Power in Supply Chain Management

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.12140
• Author: Felix Reimann,David J. Ketchen
• Date: 01 April 2017
• Published date: 01 April 2017

POWER IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

FELIX REIMANN X

WHU –Otto Beisheim School of Management

DAVID J. KETCHEN, JR.

Auburn University

Power is a central yet underexplored element in supply chain relation-

ships. In this introduction to the Special Topic Forum (STF), we provide a

brief overview of key concepts underlying the current literature on power

in supply chains. We then highlight open questions that we see at the

forefront of the literature and explain how the five STF papers inform

these developing research streams. We close by offering directions for

future research on power in supply chains.

Keywords: power; supply chain management; buyer–supplier relationships; resource

dependence theory; social exchange theory

INTRODUCTION

Power is a central element in supply chain relation-

ships. The question of how to gain and use power

with other parties in the supply chain is a frequent

concern in management practice. It is at the heart of

many of the concepts taught in supply chain manage-

ment courses (Cox, 2001; Kraljic, 1983), and it has

sparked a long-standing stream of academic research

(including, e.g., Emerson, 1962; Pfeffer & Salancik,

1978; Benton & Maloni, 2005; Crook & Combs,

2007; Terpend & Krause, 2015). At the same time,

scholars are just beginning to explore many of the

complexities surrounding power relationships within

supply chains. This Special Topic Forum (STF)

includes five articles, all of which tie in with different

facets of these complexities, and that may help shape

future research in the field.

In this essay, we provide a brief introduction to key

concepts underlying the current literature on power in

supply chains. We then highlight open questions that

we see at the forefront of the development of the field

and explain how the five papers in the STF tie in with

these developing research streams. Finally, we outline

possible directions for future research.

A CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION FOR

UNDERSTANDING POWER IN SUPPLY

CHAINS

Power is frequently defined as one party’s ability to

enforce its will on another party (Emerson, 1962). In

supply chain relationships, it may be used to claim a

higher share of the value that is available in the

exchange between the two firms (Crook & Combs,

2007). While the supply chain management literature

has highlighted the benefits of constructive collabora-

tion and joint value creation between buyers and sup-

pliers, even in collaborative relationships the question

remains how the generated value is distributed. The

balance of power between the involved parties has a

large influence on this distribution (Chicksand, 2015;

Crook & Combs, 2007).

A frequently used lens to explain power in supply

chain relationships is resource dependence theory

(Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978). This theory suggests that to

operate and compete successfully, firms need access to

some resources that are not under their direct control

but need to be acquired on the market. Such resources

may include physical inputs as well as intangibles. If

one firm controls resources that another firm needs, it

possesses power. Power asymmetry results from one

firm needing another firm’s resources more than the

other way around (Casciaro & Piskorski, 2005), for

example, because the resource is particularly impor-

tant or alternative sources for the resource are difficult

to find. The more powerful firm (i.e., the firm on the

more favorable side of dependence asymmetry) may

use its power by selectively withholding or granting

access to its resources in exchange for favorable terms.

As such, a basic tenet of resource dependence theory

is that the ability to use power, as well as the actual

use of power, is to the advantage of the more power-

ful firm and to the disadvantage of the less powerful

firm. The degree to which this power differential is

April 2017 3

Journal of Supply Chain Management

2017, 53(2), 3–9

©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.