Stability Governance of E-commerce Supply Chain: Social Capital and Governance Mechanism Design Perspective

Abstract

The supply chain is an important part for firms to maintain competitive advantages. With the development of the Internet industry, the complexity of the business environment faced by E-commerce firms has greatly increased. Additionally, unexpected events have occurred from time to time, which have seriously affected the stability of the E-commerce supply chain. Supply chain social capital comprises the resources obtained by firms in the supply chain network through reputation, status, trust, commitment, etc., which allows the firms in the supply chain to form an interdependent relationship. Supply chain social capital can generate sustainable competitive advantages for supply chain firms. Based on the theory of social capital, this paper analyzes the impact on supply chain collaboration and stability from the three dimensions of supply chain capital: structural capital, cognitive capital, and relational capital. The results show that supply chain social capital positively affects supply chain collaboration and affects the stability of the supply chain in indirect ways. At the same time, this paper also found that under different supply chain governance modes, there are differences in the relationship between supply chain social capital and supply chain collaboration, that the moderation effects of contractual governance are not significant, while relational governance has positive moderation effects on the relationship between supply chain structural capital, relational capital, and supply chain collaboration. The conclusion of this study provides a theoretical basis for E-commerce firms to improve the level of supply chain social capital, adopt informal relational governance to face market uncertainty, and then promote the stability of the supply chain. At the same time, it also provides practical reference for the management department to issue policies so as to promote mutual understanding between supply chain cooperative firms, and to form a harmonious supply chain relationship.