Institutional tactics and power dynamics in asymmetric buyer–supplier relationships

Power asymmetry often undermines collaboration in buyer–supplier relationships, particularly during times of global disruption. This study adopts an institutional perspective to explore how external actors help smaller suppliers restore balance with powerful buyers. Drawing on a multiple case study of ten Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises and four major buyers, based on 37 interviews during the COVID19 pandemic, this research identifies the process power-balancing under institutional interventions. The process is driven by dual-pathway model where institutional tactics simultaneously, including supplier empowerment and supplier constraint. We identify four specific mechanisms enabling the process: multi-actor institutional synergy, the alteration of buyers’ cost-benefit evaluation, the temporary suspension of structural privileges, and industry norm transformation. The study advances institutional theory by theorising its enabling dimension as essential for power reconfiguration and provides a mechanism-based framework to strategically leverage institutional support, thereby fostering more equitable and resilient supply chains.