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There is a growing interest in examining the characteristics of asymmetry in relationships, specifically between smaller suppliers and larger customers. This study examines how suppliers use information technology (IT) as strategic resources and governance enablers to offset the asymmetry in bargaining power in the international supply chain relationship. Taking a supplier perspective and drawing on resource-based view (RBV) and transaction cost economic (TCE), we propose that two types of IT resources, IT advancement and electronic integration can reap benefits for suppliers with respect to innovativeness and market performance. We argue that this process is mediated by three specific forms of governance, cooperative norm, output control and process control. Moreover, we argue that cultural distance moderates the process of IT-mediated international B2B relationships. Hypotheses are tested using data from 240 Taiwanese supplier-international customer relationships in the electronics industry. Findings help to understand the processes of how IT resources, specifically IT advancement and electronic integration, can help restructure' interorganizatioal governance mechanisms for suppliers in relation with larger customers in the international market and ultimately can enhance suppliers' innovativeness and market performance.

The European textile and clothing industry has been in long term dccline for many years now. Whilc larger retailcrs and production companies have movcd abroad to bcnefit from low labour rate sources of production, domcstic manufacturers have been left to cope with the changing markct conditions on their own. Despite their limitations in terms of time and access to financial resources, support for domestic manufacturers from morc influcntial market playcrs or government funded rcsearch projccts have been sparse. To addrcss the central conccrn of rcsponding to largc scalc imports from low cost labour ratc sources of production, thc purpose of this thesis is to idcntify a practical approach to added-value service pcrformance rcquircd for small and medium sized manufacturcrs (SMEs) to achieve long-term competitive advantage in thc European textile and clothing industry. The notion of compctitive advantage is derived from thc intcgration literaturc. By bringing internal processes closer togcther, companies are believed to achieve greater benefits in terms of production competency and customer satisfaction. However, as customer requirements have grown increasingly dcmanding, the concept of process integration has progressivcly developcd into a broad arca of rcsearch intcgrating business activitics across company borders. In incrcasing thc internal competitiveness of a firm, companics can no longer work in isolation from onc anothcr. I-Ience, the challenge facing today's busincsses, and SM Es in particular, is how thcy can link together to jointly create profitable value flows for all parties involved in the valuc chain process. Following a literature review in the areas of Supply Chain Managcment (SCM), Demand Chain Management (DCM), Yalue Chain Management (YCM) and lean and agile business practices, the concept of Agile Merchandising is introduced. Agile Merchandising reprcsents the inccntive to continuously plan and manage a collaborative supply and demand network in such a way that the valuc chain most likely to comply with the potential value expected by customcrs, suppliers, consumcrs, and stakeholders is accomplishcd. Thc theory is believed to complcte the gap bctween traditional cfficiency focused supply chain strategies and current market focused dcmand chain theories, cmphasising both internal production efficiency and supply chain erfcctiveiless. To its support its practical implementation in the industry, a conceptual dynamic framcwork is developed drawing on the gencric supply chain framcwork introduccd by Cooper el-- a!. (1997) and the agile supply chain framework developed by Christopher el al. (2004). - An interpretivist abductive rcsearch strategy is adopted to examine the rclevance of Agile Merchandising as a valuablc business practice and further develop thc conceptual dynamic framcwork li'om the lived experience of its participants. The two-stcp building approach to cmpirical investigation charactcrising the abductivc rescarch design allows the rcscarch to procced /i'om initial thcory dcvclopmcnt to more conclusive strategies building on a priori data and real-life obscrvations simultaneously. Finally, a rcasscssment of the devcloped thcory is rcquircd to improvc thc-quality of the dcrived findings. In this thcsis, thc initial theory development is undertaken using a dcscriptive case study design. Eleven European textile and clothing manufacturing SM Es based in England, Italy and Sweden are examined. The theoretical perspectives includcd in the conccptual dynamic /i'amcwork arc adapted according to' the analysis and interpretation of the case study data. As thc initial casc study confirmcd the relevance of the Agile Merchandising, a final assessment of thc dcrivcd thcory is undcrtakcn. Thc aim is to rcfinc thc practical implication of the dynamic research framcwork dcvclopcd. An exploratory case study of a UK furniture manu facturer conducted over a period of ten months is reportcd on and thc componcnts of the Dynamic Framework of Agilc Mcrchandising arc cstablishcd following an in-dcpth analysis of thc rcscarch model constructs. Thc rcscarch confirmed that thc components included in the Dynamic Framcwork wcrc valid. Howcver. to furthcr increase its practical relevance to the industry, a more detailed invcstigation in the arca of dcmand visibility and collaboration is required as a deficiency in thcsc paramctcrs would rendcr the success of the value chain exccution.

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This research offers novel insights into how supply chain partnerships can be managed through voluntarily adopted non-proprietary based supply chain management (SCM) practices. This research is also timely as reflected by the emergence of these types of practices in recent times, leading to the suggestion that they might be equally effective as (if not more so than) traditional proprietary based ones in managing supply chain partnerships. Previous research has tended to focus on proprietary based SCM practices that are meant to be mandatorily adopted among supply chain firms. It has however tended to focus on the transaction itself, detracting attention from the broader issue of understanding how partnerships are managed as such. The lack of consideration of the relational aspects of partnerships is especially made prominent given that fums these days rarely function as autonomous entities but are in some form of partnership with others. The lack of any established theory therefore suggests a theory-building as opposed to a theory-testing research approach. Through case studies analysing the behaviour of firms in supply chain partnerships upon the introduction of voluntarily adopted non-proprietary SCM practices, insights were revealed into how partnerships were managed as such. This research found that these practices also provided an opportunity for a multitude of behaviours to be exhibited, which might not otherwise be possible in supply chain partnerships managed by mandatorily adopted proprietary based SCM practices. Specifically, it found that firms responded by undertaking various governance and adaptation activities. It also found that these two activities were related to each other. In the broader scheme of things, it is suggested that through these types of practices, firms are able to meet the challenge of managing their supply chain partnerships. The key implications for theory and strategy are: (1) it challenges the predominant view that voluntarily adopted non-proprietary based SCM practices are ill-equipped to manage supply chain partnerships and, (2) the recognition that the behaviour of firms in supply chain partnerships is affected by interdependency effects.

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