Supply Chain Dispute Resolution: A Delphi Study

This paper examines how supply chain conflicts across domestic and international jurisdictions arise and become resolved given that conventional conflict resolution tribunals cannot effectively settle fast enough to serve the needs of supply chain partners. Observations from the field should guide practitioners, and in combination with information technology, may lead to best practice rules in dispute resolution. For this study, the Delphi Method was selected, in which a panel of 14 experts participated in three rounds of successive surveys over a one-year period. Survey data was collected by mail as well as via telephone conversations and interviews, while under the Delphi method, the content of the second questionnaire was derived from the responses of the first questionnaire. All participants were supply chain experts in the United States from eight different industrial sectors, and none of the participants interacted with one another. End results show that supply chain’s relationships are very private trade arrangements and that disputes arise, predictably, from common performance criteria such as quality, timely delivery and payment issues.