Interorganizational teams in low-versus high-dependence contexts

Abstract

Buyer-supplier teams constitute a vital vehicle to shape and implement the corporate supply chain agenda. However, extant research on interorganizational teams is limited and more focused on new product development teams. Consequently, this paper aims to assess the impact of key interorganizational team characteristics (psychological safety and relationalism) on various facets of supplier-relationship outcomes (innovation, efficiency, and agility) as well as the moderating role of supplier dependence. Based on a sample of 413 suppliers of a focal North-American buyer of heavy machinery parts, we analyze the projected relationships through structural equation modeling and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. We establish measurement equivalence before performing multigroup comparisons. Our results highlight the importance of both psychological safety and relationalism for improving all facets of supplier-relationship outcomes, with the exception of the impact of psychological safety on efficiency, which is not significant. Our results also confirm the moderating role of dependence; that is, the positive impact of relationalism on innovation is weakened in high-dependence relationships. The focus on suppliers to a single buyer rules out various buyer-related differences as alternative explanations. The paper provides avenues for further research and guidelines for practitioners on how to shape interorganizational teams in relation to dependence and strategic priorities.