Selecting Startups as Suppliers: A Typology of Supplier Selection Archetypes
通过对20家成熟企业的案例研究，识别出选择初创企业作为供应商的五个设计主题，并归纳出三种供应商选择原型，帮助企业更有效地筛选合适的初创供应商。
Recent research highlights opportunities to study collaborations between established firms and startups from a buyer–supplier relationship perspective. However, before firms can leverage startups’ resources and capabilities in a buyer–supplier relationship, they need to identify, evaluate, and select suitable startups as their suppliers. As prior research has only studied how buying firms select established firms as suppliers, it is unclear which processes, tools, or organizational approach firms use when selecting startup firms as suppliers. These suppliers are markedly different in that they lack organizational routines, financial resources, and operational capabilities, posing a significant risk for buying companies. This inductive, qualitative case study research collects data from 20 established buying firms and investigates how they select startups as suppliers. We first identify five design themes distinguishing buying firms’ selection strategies. Based on these themes, we develop a typology of three supplier selection archetypes. The results suggest that firms that are willing and able to adapt their selection approach to startups are expected to show a higher selection performance, meaning that they are more likely to select suitable startups as suppliers. The results extend the supplier selection literature and provide new insights into the emerging field of new venture suppliers.