ABSTRACT Inter-organizational Relationship Portfolio Management: A Digital Enablement Perspective of Process Alignment and Process Innovativeness BY Xinlin Tang July 25, 2007 Committee Chair: Dr. Arun Rai Major Academic Unit: Center for Process Innovation Inter-organizational relationship (IR) has been considered a strategic asset that can help firms achieve both exploitation and exploration benefits. The capability to manage inter-organizational relationships, or a firm’s “relational capability” (Dyer and Singh 1998), is considered strategically crucial in order to compete in the contemporary business world. However, there are significant challenges that must be addressed to establish this capability. First, striking a balance between exploitation and exploration benefits (March 1991) through IR management is especially challenging due to the uniqueness embedded in each relationship (Lee 2004). Second, in order to serve a specific strategic purpose, firms usually need to maintain a relationship portfolio, or to be involved in multiple, simultaneous relationships that vary from arm’s length, transaction-based arrangements to close, collaborative partnerships (Cannon and Perreault 1999; Dyer et al. 1998). This has made IR relationship management even more difficult since relationship portfolios cannot be effectively managed by a “one-size-fits-all” strategy. Instead, different strategies and process capabilities need to be developed, based on the strategic segmentation of the relationships and the unique requirements of each relationship (Dyer et al. 1998). Though it has been suggested that process alignment capability is necessary to obtain exploitation benefits, and process innovativeness capability is needed for exploration benefits, these two processes have been considered to be contradictory (e.g., Adler and Goldoftas 1999; Teece et al. 1997). Firms are challenged to pursue these two types of process capabilities simultaneously, or to become ambidextrous organizations (Benner and Tushman 2003). Yet, in this context, how should firms operating in different environments manage the “process alignment - process innovativeness” paradox across their IR portfolios with dominant upstream and downstream partners to realize gains in competitive performance? In addition, how should they structure their business-to-business information technology assets to establish a digital platform that supports both process innovativeness and process alignment capabilities across their IR portfolio? We argue that B2B digital platform ambidexterity must be developed to support an organization that exhibits both process alignment and process innovativeness, i.e., an ambidextrous organization. B2B digital platform ambidexterity represents the digital platform’s capability to simultaneously integrate and reconfigure IT resources and assets to support the requirements of an IR portfolio. By combining the existing process alignment perspective of IT business value and real options theory, we propose that B2B digital platform ambidexterity can create value through two mechanisms: (i) by enabling process alignment across the IR portfolio to generate position exploitation benefits and (ii) by enabling process innovativeness for both offering flexibility and partnering flexibility to produce option exploration benefits. The proposed research model was tested based on data collected through a multi-industry survey. Data were collected for both supplier relationship portfolios and channel partner relationship portfolios at the level of the main product line. Measurement instruments were developed through standard procedures (Churchill 1979; Gerbing and Anderson 1988; Straub 1989). The questionnaires went through two-stage Q sorting, were reviewed by panels of academic professionals and practitioners for content validity, and were then pre-tested by procurement professionals and sales professionals prior to survey administration. After data collection, traditional procedures were applied for scale validation. Safeguards against common method bias were developed through the recommended procedural remedies (Podasakoff et al. 2003) during the research design process. Its effects were further investigated using the Harmon's one-factor test for common method variance after the data collection phase (Podasakoff and Organ 1986). Then, the hypotheses were tested and analyzed using Partial Least Squares and the implications for theory and practice were discussed. The manuscript concludes with directions to future research.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Texto Tese Fábio Tescari Versão Final ABNT.pdf: 1056652 bytes, checksum: ff130f54e4a3d43007ba62d73e7d08ec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-20 / Relationships among firms have been studied as a factor that pushes the limits for the value that is created by the firms individually, through the joint construction of benefits that could not occur if the relationship is not established. The total value created in a dyadic relationship, which is captured by the parties, is the relationship value. The benefits transcend the financial characteristics of the transaction. They can be converted into other aspects of the relationship, such as technical learning, service delivery, innovation and reputation. The shared and exchanged resources become sources of value creation. These resources stem from two different perspectives. First, from the resources that belong previously to each party, which I defined as intrinsic value. Second, from the resources that are jointly developed by the parties during the relationship, defined as relational value. In this context, this study aims to investigate the different characteristics of the parties that are sources of value creation in relationships, and to examine the factors influencing its capture by the parties. The study involved three steps. The first, a theoretical essay, aimed to explore the value dimensions in the relationship, regarding their definition and their sources. The following two steps focused on empirically testing the effect of these components of relationship value on value creation and capture. A cross-sectional survey and a multiple case study were performed. The theoretical perspectives that permeates the study is the Resource Based View, since it assumes that the firm resources generate economic value that transcends the limits of the firm and is captured by its customers and suppliers. The ontological approach is the critical realism, which allows a better understanding of empirically observed events. The results contribute to a better theoretical understanding of relationship, since the constructs of intrinsic value and relational value integrate different sources of benefits that may derive from relationships. The relationship between these constructs and their individual influence on value capture also bring a theoretical contribution to the study of buyer-supplier relationships. The main managerial contributions concern the fact that it is possible to capture value even if the relationship is not collaborative. Moreover, the results shed light on the need for firms to explore deeply how to extract more benefits from the other party and from the relationship itself, especially considering non-financial sources. / O relacionamento entre firmas vem sendo estudado como um fator que amplia os limites do valor criado pelas firmas individualmente, por meio da construção conjunta de benefícios que não poderia ocorrer caso o relacionamento não se estabelecesse. O valor total criado no nível da díade, que é capturado pelas partes, é o valor do relacionamento. Os benefícios obtidos transcendem as características financeiras da transação, podendo converter-se em outros aspectos da relação entre as firmas, tais como capacitação técnica, oferta de serviços, capacidade de inovação e reputação. Os recursos compartilhados e trocados entre as partes são fontes de criação de valor no relacionamento, mas originam-se de duas perspectivas diferentes. Eles podem pertencer previamente a uma delas, compondo um valor que é intrínseco, ou desenvolverem-se ao longo do relacionamento em si, resultando numa parcela de valor relacional. Neste contexto, este estudo propõe-se a investigar as diferentes características das partes que são fonte de criação de valor em um relacionamento, bem como analisar os aspectos que influenciam sua captura pelas partes. O estudo envolveu três etapas. A primeira, de cunho teórico, visou a explorar as dimensões do valor do relacionamento, no que se refere à sua definição e suas fontes. As duas etapas seguintes objetivaram testar empiricamente o efeito das fontes do valor do relacionamento na criação e captura de valor, por meio de uma survey transversal e um estudo de casos múltiplos. A perspectiva teórica que permeia o estudo é a Visão Baseada em Recursos, uma vez que ela pressupõe que os recursos das firmas produzem valor econômico que transcende os limites delas e é capturado por seus clientes e fornecedores. A abordagem ontológica é a do realismo crítico, a qual permite um melhor entendimento dos acontecimentos empiricamente observados. Os resultados contribuem para um melhor entendimento teórico sobre valor do relacionamento, uma vez que os construtos de valor intrínseco e valor relacional integram diferentes fontes de benefícios que podem advir de relacionamentos. A relação entre esses construtos e sua influência individual na captura de valor também trazem uma contribuição teórica ao estudo de relacionamentos comprador-fornecedor. As principais contribuições gerenciais dizem respeito ao fato de que é possível capturar valor mesmo que o relacionamento não seja colaborativo. Adicionalmente, os resultados enfatizam que as empresas deveriam explorar mais como fazer para extrair mais benefícios da outra parte e do relacionamento em si, em especial de fontes não-financeiras.