Cultural and structural forces: A potentially symbiotic or dysfunctional relationship in the journey towards supply chain collaboration

Despite its promises to generate superior supply chain performance, supply chain collaboration remains an elusive goal for many organizations. While much research has explored various facets of successful management of supply chain relationships, the complexity of factors that can impact the quality of collaboration make implementation difficult to achieve. This paper uses a series of case studies of twelve exemplary European firms from a supply chain standpoint to explore potential frameworks that can better categorize those factors that lead to exemplary supply chain collaboration. Both barriers and initiatives to overcome those barriers are identified and categorized as either structural or cultural. The study reveals an interesting relationship between these categories and provides a series of propositions that can inform future confirmatory studies in supply chain collaboration

Why Supply Chain Collaboration Fails: The Socio-Structural View Of Resistance To Collaboration Strategies

Purpose The relational view posits that supply chain integration can be a source of competitive advantage. Few firms, however, successfully co-create value to attain supernormal relational rents. We therefore elaborate theory regarding the reasons why collaboration strategies fail. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a quasi-longitudinal, multi-case interview methodology to explore the reasons why collaboration strategies fail to deliver intended results. We interviewed managers at 49 companies in Period 1 and managers at 57 companies in Period 2. Fifteen companies participated in both rounds of interviews. Findings This paper builds and describes a taxonomy of relational resistors. We then explore how sociological and structural resistors reinforce each other to undermine collaborative behavior. Specifically, the interplay among resistors 1) obscures the true sources of resistance, 2) exacerbates a sense of vulnerability to non-collaborative behavior that reduces the willingness to invest in relational architecture, and 3) inhibits the development of essential relational skills and organizational routines. Originality/value This research identifies and describes the behaviors and processes that impede successful supply chain alliances. By delving into the interplay among relational resistors, the research explains the detail and nuance of inter-firm rivalry and supply chain complexity. Ultimately, it is the re-enforcing nature of various resistors that make it so difficult for firms have to realize relational rents

Trust and relational embeddedness: exploring a paradox of trust pattern development in key supplier relationships

This paper explores the role of trust as an enabler and constraint between buyers and suppliers engaged in long-term relationships. According to the relational view, cooperative strategies require trust-based mutual commitments to co-create value. However, complete pictures of the positive and negative outcomes from trust development have yet to be fully developed. In particular, trust as an originator of path dependent constraints resulting from over embeddedness is yet to be integrated into the relational view. We use a case-based methodology to explore whether trust is an optimizing phenomenon in key supplier relationships. Two cases where trust development processes demonstrate a paradox of trust-building behaviors cultivate different outcomes constraining value co-creation

Collaborative process design

Purpose - Over the past two decades, technological advances have spurred companies to design collaborative processes. Yet most such efforts are difficult to implement, with only a few resulting in sustained competitive advantages. The purpose of this paper is to leverage the tenets of socio-technical theory to examine how collaborative process design may lead to improved collaborative performance. Design/methodology/approach - The authors employ a multi-method - survey and interview - approach to examine the roles of technical and social initiatives in mitigating resistors to collaborative performance, and identify both the short-term appeals of technology investments and long-term social resistors that inhibit additional performance gains. Findings - While initial investments in information technology yield alluring gains, performance benefits diminish as social resistors create limiting conditions. The dynamic capability for firms to recognize and respond to the dual and integrative nature of technical and social systems is required for firms to overcome powerful limiting conditions and change resistors through collaborative process design in order to cultivate new value-creation processes. Originality/value - This study is the first in the discipline to utilize socio-technical systems theory to examine an issue in supply chain process redesign. The multi-method approach elaborates the difficulty inherent in cultivating new value-creation processes. The results collectively illustrate a need for recognizing the influence of both the reinforcing and limiting processes. Whereas, technical initiatives enable new capabilities, social initiatives remove fear, create vision, and inculcate skills, enabling technology adoption and process change

Collaborative process design: A dynamic capabilities view of mitigating the barriers to working together

Purpose - Over the past two decades, technological advances have spurred companies to design collaborative processes. Yet most such efforts are difficult to implement, with only a few resulting in sustained competitive advantages. The purpose of this paper is to leverage the tenets of socio-technical theory to examine how collaborative process design may lead to improved collaborative performance. Design/methodology/approach - The authors employ a multi-method - survey and interview - approach to examine the roles of technical and social initiatives in mitigating resistors to collaborative performance, and identify both the short-term appeals of technology investments and long-term social resistors that inhibit additional performance gains. Findings - While initial investments in information technology yield alluring gains, performance benefits diminish as social resistors create limiting conditions. The dynamic capability for firms to recognize and respond to the dual and integrative nature of technical and social systems is required for firms to overcome powerful limiting conditions and change resistors through collaborative process design in order to cultivate new value-creation processes. Originality/value - This study is the first in the discipline to utilize socio-technical systems theory to examine an issue in supply chain process redesign. The multi-method approach elaborates the difficulty inherent in cultivating new value-creation processes. The results collectively illustrate a need for recognizing the influence of both the reinforcing and limiting processes. Whereas, technical initiatives enable new capabilities, social initiatives remove fear, create vision, and inculcate skills, enabling technology adoption and process change