Supplier-supplier relationships in buyer-supplier-supplier triads: Implications for supplier performance

A growing number of studies and evidence from industries suggest that, besides managing the relationship with its suppliers, a buyer needs to proactively manage the relationships between those suppliers. In a buyer-supplier-supplier relationship triad, the buyer, as the contracting entity, influences the suppliers' behaviors and the relationship between them. By considering the relationships in such a triad, we are able to gain a richer and more realistic perspective of buyer-supplier relationships. In this study, our goal is to examine supplier-supplier relationships in buyer-supplier-supplier triads, focusing on how such relationships impact the supplier performance. We frame the supplier-supplier relationship as co-opetition-one in which competing suppliers work together to meet the buyer's requirements. We investigate the role of the buyer on such relationships, and how the buyer and co-opetitive supplier-supplier relationships affect supplier performance. We find mixed empirical support for our hypotheses. However, we are able to demonstrate the dynamics of supplier-supplier co-opetition in the buyer-supplier-supplier triad. We point out the need for further studies in this area.