In the past, a supply chain is recognized as a network made up of buyers and suppliers (Choi and Hong, 2002). Supply chain management is focused on dyadic relationships, for example, buyer-supplier relationship and supplier-supplier relationship. In recent years, managers have discovered that a supply network is difficult to manage if they have started to contemplate managing extended enterprises. They are often unsure of what should be managed as a larger system beyond the dyad (Choi et al, 2001). For instance, one cannot contemplate the relationship between suppliers without considering the interaction between the buyer and each of the suppliers because buyer-supplier relationship and supplier-supplier relationship are two interdependent pieces. Therefore, Choi and Wu (2009) begin considering triads in supply networks, that is, buyer-supplier-supplier triads. By doing so, it is needed to analyze the internal dynamics of triads in supply networks with balance theory (Hummon and Doreian, 2003), which was first developed in behavioral psychology to study the triadic interpersonal relationships and social processes of groups, and the structural-hole concept (Burt, 1992) that is elaborated in the social network. After that, nine triadic archetypes of buyer-supplier-supplier relationships are developed with key propositions that aid in decision making in supply networks
First of all, the buyer-supplier relationship is focused on supply chain managers and researchers (Johnston et al, 2004). It was categorized into two types: cooperative and competitive (Choi et al, 2001). In a cooperative relationship, two companies have a long-term relationship commitment and share common goals (Penone et al, 2003). In a competitive relationship, two companies are struggling for the ...