Manufacturer-supplier relationships and service performance in service triads
通过案例研究，探讨服务三角中制造商与供应商的关系如何影响服务绩效，发现信息交换、供应商特定适应和关系正式化直接提升绩效，而合作规范和运营联系则间接作用。
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the manufacturer-supplier relationship in service performance within service triads. Design/methodology/approach An abductive case-research approach was adopted, using three embedded cases and 26 interviews in complex, multilevel manufacturer-supplier relationships within the same service network. Cannon and Perreault’s (1999) multidimensional relationship framework was deployed to achieve granular and nuanced insight. Findings This study corroborates the idea that relational relationships within service triads and servitization improve performance. The role of each relationship dimension in service performance is discerned and their interplay is captured in an analytic model. Information exchange, supplier relationship-specific adaptations, and the degree of formalization of the relationship directly influence performance, while cooperative norms and operational linkages are further back in the causal ordering. The study also highlights the importance of contingent factors (the size of the service site, the proportion of its revenues coming from service contract activities) and how they affect the relationship dimensions. Research limitations/implications The work was conducted in one network and the findings were generalized to theory rather than additional empirical settings. Originality/value This study is the first to derive a contextualized causal ordering of the Cannon and Perreault (1999) framework of relationship connectors and link it with service performance.