The impact of deep vertical supply chain relationships upon focal‐firm innovation performance
结合资源基础理论与社会资本视角，研究垂直供应链关系的深度如何影响焦点企业的产品和流程创新，发现嵌入关系在深度增加时对两类创新产生不同影响。
Managers increasingly invest in relationships with suppliers and customers to stimulate innovation. Existing literature has demonstrated the potential for diminishing returns to the breadth of relationships but less attention has been paid to the depth of relationships. We combine resource based theory with social capital perspectives to consider the depth of vertical inter‐firm relationships and their impact on innovation for a focal firm. Using multivariate analysis to examine supplier‐led and user‐led innovation across firms in UK manufacturing, we find that embedded relationships in either direction correlate with both product and/or process innovation. However, with further depth of embeddedness, simultaneous and varied effects on product and process innovations occur. Our findings suggest that managers need to understand the unique dynamics of relationship depth (in addition to breadth) upon product and process innovation otherwise the focal firm may waste managerial effort and resources in relationship building.