Enhancing Buyer-Supplier Collaboration through Daily Conversations at Shopfloor Level

Interorganizational communication enhances buyer-supplier collaboration and may provide both partners competitive advantage. Existing studies document the antecedents as well as the benefits of efficient communication between buyers and suppliers. However, current studies fail to investigate a key aspect of this interorganizational communication: the conversations that take place between shop-floor employees of partnering firms. Studying such daily conversations in situ affords insights on the foundations of efficient buyer-supplier communication beyond managerial level strategy making. We rely on the strategy as practice perspective that emphasizes the strategic role of conversations at all hierarchical levels as a key means by which strategy develops on a daily basis. This paper provides evidence of how daily conversations between shop-floor employees can enhance buyer-supplier collaboration. It is based on a case study of the largest and leading European furniture transport firm and its clients. We find that daily conversations enhance buyer-supplier collaboration by allowing operators i) to develop and reinforce mutual commitment ii) to build a common knowledge base, and iii) to create common routines and processes.