When Good Business Relationships Go Bad: A Quantitative Analysis of Dark Side Variables in Mature Supply Chain Relationships

A survey of supply chain managers examines the dark side effect of relationship variables in mature business relationships. Specifically examined was the moderating impact of relationship quality on the relationship between five potentially dark side relationship variables with two variables of performance. There was evidence of the positive moderating effect of relationship quality between the relationship variables of relationship-specific investment and long-term relationship orientation and performance. For the majority of relationship variables, however, relationship quality did not have a positive moderating effect (social capital, reciprocity, and learning/absorptive capacity), suggesting a potential for diminishing returns indicative of a dark side effect.