Drivers of close supply chain collaboration: one size fits all?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents of close supply chain collaboration and to develop a multi‐variable conceptual model of factors that drive the need for close supply chain collaboration.

A multi‐variable conceptual model is developed based on literature and on a series of dyadic mini‐cases in the electronics, fashion and consumer‐packaged goods industry.

This paper confirms that close supply chain collaboration is influenced by a multitude of factors. It reveals a need to integrate findings from analytical and empirical disciplines that study supply chain collaboration. The results suggest that collaborative initiatives are predominantly initiated with suppliers and not with customers, and that close supply chain collaboration may lead to inertia in business relations.

This paper is based on dyadic case studies in three different make‐to‐stock industries; future research may include a large‐scale survey in more industries, including both make‐to‐order and make‐to‐stock environments.

Based on the findings, firms can make better choices in their collaborative initiatives; based on the conceptual model, firms can identify potential areas of close supply chain collaboration.

Findings from analytical and empirical literature are combined and such a combined perspective is deployed for the first time into a conceptual model of drivers of close supply chain collaboration.