TY - JOUR
T1 - Taking the leap from dyads to triads
T2 - Buyer-supplier relationships in supply networks
AU - Choi, Thomas
AU - Wu, Zhaohui
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2009/12
Y1 - 2009/12
N2 - A network is made up of nodes and links. The smallest unit that consists of both these network elements is a dyad made up of two nodes (a buyer and a supplier) and the link that connects them (a buyer-supplier relationship). Naturally, the focus of the supply chain management literature has been on this dyad. For instance, a buyer affects a supplier through its supplier evaluation and certificate programs, as well as long-term agreement practices. The relationship between a buyer and its supplier has been characterized as cooperative or adversarial. We have learned a great deal about supply chains through such studies in dyadic context. However, we submit that in a network, a dyad is not the smallest unit of a network. In fact, the smallest unit is a triad, made up of three nodes and the links that connect them. If so, how would this recognition guide us as we move forward to investigate supply chains as a network? What would be its implications to the genre of the literature on buyer-supplier relationships?
AB - A network is made up of nodes and links. The smallest unit that consists of both these network elements is a dyad made up of two nodes (a buyer and a supplier) and the link that connects them (a buyer-supplier relationship). Naturally, the focus of the supply chain management literature has been on this dyad. For instance, a buyer affects a supplier through its supplier evaluation and certificate programs, as well as long-term agreement practices. The relationship between a buyer and its supplier has been characterized as cooperative or adversarial. We have learned a great deal about supply chains through such studies in dyadic context. However, we submit that in a network, a dyad is not the smallest unit of a network. In fact, the smallest unit is a triad, made up of three nodes and the links that connect them. If so, how would this recognition guide us as we move forward to investigate supply chains as a network? What would be its implications to the genre of the literature on buyer-supplier relationships?
KW - Buyer-supplier relationships
KW - Dyads
KW - Supply networks
KW - Triads
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pursup.2009.08.003
DO - 10.1016/j.pursup.2009.08.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70350716314
VL - 15
SP - 263
EP - 266
JO - Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
JF - Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
SN - 1478-4092
IS - 4
ER -