SME supplier upgrading during the cooperation life cycle – Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

Marta Gancarczyk and Jacek Gancarczyk

Journal of East European Management Studies, 2016, vol. 21, issue 3, 318-351

Abstract: This paper proposes mechanisms of SME supplier upgrading during the cooperation life cycle, in the CEE context. The methodology consists in 1) confronting and then combining the global value chain governance and the resource-based streams of research on upgrading and learning with the use of the cooperation cycle as a mediator and 2) formulating research hypotheses to be tested in the specific type of case study, namely a prospective case study. According to the findings, in the initial phase of cooperation, upgrading is primarily determined by the network governance mode, which depends on asset specificity, contractual hazards, and supplier capability. At this stage of cooperation, we also identified absorptive capacity as instrumental to introducing customer-driven innovations. During the evolution of cooperation, upgrading is determined by absorptive capacity and dynamic capabilities of the supplier, while the governance mode forms an institutional framework enabling these factors to act.

Keywords: supplier upgrading; cooperation life cycle; resource-based view; governance; networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L14 M16 M21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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