IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v45y2024i6p3690-3704.html

Leveraging supplier orientation for innovation: Exploring the impact of supply management innovativeness and innovation partnership

Author

Listed:
  • Xinmeng Liu
  • Suicheng Li
  • Xiang Wang
  • Cailin Zhang

Abstract

Industry 4.0 has created new opportunities for enterprise innovation by leveraging emerging technologies. External innovation represents a valuable source of ideas and knowledge for internal innovation, and enterprises are increasingly leveraging their supplier relationships to gain a competitive advantage. Some researchers suggest that suppliers enhance the effectiveness and outcomes of lean innovation. To deepen our understanding of the relationship between supplier orientation and innovation outcomes, this study explores the mechanisms through which supplier orientation contributes to enhancing innovation performance, with a specific focus on the role of supplier orientation in improving supply management innovativeness and innovation partnerships. Survey data from 209 Chinese firms engaged in innovation practices was analyzed using a hierarchical regression based on resource dependency theory. Results reveal that supplier orientation positively influences supply management innovativeness and innovation partnerships. Supply management innovativeness and buyer–supplier innovation partnerships both contribute to improved innovation performance. Our findings suggest that the buyer–supplier innovation partnership plays a moderating role in the relationship between supply management innovativeness and innovation performance. These insights provide a valuable basis for developing innovative strategies and managing inter‐firm relationships, emphasizing the importance of supplier relationship management practices in enhancing firms' competitiveness and performance by leveraging external resources and knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinmeng Liu & Suicheng Li & Xiang Wang & Cailin Zhang, 2024. "Leveraging supplier orientation for innovation: Exploring the impact of supply management innovativeness and innovation partnership," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(6), pages 3690-3704, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:6:p:3690-3704
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.4218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4218
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.4218?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1994. "Evaluating technological information and utilizing it : Scientific knowledge, technological capability, and external linkages in biotechnology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 91-114, June.
    2. Thomas Gillier & Akin Osman Kazakci & Gerald Piat, 2012. "The generation of common purpose in innovation partnerships," European Journal of Innovation Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 372-392, July.
    3. Holger Schiele & Jasper Veldman & Lisa Hüttinger, 2011. "Supplier Innovativeness And Supplier Pricing: The Role Of Preferred Customer Status," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-27.
    4. Ulrich Schmelzle & Wendy L. Tate, 2017. "Integrating External Knowledge: Building a Conceptual Framework of Innovation Sourcing," Transportation Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 477-512, October.
    5. Ilkka Sillanpää & Khuram Shahzad & Elina Sillanpää, 2015. "Supplier development and buyer-supplier relationship strategies - a literature review," International Journal of Procurement Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1/2), pages 227-250.
    6. E.C. Martins & F. Terblanche, 2003. "Building organisational culture that stimulates creativity and innovation," European Journal of Innovation Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(1), pages 64-74, March.
    7. Thomas Gillier & Akin Osman Kazakçi & Gérald Piat, 2012. "The Generation of Common Purpose in Innovation Partnerships : a Design Perspective," Post-Print halshs-00718287, HAL.
    8. Thomas Johnsen & Marie-Anne Le Dain & Nadine Kiratli & Holger Schiele, 2022. "Editorial: Purchasing and innovation: Past, present and future of the field of research," Post-Print hal-03761525, HAL.
    9. Xiaoyun Li & Suicheng Li & Jianqi Qiao & Mengchao Wu, 2022. "Leveraging the supply base for innovation: how does supply base management affect innovation performance?," European Journal of Innovation Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(1), pages 334-369, October.
    10. Saghiri, Soroosh & Wilding, Richard, 2021. "On the effectiveness of supplier development programs: The role of supply-side moderators," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Patel, Vijay K. & Manley, Scott C. & Hair, Joseph F. & Ferrell, O.C. & Pieper, Torsten M., 2016. "Is stakeholder orientation relevant for European firms?," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 650-660.
    12. Bei, Xiaoshu, 2019. "Trademarks, specialized complementary assets, and the external sourcing of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    13. Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Esposito, Emilio & Shashi,, 2019. "Exploration and exploitation in the development of more entrepreneurial universities: A twisting learning path model of ambidexterity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 172-194.
    14. Davide Luzzini & Markus Amann & Federico Caniato & Michael Essig & Stefano Ronchi, 2015. "The path of innovation: purchasing and supplier involvement into new product development," Post-Print hal-01289738, HAL.
    15. Fernandes, S. & Cesário, M. & Barata, J.M., 2017. "Ways to open innovation: Main agents and sources in the Portuguese case," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 153-162.
    16. Holger Schiele & Erwin Hofman & Bernd Markus Zunk & Justus Eggers, 2021. "Why And How To Involve Purchasing In New Product Development?," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(03), pages 1-45, April.
    17. Legenvre, Hervé & Gualandris, Jury, 2018. "Innovation sourcing excellence: Three purchasing capabilities for success," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 95-106.
