Decision Sciences Journal
Volume 29, Number 3
Summer 1998
Success Factors in Strategic Supplier Alliances: The Buying
Company Perspective
Robert M. Monczka, Kenneth J. Petersen, Robert B. Handfield,
and Gary L. Ragatz
The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Department of Marketing
and Supply Chain Management, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, MI 48824-1121
Abstract: The emerging area of supply chain alliances
has received considerable attention in the academic and managerial
press, yet there are many unanswered questions regarding the
dynamics of such relationships. A number of such fundamental
issues drive this research initiative, including how alliances
are developed, their key success factors, and the specific benefits
to be achieved. The study begins by establishing a definition
of strategic supplier alliances, based on a comparison of both
theoretical and managerial descriptions. The critical antecedents
associated with the success of strategic supplier alliances are
next developed, and the magnitude of the effect of these factors
on partnership success is assessed. The analysis employs both
qualitative and quantitative data, collected through an electronic
network of over 200 companies, as part of an ongoing benchmarking
initiative in supply chain management.
From the perspective of the buying company in the alliance, the
following attributes of supplier alliances were found to be significantly
related to partnership success: trust and coordination, interdependence,
information quality and participation, information sharing, joint
problem solving, avoiding the use of severe conflict resolution
tactics, and the existence of a formal supplier/commodity alliance
selection process. Resource commitment and smoothing over problems
were found to be poor predictors of alliance success. The implications
of these results for managerial decision making in supplier alliance
development are discussed.
Subject Areas: Linear Regression, Purchasing, and Supply
Chain Management. |