Cogent Social Sciences (Dec 2024)
Inter-firm relational adaptation: analysis of dynamics from an international perspective
Abstract
AbstractInter-firm relations plays a significant role in business performance especially within the international context. Several studies have attempted to understand how inter-firm relational adaptation is shaped through the use of various theoretical frameworks. What has been missing from the current understanding is the degree to which contextual (institutional) dynamics (variations) influence inter-firm adaptation, a subject which this paper intends to address. This study has used a setup of data from two distinctive emerging markets which have different institutional arrangements to examine how institutions determine inter-firm relational adaptation. The framework of the research uses business-to-business relationships, which have existing formal transactional governance setup. We use transactional, relational, and institutional theories in developing the paper. The study used manufacturing firms in Poland, focusing on the buying side of the relationship. Surveyxact software was used to collect the responses. Firms were selected from a targeted sample frame of 1800 respondents. A sample of 201 respondents was used, which is about 33% response rate (computation of response rate included the partially completed questionnaires). In Tanzania the questionnaires were delivered physically to a targeted sample frame was 750 firms and a final sample extracted with completed questionnaires received was 240 making a response rate of around 31%. Findings has indicated that the institutional dynamics/variations influences the inter-firm relational adaptation. Specific findings indicated that the effect of supplier asset specificity on inter-firm relational adaptation is stronger in less structured than in structured emerging markets. Volume uncertainty decreases strongly the effect of asset specificity on adaptability in structured than in less structured emerging markets. The study is limited due to the fact that it used few dimensions from transaction cost theory and relational governance perspectives. In addition, we employed data from a single context. This study provides a unique approach in understanding the influence of institutions on the inter-firm relational adaptation in the context of heterogeneous emerging markets. The unique contribution of this study is in two folds. First is that it uncovered the influence of transactional dimensions of inter-firm relational adaptation and second is that it used institutional differences in emerging markets.
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