Search results

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

This paper aims to improve the knowledge of the way business relationships end by using a triadic analysis. Triadic analysis is used as a tool, permitting the examination of a dyadic business relationship in relation to a third actor(s). The triadic approach has been chosen for two reasons: first, because a triad is the smallest possible network and so offers a network perspective on the phenomenon. Second, the triadic approach exposes the process of forming internal and external coalitions, which affects the course of events and, thus, offers a different perspective from the traditional dyadic one on the dissolution of business relationships.

As adopting a triadic perspective on the ending of business relationships and the field of research are relatively new, data gathering and empirical findings play an important role in producing understanding of the phenomenon. This qualitative research uses the abductive approach, in which empirical findings are systematically combined with the theoretical literature related to the topic. The research also draws from the theoretical literature of ending dyadic business relationships and uses a body of literature from the field of sociology where triadic analysis has long been used.

As the result, this paper presents a model describing the end of a triadic business relationship and details the characteristics that derive from a triadic perspective. The study answers questions on what kind of process takes place when a triadic business relationship is ending; what kinds of sub-processes can be identified; and also adds information on what kinds of coalitions companies may form during the ending process of a triadic business relationship. The findings suggest that triadic analysis is an appropriate tool when studying a dyadic business relationship in relation to third actors.

The research offers a new insight into the phenomenon of ending business relationships by using a triadic perspective.

This study aims to investigate the link between manufacturer relational embeddedness, manufacturer influence and supplier-customer relational embeddedness and their resulting impact on the network rent.

Leveraging the theoretical lens of social exchange theory and the relational view and utilizing the survey data derived from the transitional triadic supply chains, the authors used multiple regression analysis and the partial least squares (PLS) path model. The regression analysis with interaction effects is used to indicate the network rent, while the PLS path model is applied to investigate the link between manufacturer relational embeddedness, manufacturer influence and supplier-customer relational embeddedness and their subsequent impact on the network rent.

The authors empirically establish that manufacturer relational embeddedness, as a higher-order factor, can comprise both upstream and downstream relational embeddedness. The research also demonstrates that manufacturer relational embeddedness significantly contributes to the manufacturer’s eagerness to form a direct link between the supplier and the customer, and the manufacturers report a significant ability to affect this relationship. Likewise, the study shows that supplier-customer relational embeddedness significantly and positively affects the network rent. In addition, the study implies that supplier-customer relational embeddedness is a mediator between manufacturer influence and the network rent, while manufacturer influence is a suppressor variable, which increases the negative relationship between manufacturer relational embeddedness and supplier-customer relational embeddedness.

The research makes three key contributions. First, this study, as one of very few, simultaneously embraces context, intervention, mechanism and outcome, while investigating the role of manufacturer (its relational embeddedness and influence) in promoting supplier-customer relational embeddedness, and its resulting effect on the network rent. Further on, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirically based study that demonstrates to what extent the manufacturer is capable of fostering supplier-customer relational embeddedness, thus favoring the transposition from the intransitive into the transitive triadic supply chains. Finally, to date, the concept of network rent has been mostly conceptualized as the theoretical construct with no empirical evidence. This research offers guidance for manufacturers in managing the relationships between the supplier and the customer to yield the highest network rent.

This study provides a novel approach to investigating the role of manufacturer and relational embeddedness in yielding the network rent in the transitional triadic supply chains.

This study tries to investigate and examine the extent of power dynamics of diverse actors in supply chains (SCs) in affecting the (un)stable connections within the logistics service providers (LSPs) triad in manufacturing firms (MFs) in Australia as a developed country.

This study adopted a qualitative research approach by conducting 28 face-to-face semi-structured interviews, which was performed over a five-month period, between May and October 2022 with the targeted respondents via several Case MFs studies focusing on the triadic SC relationships through the power dynamics of LSPs (e.g. Case 1/MF-A, Case 2/MF-B, Case 3/MF-C, Case 4/MF-D and Case 5/MF-E) in order to gather primary data from the perspectives of logistics service clients, providers and suppliers that are dealing with MFs in Australia country. Interviewees were selected based on their knowledge, professional, expertise and tasks that are related to the study context if they are from MFs and/or LSPs. The researchers performed NVivo 12 Software as a tool for analyzing the collected primary data from the targeted interviewees, thus using a purposive sampling approach. This study constitutes a cornerstone for a conceptual exploration of the field of B2B and as it expands existing fields of broadcasting and investigation that focus on B2C within the manufacturing firms' context.

The findings clearly show the importance of stable purchase volume and resource ability for a focal company in the logistics triad. This leads it to have a strong long-term relationship through monitoring its partners and curbing evolutions in different dyads.

