The Impact of ICT on Supplier-Buyer Relationship in Different Types of Supply Chain

Abstract

No doubt exists that ICT (information and communication technology) is emerging as a key resource in the supply chain management. Concurrently, the introducing and usage of ICT in supply chains change the relationship between buyers and suppliers. The purpose of this paper is to research how ICT affect the supplier-buyer relationship in different types of supply chains. Three factors, which are communication frequency, trust and relationship stabilization, are discussed as the key characteristics of the supplier-buyer relationship. We find that the impact of ICT is not the same in different types of supply chain.