Purpose

This study investigates the extent to which a firm’s centrality and autonomy in its supply network are associated with the intensity and complexity of its competitive actions.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing social network analysis and dynamic panel data models, this study analyzes a comprehensive panel dataset with 10,802 firm-year observations across various industries between 2011 and 2018 to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Our findings show that a firm’s level of centrality in its supply network has an inverted U-shaped relationship with both competitive intensity and competitive complexity. In addition, the turning points of these two inverted U-shaped relationships differ in that firms with a lower level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching more actions within fewer categories, while firms with a higher level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching fewer actions that cover a larger range of categories. Finally, we find that a firm’s structural autonomy has a positive relationship with competitive complexity.

Originality/value

This study bridges the gap between the supply chain management literature and strategic management literature and investigates how supply networks shape competitive aggressiveness. In particular, this research investigates how a firm’s structural position in its supply network affects its competitive actions, an important intermediate mechanism for competitive advantage that has been overlooked in the supply chain management literature.

中文翻译：

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更多或更复杂的动作？供应网络对企业竞争侵略性的影响

目的

本研究调查了企业在其供应网络中的中心地位和自主权与其竞争行为的强度和复杂性之间的关联程度。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究利用社交网络分析和动态面板数据模型，分析了包含 2011 年至 2018 年间各行业 10,802 个公司年度观察的综合面板数据集，以检验假设。

发现

我们的研究结果表明，企业在其供应网络中的中心地位水平与竞争强度和竞争复杂性均呈倒U型关系。此外，这两种倒U型关系的转折点的不同之处在于，中心度较低的企业倾向于通过在较少的品类中推出更多的行动来积极竞争，而中心度较高的企业则倾向于通过推出更多的行动来积极竞争。更少的行动覆盖更大范围的类别。最后，我们发现企业的结构自主性与竞争复杂性呈正相关。

原创性/价值

本研究弥合了供应链管理文献和战略管理文献之间的差距，并研究了供应网络如何塑造竞争侵略性。特别是，本研究调查了企业在供应网络中的结构地位如何影响其竞争行为，这是供应链管理文献中忽视的竞争优势的重要中间机制。