Abstract
Interorganizational research has largely ignored how dyadic relationships are embedded in a wider network context. Responding to this research gap, we study how triadic embeddedness – cooperating firms structurally and mutually embedded in a network of triads – affects the sources of relational rents and interfirm performance. Using a unique combination of interfirm network- and survey data, we find that triadic embeddedness affects two sources of relational rents – relationship learning and trust-based governance. Learning and trust-based governance, in turn, increase two indicators of interfirm performance – cost reductions and end-product enhancements. The study contributes to a broader understanding of the relational view by showing that triadic embeddedness has direct positive effects on the sources of relational rents and indirect positive effects on interfirm performance.
Highlights
Studies on interorganizational relations have traditionally been dominated by a focus on dyadic buyer-supplier relation ships, but researchers suggest that the focus should be extended to examine triadic relationships (Choi & Wu, 2009a; Gao, Xie, & Zhou, 2015; Wu, Choi, & Rungtusanatham, 2010; Wynstra, Spring, & Schoenherr, 2015)
We find that triadic embeddedness has a non-significant effect on relation-specific investments and significant effects on relationship learning and benevolence-based trust
The results show that two sources of relational rents – interfirm learning and trust-based governance – are a function of triadic embeddedness
Summary
Studies on interorganizational relations have traditionally been dominated by a focus on dyadic (and often) buyer-supplier relation ships, but researchers suggest that the focus should be extended to examine triadic relationships (Choi & Wu, 2009a; Gao, Xie, & Zhou, 2015; Wu, Choi, & Rungtusanatham, 2010; Wynstra, Spring, & Schoenherr, 2015). Triads enable studying the network embeddedness of dyadic relationships, which is of great importance for understanding competitiveness, performance, and value creation (e.g., Swierczek, 2019). 265), who state that “[w]e need to study how in a network, a dyad is affected by another dyad” to fully account for the relational characteristics of the two firms in a dyad. Quantitative empirical studies looking at the relationship between triads and dyadic characteristics are virtually non-existent
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