یکپارچه سازی تامین کننده در پروژه های تحویل کمپلکس: بررسی مقایسه ای روابط مختلف خریدار تامین کننده

Research on project procurement management has centered on identifying the right suppliers and managing contracts to allocate risks and responsibilities. However, working with suppliers requires continuous integration activities from the buyer during project execution. This paper asks how buyers integrate their suppliers to the project organization during project execution, and how different types of buyer–supplier relationships differ in their supplier integration. We collected interview data in two complex delivery projects, both unique in their buyer–supplier relationships. We explored supplier integration practices from both the buyer’s and the supplier’s perspective, and sought cross-case differences possibly attributable to the different inter-organizational relationships. Based on the analysis, the nature of the buyer–supplier relationship appears to be associated with the type of integration practices used. The results of the study have implications on how supplier integration should be configured in different buyer–supplier relationships.

In project-based industries, delivering complex projects to clients requires that main contractors purchase sub-projects and expertise from external suppliers. Project procurement management focuses on planning acquisitions, identifying and choosing the right suppliers, planning and negotiating appropriate contracts, and administering and closing contracts (Cox and Thompson, 1997, Turner and Simister, 2001 and Project Management Institute, 2004). Besides the aforementioned activities, working with suppliers includes various day-to-day activities to ensure that planned work is carried out as agreed. This paper is concerned with such activities that integrate the supplier to the project organization during project execution. Supplier integration is here defined as collaboration and control between the project contractor and its supplier during project execution. Extant literature has examined supplier integration and its mechanisms in various business contexts such as manufacturing (Swink et al., 2007), product development (Stock and Tatikonda, 2004, Petersen et al., 2005, Koufteros et al., 2007 and Song and Di Benedetto, 2008), complex products and systems (Hobday, 2000, Davies, 2004 and Hobday et al., 2005), and services (Edvardsson and Olsson, 1996). The effects and benefits of integrative mechanisms have received considerable attention. The viewpoint of the buyer has been emphasized as compared to the suppliers’ viewpoint. While extant literature on supplier integration has significantly advanced knowledge on both the means and the importance of integrative practices, it still lacks empirical research carried out in the context of complex project deliveries. Complex projects form the primary mode of organizing production in many of today’s project-based industries such as construction (Eccles, 1981), shipbuilding (Tikkanen, 1997), fashion (Uzzi, 1997), oil and gas (Olsen et al., 2005), sport events and festivals (Pitsis et al., 2003), and media (Miles and Snow, 1986 and Windeler and Sydow, 2001). In addition, extant research on supplier integration has directed only limited attention to exploring how the use of integrative practices may be influenced by the relationship between the main contractor and the supplier. Extant research focusing on inter-organizational relationships has discussed how relationships develop over an extended period of time and how commitment and trust may facilitate cooperation and provide opportunities for learning and innovation (Powell, 1990, Heide and Miner, 1992 and Dyer, 1997). The objective of this paper is to increase understanding on how project contractors integrate suppliers as a part of the project organization during project execution. In particular, we investigate complex delivery projects and the role of buyer–supplier relationships with regards to supplier integration. Our empirical case study is guided by two research questions: 1. With what types of practices do project contractors integrate their suppliers to complex delivery projects during project execution? 2. How do integration practices differ across projects that differ from each other in the duration and commitment of their buyer–supplier relationship?

In this paper we examined how suppliers are integrated to the project organization when delivering complex systems in a buyer–supplier relationship. By empirically observing two projects from the viewpoint of both the buyer and the supplier, we identified several mechanisms to achieve supplier integration and categorized these mechanisms as practices emphasizing control and those emphasizing cooperation. By focusing on the characteristics of the buyer–supplier relationships we identified considerable differences in the use of integrative mechanisms in the two-case projects. It appears that commitment in the buyer–supplier relationship may be positively related to the use of cooperation-oriented integration activities. Temporal duration of the relationship, in turn, appeared more inclined towards increasingly routine, control-oriented integrative mechanisms. Our findings have some implications for practitioners involved in the production of complex systems. First, based on our results, the relationship between the buyer and the supplier should be taken into consideration when selecting integration mechanisms. Second, as commitment and trust have been shown to require time and repeated exchanges to develop, the use of integrative mechanisms between a buyer and a supplier can be expected to evolve across consequent projects. Finally, practitioners involved with the delivery of complex products and systems may benefit from understanding the differences between cooperation and control-oriented integration mechanisms, and from using both types of mechanisms complementarily. As the empirical analysis focused on two cases involving a total of four organizations, the results are not directly generalizable to other contexts. This study is limited in that, due to the methodology applied, no claims concerning causalities between supplier integration, buyer–supplier relationships, and contextual issues can be made. Therefore, we welcome additional research that would examine to what extent integrative mechanisms may be determined by the nature of the buyer–seller relationships and to what extent the development of the relationship is influenced by the integrative mechanisms in place. Furthermore, our data were restricted in their cultural and industrial contexts, and the choice of informants and the interview-centered data collection method may have generated both subjective and positive bias in the collected data. We are aware of these limitations which can be considered somewhat typical to qualitative research, and suggest further research both to overcome these limitations and to broaden understanding on supplier integration in complex projects. Further research is required, additionally, to understand how integrative mechanisms differ across various buyer–supplier contexts, and how they are used in a broader network of suppliers. Extending the scope from the concept of supplier integration to the more formal aspects of contracting could open up avenues for further research as well, and thereby help in solving potential interest conflicts and hazards between the buyer and supplier. Also, some of our results indicated that the role of the (external) client and the client relationship should be studied further in connection with buyer–supplier relationships. Furthermore, research is needed to explore the role of both technical and market uncertainties as well as other contingencies in the supplier integration of complex delivery projects.