In this paper, my co-author and I present the notion of buyer-supplier "relationship architecture" and examine the role of quality, information sharing and supply chain proximity on strategic alliance formation and performance.
Buyer-supplier "relationship architecture" refers to the mechanisms for building relationship, the role of the buyer and the supplier, and the relationship protocol between a buyer and supplier. It is composed of quality expectations in a buyer–supplier relationship, information sharing and trust between buyer and supplier, and "supply chain proximity". The following five hypotheses are tested:
H1. Quality expectations from supplier exert a direct positive effect on supply chain proximity.
H2. Information sharing and trust with suppliers exert a direct positive effect on supply chain
proximity.
H3. Supply chain proximity exerts a direct positive effect on supply chain performance.
H4. Supply chain proximity exerts a direct positive effect on strategic alliance formation.
H5. Strategic alliances exert a direct positive effect on the supply chain performance.
A test of the hypotheses using 228 survey responses find suppport for all five hypotheses.
Implications:
JIT considerations, specifically buyer–supplier relationship architecture, can improve the capability to form strategic alliances and thereby improve key performance measures of a supply chain. Strategic alliance formation is typically viewed in terms of financial and marketing perspectives but we find that the impetus for strategic alliance formation can arise from operational aspects of supply chain relationships.
The citation for the paper is as follows:
Narasimhan, Ram and Nair, Anand. 2005. The antecedent role of quality, information sharing and supply chain proximity on strategic alliance formation and performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 96(3): pp. 301-313.