Abstract
Purpose: This study investigates how firm should structure their supply chain triads to deal with environmental uncertainties and opportunities.
Justification: Supply chains (SCs) have become more complicated and global over the years, necessitating a thorough examination of their underlying structures and relationships. In this context, the exploration of SC triadic structure gains paramount significance for both academic scholarship and business applications (Swierczek & Szozda, 2023). SCs have evolved into intricate networks involving three entities or nodes (for example, supplier, focal firm and customer), which form a basic unit of interaction and coordination in an SC (Choi & Wu, 2009). The triadic perspective offers a robust methodological context to examine dynamic supply networks (Vlachos & Singh, 2023). However, the existing SC studies are conducted from the dyadic perspective (Zha et al., 2022), thus neglecting to capture the dynamics unique in triadic settings, such as increased complexity and interdependence, third-party logistics (3PL)/supplier relational differences and balanced power dynamics, among others (Gligor et al., 2022; Patrucco et al., 2022). The earlier studies overlooked the fact that the triad is the building block of the SC network (Vlachos & Dyra, 2020). Therefore, the dyadic studies limit the understanding of network dynamics and offer limited opportunities for theory development.
In this study we explore the intricate dynamics within the SCs, particularly focusing on the interplay between external factors, supplier/3PL triadic structures and external contingencies and their collective impact on firm performance. We conceptualise supplier/3Pl structure as not just an internal structure but a significant external component within a triad, acknowledging the broader context in which SC relationships unfold. We have considered trust, opportunism, formality, and standardization within the supplier/3PL structure as a continuum, introducing a level of sophistication to our analysis and understanding that these variables operate on a spectrum instead of in rigid categories.
Design/methodology/approach: Grounded on the Structural Contingency theory, it develops a conceptual model that links two contingency types (uncertainties and opportunities), two structural dimensions (opportunity - trust; standardisation -formality), and firm performance dimensions (financial, market, operational, market, resilience) in a SC triad setting. Data were collected via a large-scale survey and analysed via multivariate and configurational models to assess the effects of Structural Contingency factors using separate models for suppliers and Third-party Logistics Providers (TLPs).
Findings: Findings are under development.
Originality/value: This study highlights the important role of environmental contingencies i.e. uncertainties and opportunities in supply chain triads.