Early research on buyer–supplier relationships was based on two cornerstones: relational governance mechanisms and superior value creation for the whole supply chain. Relational governance mechanisms, based on trust and informal safeguards, can lead to higher value creation, while lack of trust and opportunism can be controlled by contractual governance mechanisms. To date, however, few studies have investigated the role of power asymmetry in collaboration and how the total value is distributed between buyer and supplier. The amount each partner appropriates depends on their relative power in the relationship, which has further implications in governance and relationship continuation, yet that has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. To fill this gap, this study investigates the influence of power asymmetry on governance and value appropriation in collaborative relationships, from both the buyers’ and suppliers’ perspectives. This article contributes to the buyer–supplier literature by exploring the gains of both the stronger and weaker partners in the dyad. Based on in‐depth case studies with buyers and suppliers of the personal care and cosmetics (PC&C), and food and beverage (F&B) industries in Brazil, we found insights concerning the influence of power asymmetry and interdependence on governance mechanisms, as well as the complementarity of value appropriation inside and outside the dyad. We also propose a framework to represent the interplay between perceived justice and power asymmetry in long‐term relationships.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how resilience at different nodes in the supply chain influences overall supply chain resilience (SCRES) during an extreme weather event. Design/methodology/approach Based on 41 in-depth interviews, this qualitative study examines two Brazilian agri-food supply chains (AFSC). The interviews explored the impacts, preparedness, response and adaptation strategies adopted by farmers, processors and manufacturers during Brazil’s extreme drought of 2014–2015. Findings SCRES does not depend on all organizations in the supply chain but rather on the company able to reconfigure the resources to control for the disruption. In a supply chain with low interdependence among players, individual firm resilience elements might be preferable to interorganizational ones. Research limitations/implications This study is based on the context of AFSCs with low interdependence among players and during the experience of a climatic event. The results might not be generalizable to other sectors and phenomena. Practical implications Firms must evaluate their positions in supply chains and their interfirm relationships to determine which resilience strategy to invest in and rely on. Moreover, to leverage resilience at the supply chain level, firms must intensify information sharing and improve proactive resilience strategies upstream as well as downstream in the supply chain. Originality/value This study presents a broader perspective of resilience by comparing resilience elements at both the node and supply chain levels and by discussing their interactions and trade-offs.

This paper empirically confirmed a positive relationship between Supply Chain Management (SCM) and operational performance. A measurement model of the SCM construct was developed. Operational performance was conceptualized using competitive priorities literature with four dimensions: cost, quality, flexibility and delivery. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 103 companies, in Brazil. Results showed positive effects of SCM on all performance dimensions, offering further support for the cumulative capabilities perspective. We also found evidence of an operational competence construct mediating the effect of SCM on performance, supported conceptually by the resource-based and relational views of strategy.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Interfirm relationships create value, but buyers and suppliers can appropriate this value in different amounts. Using the relational-view of strategy, the purpose of this paper is to explain value creation and determine the portion of that value appropriated by each organization. Design/methodology/approach -The data source was a survey with 166 respondents covering two industries. The authors used confirmatory factor analysis to validate construct measurement and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. A parallel qualitative investigation composed of 31 interviews assisted in interpreting the findings. Findings -Based on the relational view of strategy, the authors found support for only two of the four hypotheses that sought to explain value creation. This result calls into question the applicability of this theory to contexts other than the automotive industry, in which it was developed. Only a joint construct combining Relational Governance and Resource Complementarity had a significant effect on relational value creation. With respect to value appropriation, although both buyers and suppliers captured part of the relational value created, the buyers tended to receive the great majority of this value.Research limitations/implications -The focussed context of this study (Brazilian companies in the personal care/cosmetics and food/beverage industries) limits its generalizability but provides deeper insight into the interpretation of its results. Practical implications -Both buyers and suppliers can benefit from collaborative relationships, but buyers appear to capture a larger share, forcing suppliers to continuously seek new sources of value. Originality/value -This paper bridges the gap between the buyer-supplier literature and the definition of competitive advantage as value creation found in the strategic management literature. This study proposes and tests an integrative definition of the relational value that is created and appropriated in a dyad. Keywords Buyer-supplier, Relational-view of strategy, Value creation and appropriation Paper type Research paper ResumenObjetivo -Las relaciones entre empresas generan valor, pero los compradores y provee...

This article draws on the Covid-19 vaccine supply chain to illustrate the structural inequalities characterising Global Value Chains. We show how the highly unequal vaccine distribution between the Global North and the Global South is shaped by the concentration of high-added value activities of vaccine development and production in the Global North and their nationalistic economic policies. These policies are short-sighted, as they fail to take account of the health risks that low vaccination rates in the Global South entail, not only for the North, but for the whole world. Using the metaphor of pawns moving in a chess game, we advance two possible scenarios. In the first, regional suppliers from low- and middle-income Global South countries will remain unimportant actors in the global vaccine supply chain, leaving inequalities intact. In the second, these suppliers will upgrade their activities in the vaccine supply chain, supported by public policies fostering industrial infrastructure, systems reforms and technological standardisation, leading to a more polycentric supply chain configuration. The persisting concentration of the governance of Global Value Chains in the Global North, we argue, will not only exacerbate current inequalities, but also likely lead to worldwide health, economic and social vulnerabilities.

This chapter describes how the gender relations that are present in the globalization process do not reflect the neutral practice presented in the literature, but instead represent a gendered phenomenon that promotes new arrangements of inequalities that impact supply chain management. For decades, gender inequity in supply chains was a “hidden” problem in several sectors, but in the early twenty-first century it is an overt challenge for supply chain management. Gender inequity exists in supply chains when there is low participation of women-owned businesses in supply, a clear wage inequity along the supply chain, and the identification of modern slavery or forced labor related to gender in any tier of a supply chain. A future agenda for gender issues in supply chains should address a range of issues, from the increase in the number of women-owned suppliers and its impacts, to equalization of income among genders throughout supply chains, to complete eradication of modern slavery in local and global supply chains.

PurposeBased on a critical lens, this paper aims to empirically evaluate the adoption of programs to buy from minority suppliers (MS) and their outcomes in Brazil, considering a multi-stakeholder approach (buying companies, suppliers and third parties).Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected via an exploratory survey involving 109 buying companies and two case studies with 21 in-depth interviews.FindingsIt was revealed that supplier diversity (SD) in Brazil is still developing, and is more rhetoric than a practice promoting real change. The current traditional procurement mindset, the role of third parties, and the focus on supplier selection, rather than on supplier development prevents a social impact that could reduce inequality between MS and their counterparts.Originality/valuePrevious studies were focused on buying companies' perspective in advanced countries that have clear regulation for SD. By exploring the phenomenon in a country with great economic disparities and no regulation, and using a critical lens, this study highlights the difference between desired and effective implementation of social initiatives that promote inclusiveness.

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