Supplier-supplier relationships in the buyer-supplier relationship triad: Building theories from seven case studies

Many researchers have investigated the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships and have considered their impact on the buyer's performance. Recently, researchers have proposed that the relationships between suppliers also affect the buyer's performance. Using the approach of theory building through case studies, we investigated the relationship strategy of both the buyers and suppliers and the relationship dynamics between the buyer and its suppliers and between the suppliers themselves. Adding to the existing knowledge of buyer-supplier relationships, we propose that the buyer's relationship strategy elicits corresponding strategies from the suppliers, which in turn evokes emergent relationships between the suppliers. The emergent relationships between the suppliers directly affect the buyer-supplier relationship and the buyer's performance.