International supply relationships and non‐financial performance—A comparison of U.S. and German practices

Abstract Despite the fact that the international trade of goods continues to steadily increase, international supply management for manufacturing still represents a largely under‐researched topic. These omissions in the extant literature include a lack of focus upon the factors affecting the performance outcomes of international sourcing. This article examines the antecedents of the supply management performance of international buyer–supplier relationships. It does so from the perspective of the buying organization. The authors develop an integrative framework based on game theory and exchange theory, and linked with the resource dependence approach and transaction cost theory. Specifically, the relationships between four constructs are examined: the multi‐dimensional construct of uncertainty, the game‐theoretical construct of the shadow of the future, the exchange‐theoretical construct of social bonding, and supply management performance. Based on large‐scale surveys with supply managers, the framework is tested in a cross‐national study in the U.S. and in Germany.