perspective and takes a grasp of the relationship between contractor and supplier.

Identifies three schools of thought within the broad just‐in‐time (JIT) sourcing literature which are labelled as the “advocate”, “pragmatic” and “sceptic” schools. The former group advocate JIT sourcing as a major competitive weapon, while the latter group suggest that it is less efficient than traditional sourcing techniques. The pragmatic group cite some of the problems associated with sourcing on a JIT basis. The major JIT sourcing practices are identified and the contributions from each school of thought critically reviewed. Reviews the benefits and problems of JIT sourcing as well as the movement of power and responsibilities between members of the supply chain. Concludes by suggesting avenues of future research within JIT sourcing.