    18. Matthias R. Guertler & Udo Lindemann, 2016. "Identifying Open Innovation Partners: A Methodology For Strategic Partner Selection," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(05), pages 1-20, June.
    19. SiJian Niu & Byung Il Park & Jin Sup Jung, 2022. "The Effects of Digital Leadership and ESG Management on Organizational Innovation and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, November.
    20. Myoung-Soung Lee & Gap-Yeon Jeong, 2022. "The Effects of Internal Market Orientation on Service Providers’ Service Innovative Behavior: A Serial Multiple Mediation Effect on Perceived Social Capital on Customers and Work Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, November.
    21. Bingfeng Bai, 2024. "Understanding the role of demand and supply integration in achieving retail supply chain agility: An information technology capability perspective," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(1), pages 554-570, January.
    22. Juan Carlos Fernandez De Arroyabe & Nieves Arranz & Young-Ah Kim, 2021. "An Approach To The Cooperation For Innovation In The Service Sector," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(05), pages 1-28, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kaoutar Jenoui & Laila El Abbadi, 2026. "Optimizing Supplier Allocations: A Robust Multi-criteria Approach for Innovative and Sustainable Supply Chains," SN Operations Research Forum, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. François Constant & Thomas Johnsen, 2025. "Purchasing Contribution to Innovation Exploration: Awareness, Motivations, and Capabilities," Post-Print hal-04902515, HAL.
    2. Philip Beske-Janssen & Thomas Johnsen & François Constant & Andreas Wieland, 2023. "New competences enhancing Procurement’s contribution to innovation and sustainability [De nouvelles compétences renforçant la contribution des achats à l'innovation et au développement durable]," Post-Print hal-04191381, HAL.
    3. Antonella La Rocca & Ivan Snehota, 2021. "Mobilizing suppliers when starting up a new business venture," Post-Print hal-03328945, HAL.
    4. Manoj Govind Kharat & Mukesh Govind Kharat & Shreyanshu Parhi & Samridhi Kapoor & Sarang Prakashrao Joshi & Rajeev Agrawal, 2025. "Strategic management of the dyadic buyer–supplier relationship and supplier development practices with respect to industry 4.0: An empirical study," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 821-847, June.
    5. Katia Picaud-Bello & Thomas Johnsen & Richard Calvi & Mihalis Giannakis, 2019. "Exploring early purchasing involvement in discontinuous innovation: A dynamic capability perspective," Post-Print hal-02380474, HAL.
    6. Laurence Viale & Salomée Ruel & Dorsaf Zouari, 2022. "A mixed-methods approach to identifying buyers’ competencies for enabling innovation," Post-Print hal-03695531, HAL.
    7. Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Ren, Shuang & Richey, Robert Glenn, 2025. "Leveraging artificial intelligence to facilitate green servitization: Resource orchestration and Re-institutionalization perspectives," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    8. Panayotis Dessyllas & Alan Hughes, 2005. "R&D and Patenting Activity and the Propensity to Acquire in High Technology Industries," Industrial Organization 0507008, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Andrea Cardoni & Filippo Zanin & Giulio Corazza & Alessio Paradisi, 2020. "Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement Systems for SMEs’ Economic Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, March.
    10. Iftikhar, Anas & Ali, Imran & Zhan, Yuanzhu & Stevenson, Mark & Tarba, Shlomo Y., 2025. "Firms’ strategic responses to rising uncertainty amid ongoing geopolitical tensions: The synergistic mediating role of network capability and innovation ambidexterity," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    11. Lima, Luciana & Galleli, Barbara, 2021. "Human resources management and corporate governance: Integration perspectives and future directions," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 731-744.
    12. Laura Barbieri & Daniela Bragoli & Flavia Cortelezzi & Giovanni Marseguerra, 2015. "Public Support to Innovation Strategies," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1509, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    13. Qian Chen & Dongsheng Wang & Xiaobing Li & Bai Li & Ruifeng Song & Hongdi He & Zhongren Peng, 2019. "Vertical Characteristics of Winter Ozone Distribution within the Boundary Layer in Shanghai Based on Hexacopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Cimoli, Mario & Primi, Annalisa & Rovira, Sebastián, 2011. "National innovation surveys in latin America: empirical evidence and policy implications," Documentos de Proyectos 3897, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    15. Davide Hahn & Tommaso Minola & Silvio Vismara & Daniel Agyare, 2024. "Do exploration and exploitation in university research drive early-stage equity financing of university spin-offs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 627-653, August.
    16. Luigi Orsenigo & Fabio Pammolli & Massimo Riccaboni & Andrea Bonaccorsi & Giuseppe Turchetti, 1997. "The Evolution of Knowledge and the Dynamics of an Industry Network," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 1(2), pages 147-175, June.
    17. Verônica Maurer Tabim & Néstor Fabián Ayala & Alejandro G. Frank, 2024. "Implementing Vertical Integration in the Industry 4.0 Journey: Which Factors Influence the Process of Information Systems Adoption?," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 1615-1632, October.
    18. Markus Solf, 2004. "Unternehmenskooperationen als Folge von Informations- und Kommunikations-technologieveränderungen: Eine theoretische Analyse," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 146-167, March.
    19. Cabaleiro, Goretti, 2019. "Sources of appropriation capacity in licensing agreements," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 86, pages 48-61.
    20. Dominique Perrochon & Didier Lebert, 2000. "L'utilisation des notions de confiance et de proximité dans l'étude des processus de R&D pharmaceutiques," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques r00056, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:6:p:3690-3704. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.