Journal Article

Competitive and Cooperative Positioning in Supply Chain Logistics Relationships

Klein, Richard, Straub, Detmar W., Rai, Arun

2007

Overview

Cooperative logistics relationships require the sharing of information, which must be enabled by the integration of disparate information systems across partners. In this article, we theorize business‐to‐business logistics relationships should be managed using cooperative and competitive postures. Based on data from 91 dyadic relationships using interorganizational information technology (IT), we find that performance gains accrue when parties share strategic information and customize IT; mutual trust enables IT customization and strategic‐information flows and equitable relationship‐specific investments positively impact IT customization, mutual trust, and performance. Among other scholarly and practical implications discussed, partners should compete on resources for IT customization and cooperate to share strategic information. Managers tend to think of relationships with firms as polar opposites and view them as entirely cooperative or entirely competitive. Our results support active balancing and understanding of both competitive and cooperative stances. Such an approach enables conditions for participation symmetry that yields greater performance gains.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc,American Institute for Decision Sciences
• Subject: Access to information / Alliances / and System Integration / Business to business commerce / Collaboration / Collaborative Partnerships / Competition / Cooperation / Customers / Customization / Dyadic Data / Dyadic relationships / Exchange Relationships / Field Studies / Information / Information dissemination / Information Sharing / Information systems / Information technology / Inventory / Investments / Logistics / Logistics Service Performance / Marketing / Positioning / Structural Equation Modeling / Studies / Suppliers / Supply / Supply chains / Symmetry / Trust