Factors Influencing Structural Power Dynamics in Buyer-supplier Relationships : a Power Sources Framework and Application of the Critical Incident Technique

• Autorzy: Dariusz Siemieniako , Paweł Kaliszewski
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Research background: Although the literature on power asymmetry and power dynamics has recognized the issue of factors that cause power shifts in business-to-business relationships, a more systematic approach and research framework regarding the identification of these factors is lacking. There are attempts in business-to-business literature to use the critical incident technique to study dynamic phenomena, but there are no studies on the factors that increase and decrease the power of suppliers in their relationships with dominant buyers.
Purpose of the article: The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the most significant changes in suppliers' power in relationships with dominant buyers. An important objective is also to determine to which power sources the identified factors are assigned. This is crucial for business practitioners, who will be able to adjust their actions when managing a relationship with a dominating partner through knowledge of their own strengths as well as weaknesses.
Methods: The study is based on analysis of questionnaires with open-ended questions, and uses the critical incident technique to investigate the behaviour of dyadic parties at key moments in buyer-seller relationships. We have focused on investigation of manufacturing companies mainly from the furniture, construction, energy and printing industries. The analysis of the data was based on the abductive approach as a combination of inductive and deductive coding.
Findings & value added: In comparison to previous studies, which did not distinguish the level of importance of each factor, we have obtained only those factors with the greatest impact on power dynamics. We have also obtained factors which can decrease suppliers' power, whereas the literature focuses mostly on factors increasing suppliers' power. The research results reveal the factors that affect an increase and decrease in the power of weaker suppliers in relationships with dominant buyers. First- and second-order factors were identified, and subsequently 3 overarching dimensions for each increase and decrease in supplier power were deduced from the results. The most important overall dimension for the increase in power was the building of suppliers' power capabilities, while the decrease in suppliers' power was most influenced by transactional changes and changes in buyer's expectations. The results can be helpful for managers in focusing their attention on expert power in order to gain knowledge and prepare a practical background for managing asymmetric relationships. It is important to mention that the critical incident technique used in this study has not yet been used to represent power dynamics in B2B relationship literature. (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Power; Trade; Critical Incident Technique (CIT); Supplier-recipient relations

PL

Władza; Handel; Technika incydentów krytycznych (CIT); Relacje dostawca-odbiorca

• Czasopismo: Oeconomia Copernicana
• Rocznik: 2022
• Tom: 13
• Numer: nr 1
• Strony: 151--179

