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Purpose: Utilizing a top-down approach of middle-range theorizing (MRT), the purpose of this paper is to integrate relational exchange with institutional theory to examine how companies manage supply chain relationships to achieve desired supply chain outcomes in industries characterized by varying degrees of regulatory mandates that restrict the choice of supply chain partners. The authors identify this supply chain relationship dynamic as constrained choice. Design/methodology/approach: A moderated mediation model is tested using survey data from producers in the US wine industry to investigate the effects of regulatory pressure on the ability of wine producers to achieve operational coordination when responding to relational behaviors through either trust or calculative commitment. Findings: Results find that relational behaviors can improve operational coordination through two distinct paths: trust or calculative commitment. With the moderating effect of regulatory pressure, relational behaviors more effectively facilitate operational coordination through trust. Alternately, regulatory pressure attenuates the mediated relationship through calculative commitment. Research limitations/implications: The research introduces constrained choice dynamics into the supply chain relationship literature via MRT. Integrating generative mechanisms from relational exchange and institutional theories provides theoretical depth and context-specific knowledge about relationships that operate in constrained choice situations. Practical implications: Managers impacted by constrained choice should recognize that mechanisms typically resulting in positive relationship outcomes may respond differently in the presence of regulatory constraints. With greater regulatory pressure, efforts to enhance operational coordination are more effective using relational mechanisms to build trust. When trust is diminished, calculative commitment can be effective in achieving operational coordination, although extensive regulations make it more difficult. Originality/value: Previous research traditionally assumes that managers are free to select suitable trading partners that ensure mutually beneficial relationships. The research develops a middle-range theory examining the constrained choice dynamic in relationships that are impacted to varying degrees by regulatory institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to utilize middle-range theorizing to examine whether a US manufacturer can leverage supply chain orientation (SCO) to garner responsiveness from a global supplier. To capture the interplay of macro-level institutional environments, the authors examine the moderating effect of institutional distance on the SCO–supplier responsiveness relationship.Design/methodology/approach Primary survey data collected from US manufacturers are utilized to measure SCO and supplier responsiveness. Two secondary data sets (EIU and GLOBE) capture formal and informal distance at the institutional level and are used to test the moderating effect of institutional distance.Findings The research finds that SCO can facilitate global supplier responsiveness. A post hoc exploratory analysis reveals a three-way interaction, where the SCO–supplier responsiveness relationship is strengthened when formal and informal institutions are either very similar or very different.Research limitations/implications The research offers a more nuanced understanding of manufacturer–supplier relationships in global supply chains by demonstrating how country-level (macro) characteristics can influence firm-level (micro) supply chain phenomena. It extends research on SCO by illustrating how institutional distance interacts with a manufacturer's ability to leverage SCO to enable supplier responsiveness.Practical implications Manufacturers should increase their attentiveness to institutional distance. When both formal and informal distances are different (i.e. high distance), SCO can create a powerful lever to improve global supplier responsiveness. Likewise, when formal and informal institutions are similar (i.e. low distance), SCO reinforces joint efforts and collaboration to create additive benefits, whereby suppliers are incentivized to be responsive to unexpected environmental changes.Originality/value This research addresses the growing call for more empirical studies that examine how country-level institutions influence firm-level phenomena. It also utilizes secondary data to serve as a proxy for formal and informal institutional distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of how strategic relationships between firms and environmental context affect operational decisions and how each firm allocates resources to improve overall firm performance. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative research is integrated with previous research. Data for the qualitative research are collected through focus groups and semi-structured interviews that employ grand tour questioning, facility tours using key informants, and use of selective artifacts. Findings - The paper develops a model that examines how environmental factors, specifically the context of the capacity constraints in the transportation industry, can influence shippers to form long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with their carriers and how these relationships can lead to improved performance at the operational level. Research limitations/implications - The paper incorporates five foundational theories into one integrated model in the context of business-to-business transportation collaboration. The specific contributions from this model most likely cannot have been derived by adopting only one or two of these theories, and this paper provides only one context within which these theories can be integrated. Future research should focus on areas of incompatibility and compatibility among these foundational theories. With this understanding, theory integration should spur future research by attempting to evaluate the nature of business systemically and holistically. Practical implications - Though collaboration and relationship management has received much attention, realizing improvements in firm performance has proven difficult. Once collaborative behaviors between shippers and carriers are established at a strategic level, managers must carefully assess how to drive those collaborative behaviors to the operational levels of each firm. Originality/value - This paper extends previous supply chain relationship research, which primarily focuses on strategic interactions between firms, by focusing on the context in which they are carried out. It integrates managerial insights with foundational theories from marketing, logistics, and operations to create theory of how supply chain relationships facilitate firm decisions regarding allocation, sharing, and management of resources on an operational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]