The influences of boundary spanning capabilities and long–term orientation on opportunism in inter–firm relationships

Abstract

ABSTRACT Opportunism is a common issue in inter – firm relationships, which increases transaction costs, impairs firm performance and supply chain efficiency, and deteriorates relationship quality. Previous studies have intensively investigated factors influencing opportunism but overfocusing on the organisational level. Recently, supply chain researchers have called for identifying factors influencing opportunism at the individual level to gain a more comprehensive understanding of opportunism. Based on transaction cost theory, resource dependence theory, and boundary spanning theory, this study seeks to advance the emerging research stream on opportunism at the individual level by investigating how buyer agents’ boundary spanning capabilities and firms’ long – term relationship orientation can help manage supplier agents’ opportunism. Using a cross – sectional data set of 406 buyer agents from manufacturing companies collected from February to April 2021 in Japan, we tested a set of hypotheses through regression and conditional process analyses. Our findings suggest that buyer agents’ strategic communication and firms’ long – term relationship orientation are critical factors that reduce supplier agents’ opportunism.