Twórcy

autor

Dariusz Siemieniako

• Kozminski University, Poland

autor

Paweł Kaliszewski

• Bialystok University of Technology, Poland

Bibliografia

• Auh, S., & Menguc, B. (2009). Broadening the scope of the resource-based view in marketing: the contingency role of institutional factors. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(7), 757-767. doi: 10.1016/J.INDMARMAN.2008.02.011.
• Andersen, P. H., & Kumar, R. (2006). Emotions, trust and relationship development in business relationships: a conceptual model for buyer-seller dyads. Industrial Marketing Management, 35, 522-535. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2004.10.010.
• Bensaou, M. (1999). Portfolios of buyer-supplier relationships. Sloan Management Review, 40(4), 35-44.
• Benton, W., & Maloni, M. (2005). The influence of power driven buyer/seller relationships on supply chain satisfaction. Journal of Operations Management, 23, 1-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2004.09.002.
• Cheung, M. S., Myers, M. B., & Mentzer, J. T. (2010). Does relationship learning lead to relationship value? A cross-national supply chain investigation. Journal of Operations Management, 28(6), 472-487. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2010.01.003.
• Chell, E., & Pittaway, L. (1998). A study of entrepreneurship in the restaurant and cafe industry: exploratory work using the critical incident technique as a methodology. Hospitality Management, 17, 23-32. doi: 10.1016/S0278-4319(98)00006-1.
• Cowan, K., Paswan, A. K., & Van Steenburg, E. (2015). When inter-firm relationship benefits mitigate power asymmetry. Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 140-148. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.03.013.
• Cuevas, J. M., Julkunen, S., & Gabrielsson, M. (2015). Power symmetry and the development of trust in interdependent relationships: the mediating role of goal congruence. Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 149-159. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.03.015.
• Douglas, J., McClelland, R., Davies, J., & Sudbury, L. (2009). Using critical incident technique (CIT) to capture the voice of the student. TQM Journal, 21(4), 305-318. doi: 10.1108/17542730910965038.
• Dubois, A., & Gadde, L. E. (2002). Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case research. Journal of business research, 55(7), 553-560. doi: 10.1016/S0148-2963(00)00195-8.
• Edvardsson, B., & Strandvik, T. (2000). Is a critical incident critical for a customer relationship? Managing Service Quality, 10(2), 82-91. doi: 10.1108/09604520010318272.
• Flanagan, J. (1954). The Critical Incident Technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327-358. doi: 10.1037/h0061470.
• Frazier, G. L., & Summers, J. O. (1984). Interfirm influence strategies and their application within distribution channels. Journal of Marketing, 48, 43-55.
• French, J. R., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.). Studies in social power. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 155-164.
• Górska, A., & Mazurek, G. (2021). The effect of the CEO media coverage on corporate brand equity: evidence from Poland, Oeconomia Copernicana, 12(2), 499-523. doi: 10.24136/oc.2021.017.
• Gremler, D. (2004). The critical incident technique in service research. Journal of Service Research, 7. doi: 10.1177/1094670504266138.
• Handley, S., & Benton, W. (2012). The influence of exchange hazards and power on opportunism in outsourcing relationships. Journal of Operations Management, 30(1/2), 55-68. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2011.06.001.
• Hingley, M. K. (2005). Power to all our friends? Living with imbalance in supplier-retailer relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 34(8), 848-858. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2005.03.008.
• Holmlund, M., & Törnroos, J-Å. (1997). What are relationships in business networks? Management Decision, 35(4), 304-309. doi: 10.1108/00251749710169693.
• Kraljic, P. (1983). Purchasing must become supply management. Harvard Business Review, 61(5), 109-117.
• Kubacki, K., Siemieniako, D., & Brennan, L. (2020). Building positive resilience through vulnerability analysis. Journal of Social Marketing, 10(4), 471-488, doi: 10.1108/JSOCM-09-2019-0142.
• Lacoste, S., & Johnsen, E. (2015). Supplier-customer relationships: a case study of power dynamics. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 21, 229-240. doi: 10.1016/j.pursup.2014.12.006.
• Lin, C. W., Wu, L. Y., & Chiou, J. S. (2017). The use of asset specific investments to increase customer dependence: a study of OEM suppliers. Industrial Marketing Management, 67, 174-184. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.09.002.
• Makkonen, H., Aarikka-Stenross, L., & Olkkonen, R. (2012). Narrative approach in business network process research - implications for theory and methodology. Industrial Marketing Management, 41, 287-299. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2012.01.012.
• Makkonen, H., Siemieniako, D., & Mitręga, M. (2021). Structural and behavioural power dynamics in buyer supplier relationships: a perceptions-based framework and a research agenda. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09537325.2021.1991574.
