A Study on the Role of Collaboration as Safeguard for Supplier's Relationship-specific Intangible Asset

공급자가 구축한 관계 특유적 무형자산의 보호수단으로서 협업의 역할에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to examine whether suppliers are able to benefit by means of constructing a relationship-specific intangible asset and participating in collaboration with purchasers to actively maintain value created while mutually using inter-organizational information systems. To achieve the purpose of this study. 82 questionnaires have been analyzed from suppliers which are using electronic transactions through inter-organizational information systems. As a result, business process specificity and domain knowledge specificity, which are relationship-specific intangible assets, affect operational collaboration and strategic collaboration, which are classified by level of decision-making. Although both types of collaboration are needed to achieve both strategic and operational benefits, we find each collaboration to be uniquely promoted by a specific types of relationship-specific intangible asset. Operational collaboration is found to be an antecedent to operational benefit and strategic collaboration is found to be an antecedent to strategic benefits. No crossover between collaboration and supplier's benefits is found. Consequently, the result of this study shows collaboration is needed for domestic suppliers, which have relatively low levels of collaboration, to keep maintain relationship-specific intangible assets and to prevent the relationship termination cost when transactions have been stopped between supplier and purchaser. Also the results imply the supplier can have advantages by participating in collaboration.