Identifying influential factors offers complementary insights to practitioners for depicting the SC relationship dynamics using the dominant power used by logistics service providers. Such findings encourage investigating an issues in emerging countries.

The study provides an extending novel piece of work on how to establish the relational embeddedness of two dyads through the power dynamics of the dominant player represented by LSPs that can significantly affect the triadic SC relationships in manufacturing firms (MFs). Such a perspective seems not to be similar to the classical standpoint in the SCM literature, in which the LSPs as a dominant and dynamic power derived from bridging the customer-supplier sustainable dyads relationship in the MFs context.

This study aims to investigate the applicability of Ritter’s (2000) framework of interconnectedness in a triadic relationship between a provider, intermediaries and customers and to extend the framework by considering how the state of the relationships in a triad influences the relationship dynamic.

A qualitative case study research method with multiple sources of evidence was adopted in this study. The case study focusses on a triadic relationship of one of the largest UK-based financial services institutions, Provider XYZ, with independent financial advisers and customers.

The findings confirm that the synergy effect, lack effect, competition effect and by-pass effect exist in the triadic relationship. The findings also acknowledge that the state of the relationships in a triad, whether they are positive (+), negative (−) or neutral (0), combined with the identified interconnectedness effect determine the dynamic of the triadic relationship network.

This paper extends the existing framework of interconnectedness by considering how the change of the relationship state changes the relationship dynamic in a triad. By evaluating both the effect of interconnectedness and the state of the relationships in a triad, managers can identify and manage possible conflicts in a triad and enhance the effectiveness of the triadic relationship.

First, the paper aims to explore the ability of the actor sitting on the structural hole to achieve the additional rent, which is modeled as the outcome of joint effect between the relational performances of two dyads (supplier–buyer and buyer–customer) within the triadic supply chains. Second, the paper seeks to empirically compare the value of additional rent among different structural hole states of triadic supply chains.

Building upon the theoretical tenets of social capital theory, complemented by the underpinnings of relational view, this research uses survey data gathered from the triadic supply chains in Europe. To conduct necessary processing, the multivariate statistical analyses have been performed.

The findings suggest that the rent is actually yielded by the actors bridging the structural hole in the triadic supply chain; however, its value, as evidenced in the study, is diverse regarding the specific structural hole state. More specifically, the highest value of rent is generated by the buyer establishing cooperative posture of both dyads in the triadic supply chains. The value of rent close to zero is revealed in the triadic supply chains with negative relational posture of both dyads. Interestingly, the lowest level of rent produced by the buyer from bridging the structural hole is reported with the triadic supply chains in which one dyad demonstrates a more cooperative relational posture, whereas the other one indicates an adversarial relational posture. Not only does this result suggest that there is no rent, but it even goes further to indicate a negative return (or loss) derived by the manufacturer in this group of triadic supply chains.

The study is limited to the relational posture, either strong or weak; therefore, it would be worthwhile to examine a wider spectrum of behaviors, based on the adversarial relationships, deprived of mutual trust, when both actors in a dyad act opportunistically and antagonistically. Moreover, regarding the research method used, the case study is usually deemed to be more appropriate to deeply grasp the complex issues of social behavior. Finally, caution should also be exercised while generalizing the results obtained from the research.

For practicing supply chain managers, this study points that that it is likely that both actors collaborating with the buyer (the supplier and the customer) also enjoy additional benefits offered by the rent. Importantly for managers, regardless of the effort made by the focal actor, the careless attitude and independence of suppliers and customers may make it hard or even impossible for the buyer to establish triads that include relationships of high quality.

In terms of social implications, this study brings to the fore that not only are the buyers driven by self-interest but they may be also guided by ethical and social rules when interacting with suppliers and customers in their triads. This research evidenced that the buyer in the triadic supply chain can act as the moderator that tends to simultaneously establish a strong relational posture to two other actors in such a way that the joint effect of relational performance generated by both dyads significantly contributes to the higher level of buyer’s individual performance.

The study investigates whether and how establishing relational posture of two dyads in the triadic supply chains can affect the additional rent for the buyer derived from bridging the structural hole.

This paper aims to investigate small and medium-sized upstream suppliers' and downstream distributors' understandings of supply chain finance (SCF) arrangements and their decisions to adopt such schemes.

In this paper grounded theory-informed methods are employed, involving 56 in-depth interviews with informants from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), banks and subject experts in the United Kingdom (UK) and Thailand. A category structure for the data is developed. The findings are then examined systematically from both a transaction cost economics (TCE) and non-TCE perspective.

SME members made sense of SCF through a core distinction between dyadic and triadic SCF arrangements. The former maintains independence between physical and financial supply chains, whereas the latter causes them to be closely coupled or even entangled. The SCF adoption decisions of SMEs were based on a consideration of four related aspects: relationality, awareness, control and context. The authors demonstrate the limits of TCE in explaining the findings, leading to a proposed combined theory of the transactional and, importantly, non-transactional influences on how SMEs make decisions about SCF.

