The dark and bright sides of dependence relationships and their effect on buyer-supplier unethical behaviour

Paulraj, Antony and Subramanian, Nachiappan and Jayaram, Jayanth and Blome, Constantin (2025) The dark and bright sides of dependence relationships and their effect on buyer-supplier unethical behaviour. International Journal of Production Research, 63 (20): 20. pp. 7637-7658. ISSN 0020-7543

Abstract

In this study, we examine the role that dependence has on buyer-supplier unethical behaviour. Unilateral dependence leads to an imbalance in power, which could lead to a higher likelihood of unethical behaviour. This aspect is largely triggered by the tilting of the power equation in favour of one partner. Alternatively, mutual or reciprocal dependence mitigates the possibility of unethical behaviour. Moreover, because firms are embedded in vertical and horizontal supply chain relationships, we argue that cooperation and competition moderate the base relationship between dependence asymmetry and unethical behaviour. We test our hypotheses using dyadic data collected from 121 Indian manufacturing firms; the survey data was augmented using archival data collected from various sources. The results of our analysis provide some exciting insights into buyer-supplier relationships. While dependence asymmetry increases the likelihood of buyer and supplier unethical behaviour, the moderating effect of cooperation and competition on this relationship (of dependence asymmetry and unethical behaviour) seems to depend on the supply chain position (i.e. buyer or supplier). Specifically, our results suggest that dependence asymmetry could either attenuate or fuel unethical behaviour depending on the supply chain position.