Interdependent supply relationships as institutions: the role of HR practices

Marie Koulikoff‐Souviron · Alan Harrison

33 citations0/0 files storedInternational Journal of Operations & Production Management

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Quality and Supply Management Management and Organizational Studies Outsourcing and Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to use institutional theory to explore the role of human resource (HR) practices as carriers in the evolution of interdependent supply relationships. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study of an inter‐firm supply relationship where the two partners were interdependent as a result of a “closed loop” supply relationship. The paper explores the perspectives of employees at multiple levels within both partners, and collects pluralist evidence from 36 interviewees from both sides of the dyad. It collects documentary evidence such as minutes, contractual agreements and HR documents. This paper re‐analyses the evidence from earlier work using an institutional theory framework. Findings Using Scott's “three pillars” the paper shows that HR practices can act as carriers of regulative, normative and cultural‐cognitive elements in interdependent supply relationships through both formal and informal mechanisms. Regulative elements were less evident, but could be fundamental in shaping the other two. A tension was found between institutional pressures at the inter‐ and intra‐firm levels, an emergence of innovative practices and new routines at inter‐organizational level, and an evolution over time that could involve a de‐institutionalisation of the relationship as a result of internal priorities competing with the resource requirements of the supply relationship. Originality/value The paper addresses the interface between OM and organisational theory. Areas are proposed where institutionalisation of a supply relationship can be strengthened or weakened. The findings further challenge the view of supply relationships as a “spectrum” in which progress is unidirectional over time.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 33 citations exist upstream.

References

1983The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields 2004The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields 2004Case Study Research 1987The Economic Institutions of Capitalism 1995Institutions and organizations 1982Out of the Crisis 1979Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action 1994Developmental Processes of Cooperative Interorganizational Relationships

Cited by

2018How can employment relations in global value networks be managed towards social responsibility?2023Linking decentralization in decision-making to resilience outcomes: a supply chain orientation perspective 2010Evolving HR practices in a strategic intra‐firm supply chain 2013The influence of product life cycle on the efficacy of purchasing practices 2021Interorganizational imitation in supply chain relationships: The case of inventory leanness

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.