Collaborative innovation with suppliers: how to deal with openness, power, and cohesion paradoxes in purchasing and supply management

This article draws on paradox theory to: (1) understand paradoxes in the context of collaborative innovation with suppliers; and (2) develop strategies to manage these paradoxes. We explored the manifestations of three major paradoxes identified in the literature: openness, power, and cohesion. For each paradox, we formed three focus groups of five practitioners from different sectors to stimulate peer discussion and elicit different opinions. Based on the results of these nine focus groups, we conduct a thematic content analysis using the classical framework of paradox resolution strategies: either-or, both-and, and more-than strategies. Our results reveal that the relevance of the paradox resolution strategy depends not only on the paradox, but also on the context. The three strategies are not mutually exclusive and can be combined according to contingency factors. The paradoxical mindset, considered as a micro-foundation of dynamic capability, must be integrated as an essential skill for managing collaborative innovation with suppliers.