Purpose

This paper aims to examine how collaborative supplier development (SD) activities, supplier capabilities and buyer–supplier relationship interrelate in technology-based, luxury product business contexts characterized by small volumes, difficult targets and resource constraints relative to those targets.

Design/methodology/approach

Using inductive case research method, the authors investigate multiple embedded cases involving six dyadic buyer–supplier relationships of two luxury product manufacturers in the motorcycle and automotive industries. Each dyad represents an important sub-system for which the buying firm committed significant SD efforts to help the supplier successfully achieve difficult targets.

Findings

The analysis reveals how paradoxical tensions might emerge as the firms engage in successful SD activities, which could lead to decreasing relationship commitment ultimately resulting in the termination of the relationship. The authors utilize the “value co-creation and value capture” paradox framework to understand the SD and relationship dynamic and characterize it as developing-leveraging paradox to explain its dualities, i.e. commitment-based SD efforts (increasing value co-creation), and unilateral leveraging of the newly acquired capabilities (increasing value capture) by both the buyer and the supplier. Overemphasis on value capture by one of the exchange partners spurs a detrimental vicious cycle leading to the decline of the relationship.

Research limitations/implications

The study explains the paradoxical dynamics that may emerge in SD activities of innovative, technologically complex, luxury product firms. The findings contribute to the SD literature by highlighting how learnings from SD activities could contribute to the dark sides of buyer–supplier relationship. The technologically complex, luxury product contextual characteristics of the study may limit the generalizability of the study findings.

Originality/value

The study provides novel insights into the emergence and management of paradoxes in buyer–supplier relationships, in terms of virtuous and vicious dynamics of developing-leveraging.

中文翻译：

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基于技术的奢侈品供应链中供应商发展的悖论

目的

本文旨在研究协作供应商开发 (SD) 活动、供应商能力和买方与供应商关系在以技术为基础的奢侈品业务环境中如何相互关联，这些业务环境的特点是产量小、目标困难以及相对于这些目标的资源限制。

设计/方法论/途径

作者采用归纳案例研究方法，调查了涉及摩托车和汽车行业两家奢侈品制造商的六种二元买家-供应商关系的多个嵌入案例。每个二元组都代表一个重要的子系统，采购公司为此投入了大量的可持续发展努力，以帮助供应商成功实现困难的目标。

发现

分析揭示了当公司成功开展可持续发展活动时，可能会出现矛盾的紧张关系，这可能导致关系承诺的减少，最终导致关系的终止。作者利用“价值共同创造和价值捕获”悖论框架来理解可持续发展和关系动态，并将其描述为发展-杠杆悖论来解释其二元性，即基于承诺的可持续发展努力（增加价值共同创造），以及买方和供应商单方面利用新获得的能力（增加价值捕获）。交易伙伴之一过度强调价值获取会引发有害的恶性循环，导致关系恶化。

研究局限性/影响

该研究解释了创新型、技术复杂型奢侈品公司的可持续发展活动中可能出现的矛盾动态。这些发现通过强调从可持续发展活动中学到的知识如何助长买方与供应商关系的阴暗面，为可持续发展文献做出了贡献。该研究的技术复杂性、奢侈品背景特征可能会限制研究结果的普遍性。

原创性/价值

该研究从发展杠杆的良性和恶性动态方面，为买方与供应商关系中悖论的出现和管理提供了新颖的见解。