三元采购情境下供应商创新贡献诱发机理研究

The Inducing Mechanisms of Supplier Innovation Contribution in Triadic Sourcing Context

供应商的创新贡献为制造企业产品创新提供了重要支持,但现有研究对三元采购情境下供应商创新贡献诱发机理还缺乏充分认识。本文以刺激—有机体—反应(SOR)理论框架和自我决定理论为基础,探讨“三元采购策略实施(刺激)—供应商感知(有机体心理状态)—供应商创新贡献行为(反应)”的影响机理,并从供应商特质视角(供应商竞合能力)探讨了三元采购策略影响供应商感知的边界条件。研究结果表明,供应商感知(脆弱性感知、学习机会感知)在三元采购策略与供应商创新贡献之间起着中介作用,供应商竞合能力会调节三元采购策略与供应商感知(脆弱性感知、学习机会感知)之间的关系。研究结果对制造企业有效动员供应商创新贡献行为具有借鉴意义。

Owing to the fact that suppliers are of great innovation value,suppliers’innovation contribution provides important support for manufacturers’product innovation.Many manufacturing firms strive to build and maintain strategic partnership with innovative suppliers to stimulate supplier innovation contribution.But scholars and managers gradually recognize the“dark side”(i.e.,relationship inertia and lock-in risk)of strong ties between manufacturers and suppliers.Therefore,strong ties are not“once and for all”when manufacturing firms want to stimulate supplier innovation contribution.As the co-opetition philosophy is continuously penetrated and effectively applied in practice,some manufacturing firms gradually realize the importance of fostering two forces.Consequently,the manufacturing firms adopt triadic sourcing strategy to intentionally and proactively create co-opetition situations between two suppliers.That is,manufacturing firms incorporate a new supplier into previously dyadic manufacture-supplier relationship and construct triadic structure(i.e.,manufacturer-supplier-supplier relationship).The triadic sourcing strategy allows the manufacturing firms to establish cooperative relationships with two suppliers simultaneously.The manufacturing firms bring together two suppliers not only for cooperation but for competition.However,extant research regards triadic sourcing strategy as critical tools to avoid supply disruption risk and improve operational performance,and focuses less on the role that triadic sourcing strategy may play in inducing supplier innovation contribution.Although the importance of co-opetition in the field of innovation management is increasingly prominent in recent years,driving innovation through co-opetition is still a relatively new management idea.Triadic sourcing strategy follows co-opetition philosophy.Thus,it is crucial to investigate the research question of how triadic sourcing strategy extracts more potential innovation benefits for manufacturing firms and makes the overall innovation contribution of two suppliers(the two suppliers who have co-opetition relationships)greater.Based on SOR(stimulus-organism-response)theory,the influence path of“the implementation of triadic sourcing strategy(the stimulus)-suppliers’perceptions(the organism’s psychological state)-supplier innovation contribution behavior(the response)”is constructed.Inspired by the self-determination theory,this study regards suppliers’perceptions(i.e.,perceived vulnerability and perceived opportunity of in-learning)as key mediators that explain the mechanisms by which triadic sourcing strategy influences supplier innovation contribution.Moreover,considering the important contingency role of supplier characteristics(i.e.,supplier co-opetition capability),the boundary conditions that may moderate the relationship between triadic sourcing strategy and supplier perception are revealed and discussed.To test the research hypotheses,this study used pair-sampling method and gathered matched data from both sides(manufacturing firms and supplier firms).The results show that(1)suppliers’perceptions(perceived vulnerability and perceived opportunity of in-learning)play intermediary roles between triadic sourcing strategy and supplier innovation contribution.(2)the effect of triadic sourcing strategy on perceived vulnerability may be weakened by supplier co-opetition mindset and supplier co-opetition experience,but strengthened by complementary resources and capabilities.(3)supplier co-opetition capability(supplier co-opetition mindset,supplier co-opetition experience,complementary resources and capabilities)positively moderates the impact of triadic sourcing strategy on perceived opportunity of in-learning.Our study specifically targets the triadic sourcing context to clearly probe the inducements lie behind supplier innovation contribution behavior and deeply understand the occurrence mechanisms of supplier innovation contribution.In addition,this study complements the inadequate consideration of boundary conditions associated with supplier characteristics and clarifies the theoretical boundary of triadic sourcing strategy’s effectiveness.Our findings provide specific guidance to manufacturing firms as to how they mobilize their suppliers’innovation contribution more effectively.Triadic sourcing strategy emerges as an effective means to stimulate suppliers’perceptions and innovation contribution behavior.Manufacturing firms can take full leverage advantage of triadic sourcing strategy to intentionally organize and arrange co-opetition relationships between suppliers.Furthermore,suppliers with different characteristics should be treated in different ways,so that they can be encouraged to make greater innovation contributions for manufacturing firms.