Abstract
Purpose-The paper aims to describe the changes in buyer-supplier relationships among Japanese companies at the early 2000s, focusing on two critical features; long-term relationships and information sharing. In particular, the paper investigates the relationship between benefits from information-sharing activities within buyer-supplier relationships and the stability of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach-The paper develops a questionnaire based on prior research related to Japanese companies and undertakes a questionnaire survey of 353 Japanese manufacturing companies (which belong to the machinery, electrical/electronics, transportation equipment, and precision industries) in 2002. Findings-Although Japanese companies have been considered to have close relationships with their partners, the paper finds only a small proportion of buyers were willing to share sensitive information with their suppliers and/or expected to continue long-term relationships with them. In addition, an examination of factors relating to buyers' performance shows that receiving benefits from inter-organizational information-sharing activities (attending suppliers' meetings, sending engineers to suppliers, and proposing cost saving ideas) could affect buyers' incentives to sustain long-term relationships with their suppliers. Originality/value-The paper provides empirical evidence of the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship in Japanese manufacturing companies. Specifically, the main contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence indicating that the benefit from buyer-supplier relationships has an effect on the governance structure of these relationships.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 17098441 |
| Pages (from-to) | 427-447 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
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Keywords
- Buyer-supplier relationships
- Information sharing
- Japanese manufacturing companies
- Long-term relationships
- Questionnaire survey
- Supply chain management
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Accounting
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
- Strategy and Management
Cite this
Transition of buyer-supplier relationships in Japan Empirical evidence from manufacturing companies. / Kawai, Takaharu; Sakaguchi, Junya; Shimizu, Nobumasa.
In: Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, Vol. 9, No. 4, 17098441, 2013, p. 427-447.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Transition of buyer-supplier relationships in Japan Empirical evidence from manufacturing companies
AU - Kawai, Takaharu
AU - Sakaguchi, Junya
AU - Shimizu, Nobumasa
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Purpose-The paper aims to describe the changes in buyer-supplier relationships among Japanese companies at the early 2000s, focusing on two critical features; long-term relationships and information sharing. In particular, the paper investigates the relationship between benefits from information-sharing activities within buyer-supplier relationships and the stability of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach-The paper develops a questionnaire based on prior research related to Japanese companies and undertakes a questionnaire survey of 353 Japanese manufacturing companies (which belong to the machinery, electrical/electronics, transportation equipment, and precision industries) in 2002. Findings-Although Japanese companies have been considered to have close relationships with their partners, the paper finds only a small proportion of buyers were willing to share sensitive information with their suppliers and/or expected to continue long-term relationships with them. In addition, an examination of factors relating to buyers' performance shows that receiving benefits from inter-organizational information-sharing activities (attending suppliers' meetings, sending engineers to suppliers, and proposing cost saving ideas) could affect buyers' incentives to sustain long-term relationships with their suppliers. Originality/value-The paper provides empirical evidence of the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship in Japanese manufacturing companies. Specifically, the main contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence indicating that the benefit from buyer-supplier relationships has an effect on the governance structure of these relationships.
AB - Purpose-The paper aims to describe the changes in buyer-supplier relationships among Japanese companies at the early 2000s, focusing on two critical features; long-term relationships and information sharing. In particular, the paper investigates the relationship between benefits from information-sharing activities within buyer-supplier relationships and the stability of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach-The paper develops a questionnaire based on prior research related to Japanese companies and undertakes a questionnaire survey of 353 Japanese manufacturing companies (which belong to the machinery, electrical/electronics, transportation equipment, and precision industries) in 2002. Findings-Although Japanese companies have been considered to have close relationships with their partners, the paper finds only a small proportion of buyers were willing to share sensitive information with their suppliers and/or expected to continue long-term relationships with them. In addition, an examination of factors relating to buyers' performance shows that receiving benefits from inter-organizational information-sharing activities (attending suppliers' meetings, sending engineers to suppliers, and proposing cost saving ideas) could affect buyers' incentives to sustain long-term relationships with their suppliers. Originality/value-The paper provides empirical evidence of the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship in Japanese manufacturing companies. Specifically, the main contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence indicating that the benefit from buyer-supplier relationships has an effect on the governance structure of these relationships.
KW - Buyer-supplier relationships
KW - Information sharing
KW - Japanese manufacturing companies
KW - Long-term relationships
KW - Questionnaire survey
KW - Supply chain management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885994177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84885994177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/JAOC-07-2011-0033
DO - 10.1108/JAOC-07-2011-0033
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84885994177
VL - 9
SP - 427
EP - 447
JO - Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change
JF - Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change
SN - 1832-5912
IS - 4
M1 - 17098441
ER -