How collaborative relationships with suppliers and customers can create value?

• Grant number: 11/04563-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2011
• End date: December 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Administration - Business Administration
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Artur Ledur Brito
• Grantee: Aline Rodrigues Fernandes
• Host Institution: Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (EAESP). Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The collaborative relationships between customers and suppliers can generate benefits and even competitive advantage for companies. However, there is still uncertainty about these benefits, measurement forms, the procedures and theories that can explain their emergence. This study aims to identify, describe and interpret the mechanisms of value creation through collaborative relationships with suppliers and customers in the Brazilian packaging sector. A relational view of strategy, which proposes the existence of relational resources that can potentially generate competitive advantage, is used as the main theoretical foundation. The relational features are derived from relation-specific assets, knowledge-sharing, complementarity and effective governance. This research intends to integrate this approach with the concept of value created by the company (defined as the difference between customers' willingness to pay and the opportunity cost of the suppliers). This definition of value has been the conceptual basis for the emerging definition of competitive advantage in strategy. This conceptual basis is one of the main contributions of this work in operations area. In a qualitative approach, we will study two polar cases of Brazilian packaging sector. Data collection will involve interviews, observation and documentary research and analysis will be made through the technique of content analysis. (AU)