Buyer-Supplier Relationships in Business-to-Business E-Procurement: Effects of Supply Conditions

Abstract

This study explores the resource dependency and relational exchange theories to understand firms’ participation in e-procurement and seeks to determine the degree to which the resource dependency theory variables—supply importance, supply complexity, supply market dynamism, and availability of alternatives—affect information exchange and operational linkages, the relational exchange theory variables. Data was gathered from the Institute for Supply Management and the Council of Logistics Management members using the survey technique. Supply importance and supply complexity primarily predict information exchange and operational linkages. Study findings reconfirm the important impact of environmental and market uncertainty on firm responses as echoed in past studies.