Abstract:
The last decade has seen a growing interest from academics and practitioners in the
development of collaborative supply chain relationships based on information
exchange. Most of the evidence gathered within this management research area has
been biased towards the role of the buyer/supplier dyadic exchange in the integration of
the supply chain. The role of the other parties and the systemic nature of supply chain
management have been relatively ignored.
Previous research in this area has also been biased due to the narrow focus of
investigation, with one problem being obtaining access to all parties involved in the
supply chain. The purpose of this study was to overcome the aforementioned research
biases and therefore, contribute to the understanding of the collaborative relationship
development process from a broader supply chain perspective.
Open access was gained to six organisations across three tiers of a coffee supply chain
in the UK grocery sector. Within this context, a theory building approach was applied to
the data collected in the case study. Through constant comparison and coding of data
from multiple strategic, tactical, operational, inter- and intra-organisational exchanges
within the same context, several findings were made. An interesting finding from the
research is the evolving role of the supply chain integrator, whereby the manufacturer
seeks to balance the needs of its retail customers with the sourcing and procurement of
raw and packaging materials from its suppliers.
In terms of the concepts of supply chain relationships and information exchange, there
are a number of common enablers and inhibitors. The inter-relationship between the two
concepts is however complex and requires further study. The other findings of the
research are expressed as a tentative theoretical framework and a series of new
emerging enablers and inhibitors to collaborative relationships and information
exchange in the supply chain. Finally the enablers and inhibitors grounded from the
case study provide a guide to the relational and often context specific factors that can
influence the development of collaborative supply chain relationships based on
information exchange.
