Electronic Supply Chain Partnerships: Reconsidering Relationship Attributes in Customer-Supplier Dyads

This study is focused on discovering important trading partner selection criteria that are relevant in electronic data interchange (EDI)-enabled relationships. Increasing implementation of integrated supply chain management (SCM) and collaborative commerce initiatives call for the cultivation and maintenance of long-term strategic partnerships such as those engendered by EDI. There is a body of evidence showing that hub firms (i.e., firms that initiate technology-enabled partnership networks) are, in fact, getting more selective about their trading partners. However, there is a need to understand specific trading partner attributes that are more likely to ensure successful long-term relationships. Using the survey technique, this study elicited respondents from customer and supplier firms engaged in EDI applications; the final respondent sample ended up with a pool of firms primarily in the manufacturing sector. Factor analysis uncovered six trading partner selection factors which both customer and supplier firms thought were critical in selecting partners: strategic commitment of top management; readiness for high-level EDI; joint partnering; trading partner flexibility; communications; and EDI infrastructure.