Focal firms wanting their SME suppliers and distributors to participate in triadic SCF (TSCF), i.e. reverse factoring and distributor finance, need to understand that transitioning to such schemes involves the unwinding of existing financing arrangements, which may be problematic for SMEs. Moreover, it is important to be aware of SMEs' concerns, such as about what accessing TSCF might signal to the focal firm about their financial health and about the potential loss of control that might result from entangling the physical and financial aspects of supply chains.

This paper unpack the perspectives of both SME suppliers and distributors of large focal firms in supply chains. These firms appear less concerned with the economic advantages (transaction costs) of SCF and more concerned with the relational consequences or non-transactional costs of participation in a TSCF arrangement. The dyadic-triadic distinction provides a new and meaningful way of categorising SCF mechanisms, which also broadens the service triads’ literature from a focus on outsourcing services for a focal firm's customers to outsourcing financing for its suppliers or distributors. The paper also addresses gaps identified by Gelsomino et al. (2016) regarding the need for a general theory of SCF, for empirically-based holistic studies of SCF applications, and a tool for selecting SCF mechanisms.

Describes the importance of plastic payment cards at the point of sale (POS) and the evolution of the credit card in general and affinity cards in particular. Suggests reasons for both the growth of plastic card payments (the cashless society) and the threats to affinity cards (the interchange fee). Places the affinity credit card within the paradigm of relationship marketing and emphasises the triadic nature of these relationships. Discusses the development of the research into affinity credit cards and the issues of branding and trust that impact upon the triadic relationships. Explores the potential for affinity marketing and reports on research into trust and ethics which is relevant to this concept. Places affinity marketing within the retail arena and finally draws conclusions on the future for payments at the POS, relationships operationalised via plastic cards and triadic affinities.

Can marginalized stakeholders whose issues with the firm are unaddressed because of their resource and legitimacy constraints (low salience) increase their salience by capitalizing on certain inherent properties of their stakeholder environment? The purpose of this paper is to examine this question using a real life case of the Coca-Cola controversy in Kerala, India, where a group of local aboriginals succeeded against all odds in shutting down a Coca-Cola plant which was allegedly polluting their water resources. The analysis of the longitudinal data collected in this case supported the hypotheses that the ability of marginalized stakeholders to increase their salience by influencing other stakeholders depends both on the attributes of other stakeholders (favorable, unfavorable and indifferent), and the triadic relationships among them. The triadic relationships among stakeholders show a tendency toward balance, and become particularly relevant when the marginalized stakeholder’s issues are perceived to have low legitimacy due to their normative nature (which makes them difficult to be translated into economic terms). The findings offer important insights to both marginalized stakeholders and firms, on proactively managing their stakeholder environments.

The authors use a single case: the controversy surrounding Coca-Cola in Kerala, India, and conduct a longitudinal study examining both qualitative and quantitative data.

The findings indicate that marginalized stakeholders can capitalize on certain inherent properties of their stakeholder networks and increase their salience to influence the focal firm. Specifically, the authors find that stakeholder salience is a function of both the dyadic relationships between stakeholders, and the triadic relationships among them. These triadic relationships tend to a state of balance over time. The authors also find that when the stakeholder issue is normative in nature the triadic relationships are more important in increasing stakeholder salience.

The authors conduct an original case study research, with primary qualitative data collected by the authors. The authors also develop a quantitative model to examine this data to arrive at the findings. Therefore the authors contribute both theoretically and empirically to stakeholder salience literature.

The evolution of the business-to-business (BtoB) realm toward solution business calls for a better understanding of how relationships develop over time in such a renewed context. This paper aims to propose a phase model for solution relationship development, considering triadic relationships in complex engineering solutions.

To depict how relationships develop in solution business, the authors adopt a qualitative approach which allows to detail the episodes of interactions between the actors. A case study approach in an extreme sector – the aerospace industry – allows highlighting certain key traits. Extending conventional dyadic analysis, this empirical study focuses on the aerospace industry, using a case study approach to analyze relationship developments between a worldwide leading aircraft manufacturer, one of its customer and four providers of products and services. The authors adopt a triadic perspective in the selection of cases, considering a total of four manufacturer-provider-customer triads.

Four dynamic phases which track solution provision dynamics and involving dyadic and triadic relationship evolution are identified: matching; combining; mixing; and sharing. Each phase calls, from a management perspective, for specific competencies and resources of the actors in interaction.

This paper contributes to the gap about solution relationship development in a changing BtoB landscape. Considering the lens of a triadic approach, the paper also helps to fill the as-yet unattended to gap between dyads and triads in the literature.