Creating supply chain relational capital: The impact of formal and informal socialization processes [An article from: Journal of Operations Management]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Operations Management, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Establishing closer social ties between buying and supplying organizations is increasingly cited as a critical differentiator of high and low performers in global supply chains. While the creation of relational capital within an organization is a relatively well identified concept in organizational research, comparatively little research exists on the inter-organizational socialization processes that create relational value in supply chains. In our research, we extend theoretical models of group social conduits into this context, and develop a model that posits the impact of formal and informal socialization processes on the creation of relational capital between buyers and suppliers. Results from our study of 111 manufacturing organizations in the United Kingdom suggest that informal socialization processes are important in the creation of relational capital, which in turn can lead to improved supplier relationship outcomes. Formal bridging socialization conduits appear to play a lesser role in deriving these benefits.