TY - JOUR
T1 - Tie Strength and Value Creation in the Buyer-Supplier Context
T2 - A U-Shaped Relation Moderated by Dependence Asymmetry
AU - Kim, Yusoon
AU - Choi, Thomas
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: This article was accepted under the editorship of Patrick M. Wright. We thank the action editor for her guidance throughout the review process and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticisms and insightful suggestions. We are grateful to the anonymous global automaker for its generous support to collect the data from its managers and North American supply base. Also, we thank CAPS Research (a leading nonprofit supply chain research organization jointly sponsored by the member companies, W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and the Institute for Supply Management) for providing financial support and administrative assistance in conducting this research. There are no conflicts of interest regarding this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - This study integrates two disparate genres within tie-strength literature into one model to investigate the mechanisms for value creation in the buyer-supplier context. This research brings together the opposite ends of the tie-strength continuum: the “weak ties,” which are instrumental in tapping into novel ideas and emerging technologies, and the “strong ties,” which promote joint resource investments and capability development. By doing so, we bring salience to the existence of “intermediate ties” (i.e., the ties of moderate strength) and their implications for value creation. Even though the intermediate ties are likely most common in the buyer-supplier context, they have been given short shrift in the literature. We predict a U-shaped relation, where weak ties and strong ties are more effective than intermediate ties in value creation. Furthermore, we explore the moderating role of dependence asymmetry. Our hypotheses are tested using survey data from a major global automaker and its North American suppliers. The results demonstrate that both the weak and strong buyer-supplier ties lead to higher value creation, whereas intermediate ties do not increase value creation. Also, the study illustrates that, overall, asymmetric buyer-supplier ties show diminished value creation, and this moderating effect is particularly pronounced for intermediate ties.
AB - This study integrates two disparate genres within tie-strength literature into one model to investigate the mechanisms for value creation in the buyer-supplier context. This research brings together the opposite ends of the tie-strength continuum: the “weak ties,” which are instrumental in tapping into novel ideas and emerging technologies, and the “strong ties,” which promote joint resource investments and capability development. By doing so, we bring salience to the existence of “intermediate ties” (i.e., the ties of moderate strength) and their implications for value creation. Even though the intermediate ties are likely most common in the buyer-supplier context, they have been given short shrift in the literature. We predict a U-shaped relation, where weak ties and strong ties are more effective than intermediate ties in value creation. Furthermore, we explore the moderating role of dependence asymmetry. Our hypotheses are tested using survey data from a major global automaker and its North American suppliers. The results demonstrate that both the weak and strong buyer-supplier ties lead to higher value creation, whereas intermediate ties do not increase value creation. Also, the study illustrates that, overall, asymmetric buyer-supplier ties show diminished value creation, and this moderating effect is particularly pronounced for intermediate ties.
KW - buyer-supplier relationship
KW - dependence asymmetry
KW - distributive fairness
KW - resource complementarity
KW - tie strength
KW - value creation
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U2 - 10.1177/0149206315599214
DO - 10.1177/0149206315599214
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041336621
SN - 0149-2063
VL - 44
SP - 1029
EP - 1064
JO - Journal of Management
JF - Journal of Management
IS - 3
ER -