The effect of buyer digital capability advantage on supplier unethical behavior: A moderated mediation model of relationship transparency and relational capital

Yanming Zhang, Baofeng Huo, Mark H. Haney and Mingu Kang

International Journal of Production Economics, 2022, vol. 253, issue C

Abstract: Drawing on organizational information processing theory, this study suggests a moderated mediation model that demonstrates how a buyer firm's digital capability advantage can reduce the unethical behavior of its suppliers. We collected two-wave survey data from 223 Chinese manufacturing firms and applied ordinary least squares regressions and the PROCESS macro model to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that a buyer firm's digital capability advantage indirectly decreases supplier unethical behavior through enhancing relationship transparency. In addition, this indirect effect is weaker when the level of relational capital is high. By examining the conditional indirect relationship between digital capability advantage and relational capital, this study provides valuable insights into how a buyer firm may effectively utilize digital capability advantage to improve relationship transparency and thereby reduce suppliers' unethical behavior.

Keywords: Supplier unethical behavior; Digital capability advantage; Supply chain transparency; Relational capital; Organizational Information processing theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527322001864
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:proeco:v:253:y:2022:i:c:s0925527322001864

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2022.108603

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Production Economics is currently edited by Stefan Minner

More articles in International Journal of Production Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().