• Meehan, J., & Wright, G. (2012). The origins of power in buyer-seller relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 41(4), 669-679. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.09.015.
• Molm, L. (1990). Structure, action and outcomes: the dynamics of power in social exchange. American Sociological Review, 55(3), 427-447. doi: 10.2307/2095767.
• Munksgaard, K., Johnsen R., & Patterson, M. (2015). Knowing me, knowing you: self- and collective interests in goal development in asymmetric relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 160-173. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.03.016.
• Nyaga, G. N., Lynch, D. F., Marshall, D., & Ambrose, E. (2013). Power asymmetry, adaptation and collaboration in dyadic relationships involving a powerful partner. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 49(3), 42-65. doi: 10.1111/jscm.12011.
• Ojansivu I. (2014). Exploring the underlying dynamics of buyer-seller interaction in project afterlife. Oulu: University of Oulu.
• Olsen, P. I., Prenkert, F., Hoholm, T., & Harrison, D. (2014). The dynamics of networked power in a concentrated business network. Journal of Business Research, 67(12), 2579-2589. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.03.017.
• Oukes, T., von Raesfeld A., & Groen A., (2019). Power in a startup's relationships with its established partners: Interactions between structural and behavioural power. Industrial Marketing Management 80, 68-83. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.12.007.
• Pérez, L., & Cambra-Fierro, J. (2015). Learning to work in asymmetric relationships: insights from the computer software industry. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 20(1), 1-10. doi: 10.1108/SCM-12-2013-0468.
• Rindt J., & Mouzas S. (2015). Exercising power in asymmetric relationships: the use of private rules. Industrial Marketing Management, 48, 202-213. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.03.018.
• Sazonenka, Y., Towhid, Y. I., & Siemieniako, D. (2018). One-page strategic plan using the example of Aarong company from Bangladesh. Engineering Management in Production and Services, 10(2), 57-65. doi: 10.2478/emj-2018-0011.
• Siemieniako, D., & Gębarowski, M. (2017). B2B trade fairs and promise management as a relationship marketing concept. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 16(3), 237-261. doi: 10.1362/147539217X15071081721116.
• Siemieniako, D., & Gębarowski, M. (2016). B2B relationship marketing management in trade fair activity. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Siemieniako, D., & Mitręga, M. (2018). Improving power position with regard to non-mediated power sources-the supplier's perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 70. 90-100. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.08.013.
• Struyf, B., Galvani S., Matthyssens P., & Bocconcelli, R. (2021). Toward a multilevel perspective on digital servitization. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(5), 668-693. doi: 10.1108/IJOPM-08-2020-0538.
• Talay, C., Oxborrow L., & Brindley C. (2020). How small suppliers deal with the buyer power in asymmetric relationships within the sustainable fashion supply chain. Journal of Business Research, 117, 604-614. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.08.034.
• Villena, V., & Gioia, D. (2018). On the riskiness of lower-tier suppliers: managing sustainability in supply networks. Journal of Operations Management, 64, 65-87. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2018.09.004.
• Wang, C. (2011). The moderating role of power asymmetry on the relationships between alliance and innovative performance in the high-tech industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 78(7), 1268-1279. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2011.03.017.
• Wolfe R., & Mcginn K. (2005). Perceived relative power and its influence on negotiations. Group Decision and Negotiation, 14, 3-20. doi: 10.1007/s10726-005-3873-8.
• Wilkinson, I. F. (1973). Power and influence structures in distribution channels: normative and descriptive aspects. European Journal of Marketing, 7(2), 119-129. doi: 10.1108/EUM0000000005107.
• Wilkinson, I. F. (1996). Distribution channel management: power considerations. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 26(5), 31-41. doi: 10.1108/eb014295.
• Yeung, J. H. Y., Selen, W., Zhang, M., & Huo, B. (2009). The effects of trust and coercive power on supplier integration. International Journal of Production Economics, 120(1), 66-78. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2008.07.014.
• Zadykowicz, A., Chmielewski, K., & Siemieniako, D. (2020). Proactive customer orientation and joint learning capabilities in collaborative machine to machine innovation technology development: the case study of automotive equipment manufacturer. Oeconomia Copernicana, 11(3), 415-423, doi: 10.24136/oc.2020.022.
• Zatwarnicka-Madura, B., Siemieniako, D., Glińska, E., & Sazonenka, Y. (2019). Strategic and operational levels of CSR marketing communication for sustainable orientation of a company: a case study from Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(2), 555. doi: 10.3390/su11020555.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.24136/oc.2022.005