The interplay between inter-personal and inter-organizational relationships in coordinating supply chain activities

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-11-2020-0443
• Published date: 12 April 2021
• Date: 12 April 2021
• Pages: 898-917
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics
• Author: Tarik Saikouk,Nejib Fattam,Gunasekaran Angappa,Ahmed Hamdi

The interplay between

inter-personal and

inter-organizational relationships

in coordinating supply

chain activities

Tarik Saikouk

Excelia Business School, CERIIM, La Rochelle, France

Nejib Fattam

Independent Consultant in Logistics and SCM, Athens, Greece

Gunasekaran Angappa

School of Business and Public Administration,

California State University, Bakersfield, California, USA, and

Ahmed Hamdi

Rabat Business School, International University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to identi fy and explain the link be tween relational dynami cs and the

development of coordin ation capabilities of Fourth-Party Logi stics Providers (4PL) within a supply chain

(SC). We aim to demonst rate the critical role r elational dynamics ca n play in converting tr ust from

interpersonal to inte r-organizational leve l and facilitate the imp rovement of capabiliti es to coordinate

customer’s SC activities.

Design/methodology/approach –Using semi-structured in terviews with 78 logistics managers operating

in 45 different logist ics service providers located in Fran ce, we developed a set of propositions and built a

conceptual framewor k. Exploratory qualita tive research in the for m of propositional disco urse analysis

(PDA) is used to develop propositions in our research to contribute to theory in supply chain

management (SCM).

Findings –Results indicate that both interpersonal and inter-organizational trust is a convertible capital.

Based on their dynamic interactions, these two levels of trust endow the supply chain partners with economic

benefits that would otherwise be highly costly or even practically extremely difficult to achieve through

complex socio-economic transactions (meso-social level).

Research limitations/implications –Future research may test our conceptual model using primary and

secondary data and conduct longitudinal case studies that are necessary to triangulate our results and thus

strengthen our conclusions. The prospect of adding control variables to our model would be of considerable

importance.

Practical implications –Our results suggest that “4PL”need to invest more in interpersonal relations to

facilitate collaboration with their clients and enhance their capability to coordinate and manage customer’s

supply chain activities. The ability to convert interpersonal trust represents an invaluable capital contributing

to the achievement of above-normal profits.

Originality/value –This work contributes to a bet ter understanding of the coordination of s upply chain

activities through th e development, mobilizatio n and maintenance of social capi tal. While previous research

explained the importan ce of trust in SCM, this pape r explores and studies th e process of converting

interpersonal trust in to social capital mobilize d at the supply chain level. We ad d to the existing literature on

structural and relatio nal dimensions of soci al capital by offering a pro cess-based explanat ion of the

conversion of interpers onal trust into inter-organizational trus t and its role in facilitating collaboration in

logistics services.

Keywords Embeddedness, Social capital, Supply chain coordination, Theory building, Discourse analysis,

Fourth-party logistics providers (4PL)

Paper type Research paper

IJLM

32,3

898

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0957-4093.htm

Received 19 November 2020

Revised 13 February 2021

Accepted 18 March 2021

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 32 No. 3, 2021

pp. 898-917

© Emerald Publishing Limited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-11-2020-0443

1. Introduction

The world is currently experiencing the effects of a widespread pandemic that has challenged

existing business models and supply chain designs. The occurrence of major disruptions

intensifies the VUCA world’s impact (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) on

Logistics Service Providers (LSPs)’capabilities to coordinate customer’s supply chains.

The 4PL plays a vital role in enhancing supply chain performance but, more importantly,

ensuring the timely and effective management of logistical activities (Win, 2008).

The uniqueness of 4PL lies in the nature of its structure, which is non-asset based

(Selviaridis and Spring, 2007). Instead, this LSP mobilizes its business relations and

knowledge to offer high-value service to supply chain partners. To navigate the challenging

VUCA world, firms need to develop capabilities that can offer adequate responses to each of

the dimensions of the VUCA, considering that each dimension of VUCA is unique and distinct

(Bennett and Lemoine, 2014). Developing relational resources among LSP and supply chain

partners is instrumental, especially during uncertain markets, giving that partners are more

likely to effectively navigate unexpected events and problems (Wei et al., 2012). To face the

turmoil caused by the pandemic, the Executive Officer of Nippon Express Yutaka Nagai

(Financial Times, 2020) linked its group’s ability to ensure the continuous flow of automotive

parts primarily to mobilize its global network and long-term embedded relationship with

various supply chain partners. Indeed, Nippon Express referred to its social capital as one of

the most advanced in the industry (Group Nippon Express, 2020), enabling the group to

develop a strong network.

The occurrence of disruptive events intensifies the effects of VUCA dimensions on the

social uncertainty faced by LSP and its supply chain. Social uncertainty stems from a lack of

information on the intentions of supply chain (SC) partners combined with a lack of trust; it is

portrayed through variations in behaviors (McCarter et al., 2011), thus impeding inter-

organizational (IO) cooperation (Park and Ungson, 2001). In this regard, when trust exists

between two partners, neither can exploit each other’s vulnerabilities, leading to the

minimization of social uncertainty (Peck, 2005;Villena et al., 2011). As a non-asset-based

organization, the 4PL is entrusted by supply chain partners as a single point of contact (Win,

2008), which will develop and leverage closer relationships among SC members to face the

ramifications of uncertainty (Hamdi et al., 2020). Indeed, 4PL represents a convenient solution

for supply chain partners seeking to navigate an increasingly uncertain VUCA world to

manage activities at the global level (Win, 2008). Although 4PL is non-asset based, it is

increasingly rooted in SCs thanks to its leadership, orchestration and integration skills (Win,

2008;Selviaridis and Spring, 2018). By leveraging these skills, 4PLs can anticipate and

manage dilemma situations that characterize shared resources management (Fawcett et al.,

2008). As a boundary spanner and an integrator, the 4PL aligns individual strategies while

reducing the risk of opportunism, leading to the mitigation of IORs complexity (McCarter and

Fudge Kamal, 2013). Thanks to its position at the level of SC interfaces, the 4PL applies

dynamic relational intermediation to reconcile interpersonal and inter-o rganizational

relations (IORs) (Ekanayake et al., 2017;Wang et al., 2018).

Several studies have examined the activities of 4PLs from different perspectives, such as

the value-added creation (Win, 2008;Saglietto and C

ezanne, 2015), logistical integration and

involvement in reverse logistics (Mukhopadhyay and Setaputra, 2006), the role played in

humanitarian logistics (Gammelgaard et al., 2015;Abidi et al., 2016) and enhancing

environmental practices of logistics services (Saglietto and C

ezanne, 2015). Leuschner et al.

(2014) contend that relationships developed by LSPs based on interpersonal relations

represent a source of competitive advantage. While Chu et al. (2018) empirically investigated

guanxi’s role in enhancing innovation observed at the 3PL in China. However, the

mobilization of social capital by 4PL to coordinate SC activities has seldom been explored.

Also, the relativity of embeddedness has seldom been nuanced in the literature. Indeed,

Coordinating

supply chain

activities

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