S. Nazli Wasti

Trust, Control, and Risk A Test of Das and Teng's Conceptual Framework for Pharmaceutical Buyer-Supplier Relationships

This study investigates the interaction among trust, control, and risk by empirically testing Das and Tengs conceptual framework in a long-term supply agreement following a qualitative study of context. Results suggest that only three model propositions were not supported. Goodwill trust was not related to relational risks, whereas output control and social control were positively related to relational risks and performance risks, respectively. The relationship between trust and social control is complementary, whereas that for trust and output control is substitutive. Goodwill trust is positively related to performance risk taking. Also, output control undermines goodwill and competence trust, whereas social control enhances both types of trust. Goodwill trust and competence trust are positively related to social control. Although goodwill trust decreases the need for output control, competence trust does not. The results suggest that Das and Tengs original model is substantially applicable to the given context.

Supplier involvement in design: a comparative survey of automotive suppliers in the USA, UK and Japan

This paper examines supplier involvement in design based on survey data from 145 Japanese, 189 US and 87 UK automotive component suppliers. First, cross‐national differences in the degree of supplier involvement are examined. Second, regression analysis is used to identify factors which predict high or low levels of supplier involvement in design. Third, the effects of supplier involvement in product development on the degree to which products are designed for manufacturability are assessed. The data show that, contrary to much of the literature that suggests the highest levels of supplier involvement in design are in Japan, suppliers in the USA and UK are more likely to report greater influence on product design decisions, earlier involvement and more frequent communications with customers about design. Moreover, manufacturing planning and design begin later, as a proportion of the development cycle, in Japan than in the USA and the UK. Regression analysis shows that involving suppliers early and giving them influence over design is associated with greater contributions of suppliers to cost reduction, quality improvement and design for manufacturability. Suppliers are given the greatest influence and communication is most intensive for the design of complex subsystems and new designs, and this does not vary by country.

Buyer‐supplier relationships in the Turkish automotive industry

Purpose – Using a baseline model of buyer‐supplier relationships, the study aims to identify the types of relationships in the Turkish automotive industry, and to test predictions as to how these relations would differ across contextual, managerial, and social climate variables.Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data from 51 buyers in automaker firms and 72 supplier firms were subjected to K‐means cluster analyses to establish relationship groups in the two samples. Differences across the groups were tested using ANOVA and Scheffe tests.Findings – Three relationship types (captive supplier, market exchange, and strategic partnership) were identified both in the buyer and supplier data. Significant differences were observed in terms of contextual (product and supplier characteristics), managerial (information exchange and cooperation), and social climate variables (mutual understanding, payoff equity, and satisfaction). Turkish buyers were found to strategically segment their suppliers based on pr...

Trust types, distrust, and performance outcomes in small business relationships: the pharmacy–drug warehouse case

This study attempts to investigate the linkage among trust types, distrust, and relationship performance outcomes in the context of long-term supply agreement-type alliances between small business dyads. The results suggest a significant positive relationship among goodwill trust and risk-taking tendency, cooperation, satisfaction, and conflict resolution and a negative relationship between goodwill trust and transaction costs. Competence trust is found to have a positive relationship with cooperation, conflict resolution, and satisfaction and a negative relationship with transaction costs. However, no significant relationship is found between competence trust and risk-taking tendency. Distrust, on the other hand, is found to have a negative relationship with cooperation, satisfaction, and conflict resolution and a significant positive relationship with transaction costs with no effect on risk-taking tendency.

Involving the supply chain in design

To be successful, concurrent engineering depends on breaking down barriers across organizations and building horizontal linking mechanisms. This is as true when looking across companies in the supply chain as it is looking internally across functions within a firm. Having technical capability to exchange product data will be of little use unless business and organizational arrangements facilitate smooth working relationships across companies in the supply chain and suppliers are given appropriate roles and responsibilities in the process of product development. The traditional Western model of component supplier management views suppliers as additional manufacturing capability for items that are either not profitable to make inside, could be made more cheaply outside (e.g. if labor rates are lower outside), or for additional capacity during peak demand periods. It is assumed to be risky to give too much responsibility to outside parts suppliers as their goals are not always aligned with the buyer firm and they may take opportunities to exploit any opportunity to make additional money at the buyer’s expense (Williamson, 1975; 1989).