Peeking Inside the Black Box: Toward an Understanding of Supply Chain Collaboration Dynamics

Supply chain collaboration is a vital dynamic capability — one that can deliver differential performance. Yet, few managers comprehend the nuanced complexities involved in assessing heterogeneously dispersed resources and bringing complimentary competencies together up and down the supply chain. As a result, gains from collaborative initiatives are often disappointing. Several literature streams including systems design, competency development (e.g., resource‐based view and relational view), and change management predict these outcomes. Building on insights from the literature, we sought to enrich theory of collaboration via inductive, interview‐driven research. Specifically, we conducted approximately 50 structured interviews at each of two points in time. Rigorous analysis of the interview firms' experience with collaborative initiatives provided insight into the motivations, resistors, enablers, and outcomes of collaboration. These insights form the foundation for a theoretical model to explain collaboration successes and failures as well as to provide prescriptions for using collaboration to achieve differential firm and supply chain performance.