Strategic responses to power dominance in buyer-supplier relationships: A weaker actor's perspective
In: International journal of physical distribution and logistics management, Volume 45, Issue 1/2, p. 182-203
ISSN: 0020-7527
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic options available to a weaker actor to counteract the dominance of a stronger actor in a buyer-supplier relationship, and identifies those factors that influence the choice of individual options.
Design/methodology/approach
– Following a systematic literature review methodology, a five-phase approach of planning, searching, screening, extraction and synthesis was rigorously employed. In total, 48 studies were used to draw conclusions about the phenomena of interest.
Findings
– Captured in an integrated conceptual framework, this study identified five strategic options available to the weaker actor in order to counteract a power dominance of a stronger player, which were underpinned by seven influencing factors.
Research limitations/implications
– The proposed conceptual framework requires first qualitative empirical validation using an abductive multi-case strategy, followed by a theory testing phase, employing a configurational approach.
Practical implications
– The proposed framework suggested that the weaker actor in a buyer-supplier relationship has five options to address power dominance. These options were available within as well as beyond a focal dyadic relationship. For the stronger actor, the authors showed that power dominance is a temporary state rather than permanent.
Originality/value
– This study marks one of the first attempts to present a coherent set of strategic options and underpinning factors to counteract power dominance in a buyer-supplier relationship from the perspective of a weaker actor. Given the underexplored nature of the topic, the study also provides guidelines for further research.