supply chain management
Malhotra,Gosain,andElSawy:LeveragingSEBIstoEnableAdaptiveSupplyChainPartnerships264
highlydependentonpartnerstokeepthemapprisedofthenewrolesofchannelplayers.Totakeonsomeofthesenewroles,supplychainenterprisesarealsobeginningtoemulatetheinternalprocessesoftheirsuccessfulpartnersandareredesigningtheirinteror-ganizationalprocessesbyleveragingtheknowledgegainedfromtheirpartners.Supplychainpartnershipscanbeleveragedtocre-atetwodistincttypesofadaptiveknowledge:(a)sens-ingrelated—understandingofpatternsrelatedtotheexternalmarket(keymarkets,customers,competi-tors,orsuppliers)(GuptaandGovindarajan1991)and(b)responserelated—executionskillsandcapa-bilities.Market-relatedknowledgemanifestsitselfinmarketresponsivenessandthedevelopmentofinno-vativeproductsandservices.Thecreationofknowl-edgerelatedtoexecutionenablesorganizationstoadjustinterorganizationalprocessesandstructurestocollectivelycapturenewopportunities(Malhotraetal.2001,2005).
2.2.AdaptivePartnershipsandCIESensingandrespondingtothemarketenvironmentrequiresrichinformation(EisenhardtandMartin2000).Usinginformationobtainedfrombusinesspart-ners,enterprisescanimprovetheirunderstandingofresources,competition,andmarketneeds.Thisresultsinaquickawarenessofchangesandshiftsintheexternalenvironment.Theunderstandingoftheexter-nalenvironmentandthecreationofnewknowledgefromtheinformationobtainedfrombusinesspartnerscanalsobetranslatedintodecisionsandactionsthathelpenterprisesadapttotheirenvironment.Thenewknowledgecreatedthroughinformationexchangewithpartnerscanbeinthearenaofdesignofnewproductsandservices,improvedexistingofferings,andimproveddeliverythroughredesignedinteror-ganizationalprocesses(Malhotraetal.2005).Inthisstudy,weconceptualizethesharingofthishigh-value-addedinformationbetweensupplychainpart-nersasCIE,thatis,theexchangeofinformationthatisbroad-ranging,highquality,andprivilegedinnature(Malhotraetal.2005).
2.2.1.Broad-RangingInformationExchange.Thedevelopmentofnewcapabilitiesandenhancementofexistingcapabilitiestoadapttotheenvironmentsrequirescollaborativeinformationexchange(NonakaInformationSystemsResearch18(3),pp.260–279,©2007INFORMS1994,Malhotraetal.2005).Understandingofthecom-petitivespace,knowledgeofhowtoperformnewroles,anddevelopmentofnewcapabilitiesrequiresthe owofinformationbetweenpartnerstogobeyondmereinformationcoordination.Tomakenec-essaryadaptationstosuittheenvironment,enter-prisesseekbroaderinformationfromtheirpartners(Brennanetal.2003).Supplychainplayersarereal-izingthattounleashthetruepotentialofthesup-plychain,theywillneedtoshareinformationsuchasmarkettrends,changesincustomers’preferences,newproductintroductions,andfutureproductplansthathavelonger-termimplications(Austinetal.1997).Inaddition,theyneedtoshareinformationrelatedtoprocessimprovements,strategicdirections,andnewcapabilitiesthatcouldhelppartners.Alongwithtransactionandcoordinationinformation,sup-plychainpartnersarerequiringeachothertoprovideinformationaboutmarketconditions(Fites1996).2.2.2.QualityofInformationExchange.Althoughitisbene cialforpartnerstoexchangeabroadrangeofinformation,ensuringthequalityofinforma-tionexchangeisequallyimportant.Otherwise,enter-prisescansufferfromaninformationoverloadorthe“garbagein–garbageout”syndrome.Theimportanceofthequalityofinformationexchangewashigh-lightedrepeatedlyinour eldinterviews.Forexam-ple,anexecutiveataleadingcomputermanufacturerwithanextensiveeffortunderwaytoimprovequalityofinformationexchangeexpresseditlikethis:Weitycustomers,ofareinformationmakinghugeinvestmentstoincreasethequal-quency,intermsweofexchangeitswithoursuppliersanddetail[majortoandthedepth.extentthatIwouldcoverage,Icouldliketelltowhathavegranularity,depthfre-locationandoftheycultunittopurchasedcustomer]wentgettoPOSwhich itpurchasedpointfrom.ModelXXPCsandwhocustomer.ofCurrentlysale informationitisextremelyaboutwhatdif -2.2.3.PrivilegedInformationExchange.Theval-ueofinformationexchangethatdrivestheabilitytoleveragetheirpartnershipsforinformationexchangedependsonpartners’perceptionsofhowspeci ctheinformationistotheneedsofthepartnerinvolvedintheexchange.AsUzziandLancaster(2003)pointout,innovationsbasedoninterorganizationalrela-tionshipsoccurwhentheyallowforthetransferof
supply chain management
Malhotra,Gosain,andElSawy:LeveragingSEBIstoEnableAdaptiveSupplyChainPartnershipsInformationSystemsResearch18(3),pp.260–279,©2007INFORMSidiosyncraticandprivilegedinformation.Privileged
informationcanberelatedtoanenterprise’sstrat-
egy,distinctivecompetencies,undocumentedproduct
capabilities,orcriticalcustomerorsupplierdepen-
dencies.Soprivilegedinformationgoesbeyondthe
collectionandreportingofstandardinformationthat
issymbolicofarm’s-lengthpartnerships(Malhotra
etal.2005).Privilegedinformationisspeci ctothe
receivingpartnerandinherentlytendstobepro-
prietaryandcon dentialinnature(Cannonand
Perreault1999).Consequently,itprovidesthepart-
nerwithauniqueperspectivenototherwiseavailable.
Exchangeofprivileged—unusuallydetailed,con -
dential,orsensitive—informationisanimportantfac-