Competitive and cooperative incentives in dyadic relationships: a case study in the organic grape chain

Abstract Incentive systems aim to motivate and direct the behavior of participants in inter-organizational relationships. Cooperative incentives are based on sharing of benefits and gains generated in relationship, while the competitive ones refer to rewarding suppliers based on their performance relative to other suppliers. Based on the Relational View lens, the study aimed to analyze how competitive and cooperative incentives from the purchasing company influence the economic results of its suppliers. A qualitative research was carried out through a case study, whose unit of analysis was the dyadic relationship in an organic products supply chain. The results showed that the purchasing company uses competitive incentives when it seeks to encourage suppliers to adopt behaviors in order to avoid punishment, especially in relation to productive activities. Cooperative incentives also promote information exchange, knowledge transfer and trust-based relationships. As a theoretical contribution, in the organic production context, it was identified that beyond the influence of competitive and cooperative incentives over the relations between buyer and suppliers there are external factors such as international certification standards and regulations, which exerts a strong influence on the studied relation.

摘要 激励机制旨在激发并规范组织间关系内各参与方的行为。合作型激励基于共享关系中产生的收益与增益，而竞争型激励则指依据供应商相对于其他供应商的绩效对其进行奖励。基于关系观（Relational View）视角，本研究旨在分析采购企业所采用的竞争型与合作型激励机制，如何影响其供应商的经济绩效。本研究采用案例研究法开展质性研究，分析单元为有机产品供应链中的双边关系。研究结果显示，当采购企业希望激励供应商采取合规行为以规避处罚时，尤其在生产活动维度，会采用竞争型激励机制。合作型激励还可促进信息共享、知识转移以及基于信任的合作关系。本研究的理论贡献在于：在有机生产场景中，除竞争型与合作型激励对买卖双方关系的影响外，还存在国际认证标准与监管规制等外部因素，其对所研究的双边关系具有显著影响。