6.1 Manufacturer-supplier relationships and service performance in service triads - Karatzas

Question 1

inter-firm relationship

Answer 1

formed of five relationship connectors

dimensions that reflect the behaviors and expectations of behaviors in a buyer-seller relationship

reflect the manner in which two parties interrelate and conduct commercial exchange

Question 2

the propositions with Product-Service (PS) penetration

Answer 2

• the higher the service site’s PS penetration, the higher the operational integration between the site and the manufacturer
• the lower the service site’s PS penetration, the higher the level of perceived over-formalization of its relationship with the manufacturer
• the larger the service site, the higher the operational integration of its relationship with the manufacturer
• the larger the service site, the more cooperative its relationship with the manufacturer
• the higher the operational integration between manufacturer and service site, the higher the levels of information exchange
• the more cooperative the manufacturer-service site relationship, the higher the levels of information change
• the more cooperative the manufacturer-service site relationship, the lower its formalization
• the higher the relationship-specific adaptions by the service site, the higher its service performance
• the higher the relationship-specific adaptions by the service site, the higher the operational integration between the site and the manufacturer
• over-formalization of the manufacturer-service site relationship reduces supplier service performance

Question 3

three contributions of research

Answer 3

• the manufacturer-supplier relationship in the service triad plays a significant role in the provision of the offering as it facilitates or hinders service performance
• in addition to a relational relationship, for a supplier to achieve high service performance toward the manufacturer’s customer, significant exposure to the product-service offering being provided, and access to resources and task specialization of staff are prerequisites
• the relationship within the service triad should be treated as multidimensional rather than cooperative or competitive

Question 4

seven roles of customers

Answer 4

• component suppliers
• design engineers
• customer as labour force, co-producers, co-creators
• quality control and assurance, innovation
• customers as coordinators of different service providers
• customer as inventory
• customer as competitor

Question 5

Relationship connectors in service triads

Answer 5

• information exchange
• operational linkages
• legal bonds
• cooperative norms
• buyer and supplier adaptations

Question 6

Professional service supply chains

Answer 6

• context
• incentives
• managing customers
• managing flow