Impact of interdependence between supply chain partners on strategic alliance outcomes: Role of relational capital as a mediating construct

Abstract

Purpose

The aims of this paper are: to argue the role of Kelley's personal relationship theory (PRT) in explaining the maintenance and success of alliance outcomes; to argue the inclusion of communication between supply chain partners as a major component of relationship capital in addition to trust and commitment; to test the impact of interdependence between supply chain partners on strategic alliance outcomes; and to test the role of relationship capital as a mediating construct between interdependence.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was constructed and sent to 2,156 supply chain managers in Malaysia. The questionnaire captured three constructs: interdependence – task, goal and reward; relationship capital – trust, commitment, and communication; and strategic alliance outcomes – goal, value‐creation, and re‐evaluation. The companies were selected randomly from the Federation of Malaysian Manaufacturers (FMM) directory. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The major findings are: communication must be included as a major component of relationship capital in addition to trust and commitment; Kelley's PRT plays a prominent role in explaining the maintenance and success of strategic alliance outcomes; interdependence has a significant relationship with relationship capital; relationship capital has a significant relationship with strategic alliance outcomes; and relationship capital acts as a pure mediator between interdependence and strategic alliance outcomes.

Originality/value

This research contributes significantly to the theoretical and empirical developments that enrich the strategic alliance literature.

Citation

Sambasivan, M., Siew‐Phaik, L., Abidin Mohamed, Z. and Choy Leong, Y. (2011), "Impact of interdependence between supply chain partners on strategic alliance outcomes: Role of relational capital as a mediating construct", Management Decision, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 548-569. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741111126486