SCM구축을 위한 힘의 속성에 따른 공급업체의 성과에 관한 실증연구

Supply Chain Management(SCM) which involves the strategic process of coordination of firms within the supply chain is one of the key issues in the current business environment. The importance of a supply chain integration strategy to corporate competitiveness has been recognized over the last decade, and such awareness will continue to grow into the next decades. The objective of this study is to empirically test the influence of power on relationships and their influence on supplier performance. Power may be defined as the ability of one firm to influence the intentions and actions of another firm. Power research holds strong roots in the social and political sciences, and the topic has been explored in the marketing channels literature. French and Raven(1959) were among the first to explore inter-firm power research in the development of the bases of power. Reward and coercive remain the most transparent and widely recognized power bases, indicating the ability of the source to mediate dividends or punishment to the target. Other power bases may also retain a prominent role in the supply chain. For one, expert power refers to the perception that one firm holds expertise that is valued by another firm. Another base, referent power, implies that one firm desires identification with another for recognition by association. Finally, legitimate power, which includes both its inherent and legal forms, refers that the target believes in the right of the source to wield influence. Many researchers have attempted to simplify power research through dichotomization of the different bases into categories such as coercive/non-coercive, mediated/non-mediated and economic/non-economic. The most appropriate dichotomization of the supply chain environment is based on mediated and non-mediated power sources. Mediated power sources, which include reward, coercive, and legal legitimate, involve influence strategies that the source(buyer) specifically administers to the target(seller). The intention is to bring about some direct action. Mediated bases represent the competitive and negative uses of power traditionally associated with organizational theory. On the other hand, non-mediated power sources, which are more relational and positive orientation, include expert, referent, and traditional legitimate. These power bases occur as a natural part of buyer-seller business transactions and do not necessitate intention from the source. In fact, the source may not even be aware that non-mediated power bases exist. Logistics researchers have applied the power literature to the analysis of marketing channel relationships and have found that the different bases of power affect inter-firm relationships. The significant effects of power on inter-relationships hold direct implications for the supply chain. Power affects the elements critical to effective supply chain integration, so power may play a consequential role in the formation and maintenance of supply chain relationships. Trust, commitment, and dependence have each been considered a component of intimacy in personal relationships and linked to social and structural bonds in buyer-seller relationships. In this study, collaborative relationships are measured by the levels of these three components. In Korea, there still exists unbalance of power between buyers and sellers in the supply chain. However, in the near future, it is expected that competence will be based on the supply chain rather than individual firms. Thus, positive relationships among firms in the supply chain which result in cooperation will be critical for implementing the effective supply chain. Research related to the effect of powers on the relationships and their influence on the performance in the supply chain has recently been conducted. In this study, we test the effects of power on the relationships measured by level of trust, commitment and dependence and their influence on the supplier performance. The research hypotheses are as follows: First, we examine the effects of the different power sources(mediated and non-mediated, respectively) upon the collaborative relationship in the supply chain as measured by levels of commitment, trust, and dependence. Second, we examine the effect of the level of collaboration upon the overall performance of the suppliers in the supply chain. The suppliers of the large manufacturers adopting and implementing supply chain management in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam areas were chosen for testing the research hypotheses. Based on the interaction with experts in the academic and industrial fields as well as an extensive review of relevant literature, a survey instrument was developed to measure the research variables. Each variable was assessed with at least three statements, all of which used 5 point Likert scales. Total numbers used in the analysis are 156 questionnaires. Most suppliers are automobile parts, electronic parts and shipping parts manufacturers. SPSS 12.0 was used for the statistical analysis. The result of this study shows that expert-based and referent-based powers have positive impacts on the collaborative relationship among supply chains, whereas legal legitimate-based power has a negative impact on the same relationship. However, coercive-based and legitimate-based power have no significant impacts on the collaborative relationship. In addition, reward-based power has a positive impact on the collaborative relationship, which is the same result as the study of Maloni and Benton(2000). Finally, the level of collaborative relationship among supply chains has a positive impact on the supplier performance which were measured by BSC(Balanced Scorecard) including four perspectives of performance, that is, customer perspective, internal process perspective, learning and growth perspective, and financial perspective. Our research seeks to contribute an initial offering to reveal the role and subsequent importance of power in the supply chain. The findings may be summarized as follows: First, power plays a significant role in the supply chain, and the different sources of power have contrasting effects upon inter-firm relationships in the chain. Second, a stronger buyer-supplier relationship will enhance the supplier performance. Third, power influence on the buyer-supplier relationship and the effects of this relationship on supplier performance expose the potential of power to promote integration of the chain and empower higher levels of performance. Therefore, it is critical to realize that those firms in any industry that seek to lead the race to integrate the supply chain must become fully conscious of their power and effective manage it to support their integration strategy. Those that do so will be better qualified to both recognize and capitalize on integration opportunities, helping them to develop and sustain supply chain integration as a source of competitive advantage. It is hoped that this study will provide guidelines for the partners in the supply chain who are already implementing as well as those who plan to adopt and implement SCM.