مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

 مجله مدیریت خرید و تامین – Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management

Relational risk has increasingly become an issue of strategic importance in supply chain management (Das and Teng, 2001; Delerue, 2005; Jia and Rutherford, 2010; Nooteboom et al., 1997). It is defined as both the probability and the outcome of suboptimal cooperation (Das and Teng, 2001; Delerue, 2005). Relational risk derives from the failure to address power asymmetries between partners (Ratnasingam, 2007). To improve supply chain performance and product quality, firms often demand that their supply chain partners, including subcontractors or suppliers, implement common processes, which usually requires the management of relational risk. Standardizing firms’ operations usually requires relational risk management. Specifically, to be successful in a supply chain, collaborative behavior and activities need to be promoted to manage relational risk among members (Nyaga et al., 2013).

To take full advantage of a supply chain, manufacturers must understand those factors that affect the partners’ relational risk. Improving the collaboration between supply chain partners reduces uncertainty and risk (Bode et al., 2011). To reduce supplier risks that raise high management cost because of multiple suppliers, some manufacturing firms (e.g., Intercon Japan) provide their suppliers with economic incentives (Tang, 1999, 2006). In supply chains, collaborative relationships can help promote superior value and provide good interaction (Dyer, 1996; Wagner et al., 2010). Previous research has focused on modeling relational risk precursors or independent variables from the perspective of transaction costs or resource-based economics. Nooteboom et al. (1997) examined trust between supply chain partners and the results suggest that trust-related variables have significant effects on relational risk. Delerue and Simon (2009) investigated national cultural value among supply chain partners and the findings demonstrate that cultural values significantly affect manager perception of risks. Jia and Rutherford (2010) proposed cultural adaptation as the solution to mitigate the relational risk. However, little research has been conducted on the effects of the institutional and moral orientations of relational governance on interorganizational risk management and relationships, despite the acknowledged importance of relational governance to inter-organizational behavior (Schoenherr et al., 2012). Good relationships that have the potential to ensure the success of supply chains will be highly valued (Carter and Jennings, 2002; Van de Vijver et al., 2011). Therefore, supply chain partners should aim to develop and maintain close and cooperative inter-organizational relationships, which will in turn help them to manage relational risk.

Relational governance and risk management are important strategies for preserving good relationships between supply chain partners and reducing the likelihood of relational risk (Cousins et al., 2006; Kale et al., 2000; Liu et al., 2009). Relationalgovernance affects both the structure and the operation of interorganizational relationships (Zaheer and Venkataraman, 1995). It is conducted in line with the agreed-upon values and activities associated with social relationships, especially inter-organizational exchange (Poppo and Zenger, 2002). Relational governance can promote collaboration and mitigate exchange hazards (Poppo and Zenger, 2002; Zaheer and Venkataraman, 1995). Supply chain relationships that increase the effectiveness of governance and improve the management of relational risk are fundamental to firms’ long-term survival and success. The nature of an inter-organizational relationship depends on the type of collaboration involved: from simple buy-and-sell interaction to close collaborative product development (Dwyer et al., 1987; Wagner and Johnson, 2004). Therefore, firms encounter various relational risks when developing inter-organizational relationships (Delerue, 2005; Ratnasingam, 2007). Effective relational governance reduces relational risk which are intrinsically social (Poppo and Zenger, 2002). Institutional theory offers a convincing explanation of the effects of social environment on the behavior of firms in inter-organizational relationships. The behavior of organizational partners is shown to be influenced by either formal rules or laws or informal agreements (Howell and Annansingh, 2013). The behavior of supply chain partners is also influenced by the moral attitudes of their agents, which are determined by internal normative guidelines. Therefore, establishing value-based relationships that involve risk evaluation is an important component of relational governance. Our main research question is as follows. “How do institutional and moral views of relational governance help firms to manage relational risk?”