Journal of Business Logistics
The supply base is increasingly recognized as a critical enabler of firm innovation. While existing research has linked direct collaboration with suppliers to superior innovation performance, it has largely overlooked the relational dynamics occurring further upstream in the supply chain. We introduce the concept of cross-tier supplier collaboration—strategic alliances between first- and lower-tier suppliers (i.e., suppliers’ suppliers) within a focal firm’s supply chain focused on sharing or co-developing resources—and explore how this not-so-visible collaboration serves as a source of superior innovation for the buyer firm.
Haozhe Chen is the Walker Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, chair of the Department of Supply Chain Management, and a professor of supply chain management at the Ivy College of Business. His paper is published in the Journal of Business Logistics.