Purchasing

ARTICLE IN PRESS
Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management 14 (2008) 170– 179

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Cooperating and competing in supply networks: Making sense of a triadic sourcing strategy
Anna Dubois Ã, Peter Fredriksson 1
Division of Industrial Marketing, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden

a r t i c l e in f o
Article history: Received 20 June 2007 Received in revised form 15 May 2008 Accepted 18 May 2008 Keywords: Sourcing strategy Triads Cooperation Competition Supply networks

a b s t r a c t
This paper introduces the concept of a ‘‘triadic sourcing strategy’’. Triadic sourcing is a way for buying companies to nurture and benefit from cooperation and competition between two suppliers with partially overlapping capabilities. In contrast to hybrid sourcing strategies outlined in the literatureparallel and network sourcing—the distinctive feature of triadic sourcing is that the buyer actively creates interdependencies between two suppliers. To illustrate this principle and the characteristics of triadic sourcing, Volvo Cars’ use of two suppliers of seats is described. The paper asserts that triadic sourcing is a dynamic sourcing strategy that contributes to efficiency and innovation for the buyer and the two suppliers, together forming a triad that is subject to firm interdependence and network embeddedness. & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Sourcing strategies have been on top of the agenda in the area of industrial purchasing for a long time (Kraljic, 1983; Gadde and ˚ Hakansson, 1993; Ellram and Carr, 1994; Cousins and Spekman, 2003; Day and Lichtenstein, 2006; Ventovuori, 2006). In view of developments towards reducing the numbers of suppliers and increasing the content in the relationships with the remaining ones (Cousins,

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