THE STUDY OF THE ANTECEDENTS AND SUBSEQUENCES OF SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNER TRUST AND COMMITMENT

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

As competition is growing, products and services become more homogeneous, and markets become mature, it is becoming increasingly harder for companies in both manufacturing and service industries to differentiate themselves from other organizations. Merely providing partners with technical solutions to problems does not suffice anymore to be competitive and gain and retain market share. Various value-added services, which start before the actual transaction and go far beyond it, have to be delivered in order to stay competitive and create partner loyalty. Loyal partners will generate more revenues in the long run. In the relationship marketing literature the concept of commitment plays a central role, as it is a major characteristic of relationship marketing models. Commitment refers to an implicit or explicit pledge of the continuity of a relationship between exchange partners. It is commonly agreed that partners in an alliance must have a high degree of trust and commitment towards their relationship. If trust and commitment is lacking, the alliance relationship will soon come to an end. This study aims to analyze the antecedents and subsequences of alliance partner trust and commitment. The antecedents of alliance partner trust and commitment include relationship benefits, relationship termination costs, shared values, information sharing, opportunistic behavior, satisfaction, total interdependence, interdependence asymmetry, quality, enhancing competitive advantage, corporate culture, and partner’s reputation. The meaning of communication is similar to information sharing. The subsequences of alliance partner trust and commitment include acquiescence, cooperation intension, conflict, and uncertainty. The propensity to leave is similar to the other side of cooperation intension. Uncertainty includes decision-making uncertainty, behavioral uncertainty, and technological uncertainty. Affective commitment, that is commitment based on attraction between partners, is to be preferred over calculative commitment. The latter form of commitment is based on constant weighing of the benefits of a relationship with a partner against the costs of that relationship. Relationships based solely on calculative commitment are also most likely not to last for an extended time. Affective commitment is related to trust in the partner’s honesty and benevolence, quality of the outcome of the service process, and partner satisfaction with the service being delivered. The quality of the service process has an indirect effect on affective commitment, as it is related to satisfaction. Furthermore, it is shown that affectively committed partners have a much stronger intention to stay in a relationship with a service provider than calculative committed partners.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Abstract
• 1. INTRODUCTION
• 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
• 3. DISCUSSION
• REFERENCES