Effects of information technology on supplier-customer cooperative relationships

The benefits a firm can realise from establishing cooperative relationships with suppliers and customers have been documented, extensively. However, very little is known about what happens when a firm uses information technology to facilitate a cooperative relationship (IT-mode) with suppliers and customers, and when it uses face-to-face (socialisation). Results of this study suggest that a firm's decision to either use IT or socialisation to facilitate its cooperative relationships with suppliers and buyers is contingent on the type of knowledge exchanged between cooperating partners. A firm uses IT to facilitate cooperative relationships when exchanging codified information, whereas tacit knowledge is exchanged through face-to-face interactions. This study suggests that the use of IT or socialisation to facilitate cooperative relationships is contingent on type of knowledge being exchanged.